Gets progressively less painful and more fun the further into the game you get. It's kinda crazy how completely ineffectual you feel at the beginning versus how destructive and overpowered you can feel by the end. The beginning was a real slog, but once I got near the end of the second floor I couldn't put it down and finished it in one sitting.
Having to walk and move the camera with d-pad genuinely made my left hand hurt, tho. lol