Soon as I got Esquie's ability to swim, I prolonged my game by wandering around and exploring the overworld. I found some records, beat some of the giant nevrons that were scattered around the Act 1 areas, then wandered around collecting skills for Monoco by fighting everything I could find. I've found a bunch of records, and decent chunk of journal entries along the way.
Anyway, the downside is I grinded a bit too much. I sorta steamrolled the Visages and I started the area with the dancing nevrons, and I can beat the normal enemies just shooting at them without ever usinig any actual skills or actions at all. But I guess that means it's time to advance the story. Even when I'm running over enemies, I have fun just exploring.
P.S. that one rock that you have to dodge around 100 times before he self-destructs is a fun fight even though it's simple.