Play it like a shooter. Might seem obvious to everyone but me, but realizing that you were supposed to do that helped me a lot. The fact that the amounts of ammunition and items and whatnot are so small made me hoard and collect, playing the first few areas like a survival/horror game. It led to a kind of perfectionist-like experience, dying a lot, restarting if I thought I used up too much stuff, etc.

It's not necessary. When you see something, blast away until it's dead. You'll be given plenty of stuff.