The game just saves at certain points, and like it is now it's really frustrating having to start all over again if a simple mistake (or bug) makes a stone fall on you or you fall down somewhere.

At least I haven't seen any indication of a quicksave or save game function? Is it really supposed to frustrate gamers?

Yes indeed, how can I save in this game? If there's only a real save after each level, things look a bit grim for casual gamers, don't you think??

I'm shelving this game until this is fixed, because I know I'll hate it if it stays this way. The game doesn't deserved to be hated, but the lack of a fair saving system (ie, one that doesn't make the player keep wasting his goddamn time for no real reason!) makes the game needlessly frustrating.

This is compounded by the fact that death can come surprisingly quick in this game. The physics are quite good, but not good to the point that a sudden move while dragging a boulder can cause said boulder to fall on top of you. And you can also die b falling! How is the player supposed to control their fall in a platformer with open-ended level design with physics puzzles and terrain deformation?! This doesn't make sense at all.

Even worse, achievements and collectibles aren't saved, unless you happen to stumble across one of these magical checkpoints. And you can only access the arcade games ONCE! You have to die to try again!

Such terrible design choices here! And the rest of them could be forgivable if you could just save anywhere!

And before someone comes in and says "oh, but it makes the game challenging". No it doesn't! There's no challenge in being forced to repeat an obstacle that you've already accomplished. This isn't Dark Souls, where the name of the game is persistence. This is an experimental, light-hearted platform-puzzle game. You shouldn't be forced to retrace your footsteps here. There's no point to it.

It really isn't a casual vs. hardcore gamer situation. It's a good vs. bad design choice situation. A good game doesn't waste the player's time if it's not beneficial to him. In Tiny and Big, I can solve a puzzle trying to get to a collectible, get said collectible, and die by accident. If I failed to save manually, then it's my fault. But since that option isn't available to the player, then it's a problem on the developer's side.

I simply can't play the game in its current state. This is a show-stopping issue for me. It's unfortunate, but true. You can't expect most players to have the patience to put up with this. And yes, I do think that it's this big of a deal. As the OP mentioned, it's extremely frustratingly, and frankly, it has discouraged me from exploring and experimenting with the game mechanics. That's about three-quarters of the fun gone right there.

That was my big issue with the game in my review: http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2012/07/review-tiny-and-big-grandpas-leftovers.html

If the sequel implements a save system similar to that of the Portal games', it could be an all-time great.