Luckily i havent experienced the stuttering issues (Played on PC), but i hope you can get them fixed!
The things that helped me to stay engaged were on the one hand the world/level design (lots of small riddles everywhere, that sometimes involve backtracking & clever Parcour, but also the gorgeous landscape & detailled environments), on the other hand the story and its cute characters!
I think giving each area the time it deserved and not rushing through things also helped (Took me around 75 hours to beat the base game).
If you dont mind me asking - how would root improve this Situation? (I've got little to non knowledge about rooting)