Caveat: I played BG 2 from BG, so I was already invested in the characters when I started BG 2.
That said, it's Early Access, so some of what I'm about to lay out is to be expected as they iron out polish and optimization. So I'm getting occasional freezes, even when just walking around in the environment. My cooling fans get to kicking hard after about 30 minutes, even after messing with the settings to try to tone it down. The combat is all over the place. Some encounters seem really easy, and others really hard. Some of this is down to the dice rolls, which is to be expected, it is, after all, based on dice rolls. I've been one shotted by a particular mob, and then had it miss so much that it seems like it's dice were loaded. Same mob, same party. I don't know that I can say "more fun", but it is fun. However, that's because I was way invested in BG 2, more than anything in particular with this game. But there are reasons outside of the game in general for that. Suffice to say it got me through a really bad time in my life, and call it good.
There is plenty of depth, it's not just a mindless button mashing style of game, which is great. The magic is similar, but not the same. That's going to come down to a different rule set. There are some nice magical items, but so far it's been relatively tame, as in the "good stuff" isn't dropping like candy, but is available, if you look for it. Shops do carry some +1 items, but it's not a case of "get to this town, and everyone will be fully equipped" because you made so much gold on the vendor items that you just buy it all. A lot of it just isn't there, but is, instead, out in the world, encouraging you to actually explore the map to find them.
The story is abbreviated, but we're only working in Act 1, so that's a given. It's an interesting premise, however, and does have me curious as to where it's going to go. The dialog has been good. It can be heavily reliant on dice rolls too, even if there's a "No Fail" type condition, it will still make you roll, perhaps that will be looked at in the coming months. I like that the Origin characters aren't automatically fawning over the Player Character. I suspect that that will carry over into release, when we can actually play them as well. There's no reason for absolute trust, and the lack of that trust is welcome.
Overall, I'm enjoying the experience, and there are some nice surprises too. I don't want to get spoilery, but there are things that had me going "I didn't see that coming" in a good way. For all that, it is, at the end of the day, Early Access. If you're looking for a great, polished experience, it's not here, yet. I suspect, based on past experience with Larian, that it will be, but right now they're trying to get feedback on what needs to be adjusted/changed to achieve that, and other feedback. So if you're looking for a "buy/don't buy" review, I can't give you one.
