Maybe you don't need to compare BG2 and BG3 because they are of different times? BG3 is not created just for BG2 fans. I'll tell you more, I've never played BG2 and I won't, because it's too old for me to get into it. BG3 is created not only for fans of the series, but also to attract new players. So I don't understand people who constantly compare a new game to a literally VERY OLD game, and expect same from it.
You said it yourself. "Not ONLY for the fans of the series". But ALSO, if not primarily for them. Currently it's so far from BG it could be any other franchise. If the game is claimed (and marketed) to be a proper entry in a series, it's fair to expect it to be at least remotely recognizable as such. If they don't care about the franchise, they could just make D:OS3. Or Faerun Adventures, or whatever. It's also not a matter of "expecting same" - clearly the game is expected to be more "modern" or even "driving the genre forward" - but it can be BOTH modern and faithful to the series.
And that VERY OLD game is still VERY GOOD. It makes sense to compare it, both because it's the previous entry and because it's just a great game in the same genre.
I didn't say it was bad, I said it was old. And old mechanics can be reworked. I just see how many people argue their dissatisfaction with the fact that " BG3 is not like BG2 " or something similar. But it's normal that it's not exactly the same.
Forgive me, but the person above is literally picking on menu and interface, expecting it to be the same as 20 years ago. And this is very strange for me... Just think about how uncomfortable old things can be for new players.
For example, I started playing mass effect 2, and later, just for fun, I wanted to play the first one. So, I hate the first mass effect, because it's just inconvenient to play after a newer game. Old mechanics can be very inconvenient. Old types of menus may look too uncomfortable, even if they make you feel nostalgic.
Another fun fact, DAO is very different from Dragon Age 2, but it's still the same series of games. And then DAi very different from Dragon Age 2. Everything except lore. Each game in the series can be completely different, but this is normal.
If we leave out the mechanics, we still have the story, the world, the characters, and much more, which in some ways is more important for series. The problem is that we can't judge these things by the first act. We don't have enough information.
