Long time 5e player here. I am hoping this game comes closer to representing 5e.

Played the EA a bunch, and I have to concur, it does feel a lot like DOS2. I have played DOS2 many hours, and liked it somewhat, but I do not think that the trademark "surface-gameplay" should play a major role in this adaptation of 5e. Alchemists fire is a fine candidate for creating some lasting fire effects, but that fire should stay on individual characters IMO. Don't want every battle to end with a soup of surfaces you have to either wade through or wait to go away. A couple times after a decent battle, a party member would die from stepping in a surface due to pathing. It is no fun when your party member could bravely stand up to a gith deathforce, only to later be vanquished by auto-running through a surface.

Some UI hassles also seems to have bridged from DOS2 into BG3 - namely that your hotbar is automatically filled with all kinds of odds and ends you pick up, which is confusing and tedious to manage. Adding to the hassle is that you do need that hotbar for spells that have reappliable effects (hunters mark for rangers is one example).

As others have said, we are in early access and changes are bound to happen.