I am enjoying this game. I enjoyed playing the first one as well.
Very good ‘old fashioned’ RPG games (both of them), indeed. Although for some it’s still too easy.
I find that when I play at normal there comes a certain point in the game where I no longer have to pay attention to party makeup and positioning, and have to switch to a level higher in difficulty, at which point I totally get my ass handed to me… The difference between normal and one step up is brutal 
I’ve done one play through already, including replaying PoE1 to remember and I really enjoyed it. I plan to have another play through soon. I wasn’t that impressed with the non-cosmic world building in 1 but this one really brings it to the fore.