Finally powered through this after dropping it in the first few hours multiple times over the years. Very glad I did, because yeah, in spite of its quite dated RTWP gameplay - it's a masterpiece. Such a deep and thoughtful story, with incredible writing and worldbuilding. The art and music is incredible as well!

Dare I say that I liked this more than the first game?

I liked this game a lot, but it definitely didn't connect with me as much as the original, despite having numerous gameplay improvements and some superb level design. In my opinion, the story, characters, and overall atmosphere just fell flat compared to the first game.