>>713686732
For me, R2 felt lesser because it was a bunch of little systems all tied together in one bundle. Even I couldn't explain until I was just so fed up at one point I was able to put it into words. It's the Traits, Archetypes, Power Level, and scarcity of Scrap and Iron. Can't pick up any weapon I want because of the investment, if I upgrade this weapon then I remain just as weak as always, but i have to chase the enemies levels whch further drives a wedge between all the other weapons. Takes too long to level up Archetypes and you're stuck with the same skill for way too long. You find a trait, but it isn't exciting and a lot of times it just sat in my back pocket for hours because I didn't care. Armour now was just cosmetic but still cost way too much to buy. Bit of a ramble, but I don't think I could properly explain myself within 2000 character limit.
R2 was so good in dungeons, bosses, enemies, and the level design. But none of that means anything when it's kind of a slog to go through.