u/ChocoPuddingCup

I played both games when they were first released, so I didn't play the DLC nor did I have the option for turn-based mode from either game. There was an uber sale early this year so I bought all the DLC for both games at a dirt cheap price, and PoE was getting a turn-based mode so I was excited (RTWP isn't really my thing most of the time). PoE took me almost 120 hours, while PoE2 took about 98ish. In both games I was a Moon Godlike Cipher.

• Wonderful story. I think I prefer the story of 1 over 2, but both are great. The stakes aren't as high, so it feels more down-to-eora. Plus, I don't usually enjoy pirate/seafaring games, so PoE2 was an exception. The dialogue is good, but both games do get a little verbose at times. Tekehu's romance was adorable, love my handsome fish. And I think I stand with the majority of people in that the ending of PoE2 felt rushed and very abrupt.
• They did a really good job on PoE's new TBM, minus the few very minor bugs I encountered. TBM in PoE2 definitely felt rougher around the edges. I was going to wait and see if they were going to update it to match PoE1, but I wanted to play both games while 1 was fresh in my mind to get the full experience.
• Graphics still hold up after over a decade. Colorful without being garish, but with just the right amount of grit.
• Music: most tracks are pretty decent, although I disliked that they reused a lot of tracks between both games.
• DLC: I think I preferred the main campaigns to most of the DLC. White March was great, but I preferred 1 over 2. Forgotten Sanctum was probably my favorite of all the DLC. Wael is just weird like that. Seeker, Slayer, Survivor was alright, nothing spectacular. Beast of Winter was my least favorite DLC of both games: it felt like a drawn-out slog and I was glad when it finally ended. I think both games would have greatly benefited from a roguelike DLC (similar to the Pathfinder games).

Glad I finally got to fully play both games! Although, as much as I enjoyed both games, I do feel like two playthroughs was enough for me. Both games tend to get drawn-out a bit in terms of content. But here's hoping we'll get a PoE3 some day.