Although you can still feel the atmosphere of the first game, this one doesn't reach its full potential. For me the strongest suit of LIS universe always were relationships between characters, which are lacking in this game. I miss multiple dialogue options and long conversations that felt so real previously.
The story is alright, weirdly it reaches its peak in Chapter 3 and then it just dissolves? Chapter 4 and 5 feel tedious and pointless compared to the rest of the plot.
I was mostly disappointed with choices in this game that should be the main focus. They are presented like they hold great value and later it turns out it doesn't matter what we pick. The outcome is almost always the same and the dialogue changes insignificantly, it feels like the creators didn't want to bother with writing and recording multiple versions of events.
However the soundtrack is still great, I will def listen to it outside of the game. Voice acting is also on a high level, it helps to connect with the characters. The game looks stunning, facial expressions are very believable and they convey a lot of emotions.
But without a gripping story it all falls apart a little and it's hard to justify the price for the experience you get.
Overall I liked this game, but mostly because I am a big fan of this genre and this universe. If you played previous games I encourage you to try it out and create your own opinion, but if you have never touched LIS franchise don't start with this one.
You can have a good time playing it, but don't expect too much.