If nothing else, I'm enjoying the characters a lot more. I'm on day 5 and it's nice to have more than just the 3 protagonists plus one or two others for once. None of the characters are nearly as annoying as Midori either, though I'm not a huge fan of either Airi or Keita. Fumi's definitely on the lower end as well.
I will say that the game is certainly less survival-oriented. On an individual character level, sure, but your group is not fighting for survival in the same desperate way it was in the first. I feel like it's more about whether or not you succeed to protect something much more often than it is about surviving.
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