It has very few actual puzzles. The few puzzles it has are very straightforward. Nothing builds upon knowledge you gained from previous puzzles. Many of the puzzle-like scenes actually just require you to brute-force something to figure out the sequence. I think only about 20 minutes of my playtime required my brain to wake up.

The vast majority of the game is pointless interactions, and they're not even satisfying in a The Room kind of way. It's very linear - there's usually only one or two things to do at any point in time. You don't feel like you're exploring, the game just hands you key-like objects one at a time and you have to figure out where to put them. The limited camera angles force you to only look at relevant places. It's just busywork.

I enjoyed THoDV1, but this just felt like a completely different game. As if they streamlined it to push the story, but in doing so cut all the fun parts out.

If you're looking for mental engagement here are some games that do this style of puzzle box/escape room interactions better: Gordian Rooms, Machinika Museum, the First Class Escape and Escape Memoirs series, and The Inheritance of Crimson Manor to name a few.

It has very few actual puzzles. The few puzzles it has are very straightforward. Nothing builds upon knowledge you gained from previous puzzles. Many of the puzzle-like scenes actually just require you to brute-force something to figure out the sequence. I think only about 20 minutes of my playtime required my brain to wake up. The vast majority of the game is pointless interactions, and they're not even satisfying in a The Room kind of way. It's very linear - there's usually only one or two things to do at any point in time. You don't feel like you're exploring, the game just hands you key-like objects one at a time and you have to figure out where to put them. The limited camera angles force you to only look at relevant places. It's just busywork. I enjoyed THoDV1, but this just felt like a completely different game. As if they streamlined it to push the story, but in doing so cut all the fun parts out. If you're looking for mental engagement here are some games that do this style of puzzle box/escape room interactions better: Gordian Rooms, Machinika Museum, the First Class Escape and Escape Memoirs series, and The Inheritance of Crimson Manor to name a few.