And that is a good thing in my opinion. If you liked the first game, then you will most likely enjoy this iteration as well. New mounts, new units (slightly more intelligent this time around) and all around tweaked to adress some shortcomings/features from the first game.
Really enjoying the game, gotten to a point where it's fairly grindy and repetetive but I really don't mind since the game is charming, relaxing and has decent gameplay. Some areas are closed off in the game, seeing as it is in e.acc. but that only fuels my anticipation for the upcoming features, since most of the story is shrouded in mystery. Give it a try!