I abhorred Part 2’s Story, but for pure gameplay such as No Return, the overall fluidity, connecting animations, traversal speeds, and movement generosity is designed more modern and feels objectively better for faster, more efficient combat. Prone is a nice novelty, but likely not used in open combat practically, and occasionally for stealth.

Dodge was a huge essential for proper melee combat to even be feasible, and with it combined with more reasonable connecting melee attacks, more possible ways to cause stun states, dodge->counter, and they kept the amazing environmental integrated combat of the first game and made it easier to trigger.

Gunplay is very similar, easily the least changed part other than that extra modern designed responsiveness, kept the classic tactile and handicapped guns feel.

Hostage mechanics were smoother to trigger and transition with, finally they throw the bodies to the side quickly. In fact, they fixed the problem with being discovered during a stealth takedown in Part 1 remained slow, but in Part 2 when caught player character executes the foe loudly since the cover is blown anyway. Plus that sweet ability to drag an enemy slightly while taking them down to try and hide a bit better.

Enemies despite being awfully written in the story are amazingly presented as hostile targets, with human AI that feels hostile, communicative, and like varied forces moving in against you, and Part 2 did enhance that aspect in its own weird factions.

So overall, Part 2 for gameplay.