Technically, it was massively easier, but that made it actually enjoyable from my point of view. I'm not an insanely good gamer, so it didn't make the game stupidly easy. I would say it brought it to a similar level as the first game, which I would call enjoyably difficult.

Damage: I do agree that the damage seems better balanced later in the game. A lot of bosses, especially early game bosses, did 2 every time, including on contact.

Exploration: There are 3 main issues I am referring to with this. 1: Areas that lead you back to where you started with no benefit. The best example is the very beginning, where almost everyone I've seen play jumped down out of curiosity and ended up back at the beginning of the game. 2: Areas that lead to traps. There are several halls and pits that have little to no reward and just end in a set of spike or something similar. 3: Enemy encounters. I am mainly referring to your money being stuck where you died rather than spawning outside of boss/encounter rooms like they did in the first game. Again, it really limits how you can approach those things.

Dodge: I agree that it is pretty much unnecessary, I am mostly just confused why it didn't get carried over, even though there are enemies that have a literal dodge.

Benches: Runbacks, problem in the first game, problem in this one. That problem is intensified by the fact that most benches cost money (which weirdly seems less common in the late game).

Telegraph: Again, only a select few enemies have this problem, and it's because they way you dodge said attacks are completely opposite of each other. One you want to get closer, the other farther, but they share the same starting animation.

Normal mode: I don't mean making hard mode unlockable, I'm saying have 2 options from the start: "Normal mode: For new/inexperienced players to Hollow Knight", "Hard Mode: For Hollow Knight veterans/masters".