So just to get this out of the way since I have started annoying people with how often I say this: The Answer is MARGINALLY harder then The Journey which means it's STILL easy. There was a total of ONE boss that gave me trouble, and the other bosses I died to were a matter of not acting stupid (except the final boss, that fight was very fair and my two losses were on me).

The Answer is an AMAZING follow-up to the base game. I think something people tend to forget is that the tragedy of death doesn't end at the person dying, it lives on in the people closest to the one who died, and you get to experience that in all its painful glory with the SEES crew. From the very beginning they're all clearly not over Makoto's death, and the various ways in which they cope and how they end up hurting themselves in the long run is very real and painful to witness. Yeah some people do some genuinely STUPID shit, Yukari especially, but that's what tragedy can do to someone. The Answers explores the aftermath so well, every member has to confront their feelings and realize how they're running away from their pain without even trying to face it. It's beautiful, it's really sad, and honestly it feels stifling at times how everyone is tired and just want to end things as quickly as possible, sometimes basically not paying to the obvious cues from the Labyrinth of Time to fix their shit.
Now gameplay-wise, it has the exact same gameplay from The Journey, so it's good. I think the enemy formations this time are definitely tougher and require you to think about more than just outputting max damage, such as trying to stall enemies or bait enemies into hurting themselves. It's a great refinement of what's in The Journey, but it honestly gets a bit tiring since it is the ONLY thing you can do. It's just dungeon, dungeon, more dungeon, a stop at Paulownia Mall in the past for supplies, and back to the dungeon. It just doesn't end, and even though it's good it definitely feels like it's overstaying its welcome up till the 5-boss boss rush at the end. That is the highlight of the story and really brings both gameplay and story to their peak. Contrary to what most people say, you don't really need to grind. Going up around 4-6 levels per door is fine, and it's easy and fast. I only had to grind once for the boss that stumped me, so it's still pretty fair and relatively easy to get through. It's a pain, however, dealing with every enemy have a dodge/evade element skill. It def adds to the challenge, and I appreciate that they gave a bit of coverage, but at times it was horrifically ridiculous just how often they'd dodge, even if I had buffs and debuffs going. Regardless of that, it was a really great gameplay experience, and I hope that tbe DLC for Reload manages to live up to how refined this felt (which I don't doubt it will, Reload had me actively wishing I could enter Tartarus).
Metis. She's perfect. What she means for Aegis, her role in the story, the drama and sometimes pragmatic view she brings to the situation make her compelling. And the twist at the end of who she really is is played great, and it results in an absolutely tear-jerking moment between her and Aegis, I adore them together. She's also a child in attitude. And additionally, she's very autistic-coded which I found painfully relatable at times when she'd shut down and get away from the group. So she's the perfect Atlus-re-release-girl.
Music is, as always, peak. I love that Mass Destruction here is basically a second verse, sounding more vicious, more focused, more wanting to get things over with. Heartful Cry and Darkness are the obvious standouts though, and those two remain some of the best tracks in the series. If Reload can make better versions of them I will literally throw hundred dollar bills at Atlus HQ.
Overall, this is pretty much a perfect follow-up to P3, and I hate everyone who made me think it'd be hard/mid. It's a wonderful package you can complete in under 25 hours, and I recommend everyone at least experience the story since it's a great story about coping with loss.