After finishing the first game, my first thought was "I cannot wait for a second game" and when this finally arrived my thought was "it was okay". I would not say the game does anything worse than the previous game, but more so that it does not exceed what was already established beforehand. The major difference is that the game is split between two new protagonists: the previously seen Mizuki and the new Ryuki. The game is primarily established to give more context to Mizuki and it does that in some rather ludicrous ways; without spoilers: almost everything previously learned about her is altered, for better or worse. Ryuki, on the other hand, does not measure up, he is a more serious character, but it leads him to be harder to care about, especially considering how much he was meant to act as the opposite of Date.
Another issue with the cast for this game is that they would routinely drag characters from the previous game to this one, often times just for the cameo, to which they somewhat took time away from establishing the new characters. The new characters are likable and endearing, especially in how they are involved in the overall story of the game.
The plot is significantly less gory, but no less horrific. As well, the structure is fascinating in how it manipulates the player's perspective on events. The overall story and conflict is equally, in my opinion, as the first game, but the path to get there is more tumultuous.
Gameplay-wise, the Somniums continue to be fun, but can be annoying in this early mistakes are almost impossible to recover from, which can be annoying depending on the player.
All in all, a solid sequel with an interesting story, but lacks what the French say "that one thing" to really make the experience impactful at the deepest level.