I'm at Pittsburg right now. Playing both Part I and II at the same time, so I can compare them
And yeah, I still think that Part II is way more visually impressive. Not only due to animations, but in Part II there's so much more detail imo
Levels are bigger in the sequel, but they still have more detail. Interiors in particular are much more detailed in Part II. Each house you enter you feel like it's telling you a story about how things went down just by looking at how things are displayed.
In Part I it feels like it has Part II levels of detail, geometry, texture, lighting, but the attention to detail is simply not there.
That's because they were really conservative with this remake in many ways, affraid of removing/introducing new objects to use as cover, for example. Every encounter is 1:1 in terms of design, making it feel dated.
Part II is much more dynamic in combat design. You dont see bookshelves on the ground one after the other, perfectly placed so you can take cover during combat.
This artificial combat design makes the game feel old despite looking stellar.
So it results in a really jarring experience, imo. It's gorgeous, using one of the best techs available in 2022, but at the same time, it feels old. Combat design, level design, most of animations, all from 2013 with presentation from 2022.
Its would be like putting Mario Odyssey graphics in Super Mario World. If it looks like a game from 2022, you'll start judging its gameplay mechanics, level design and etc. as if it was a 2022 game, and then some of the magic is gone.
I still enjoy some of the improvements made here, but I think I'll keep replaying the Remaster on my yearly playthroughs.