I think they made it too easy, I kinda stormed through most of the story like the opposition wasn't there. I did die a good few times, but there's too little opposition of the old alpha-level frustratingness, like the flamethrower machine or the lighting squids. (note: I didn't finish the story yet, and there are now more branches you can take) Too many good weapons may be the cause for that. Or some tweaks to the physics. I was just gearing up for the second Sophit fight (when you're captured), and, in a real "WTF just happened" moment, I insta-gibbed the thing when my downward swing met his upward charge with the tip of my sword. The game bullet-timed momentarily, and then there were coins and bodyparts all around. I'd imagine that the people in the arena that blinked at that moment would demand their money back.
That said, I like the fun new gamemodes. The old Grim mode has been remade into a proper level, and the new Grim promises to be pretty fun. The new Arena mode is a lot better than the old one, and the new Hammerball concept is interesting. Especially when you get too high of an advantage, when the ball turns into a spiky homing projectile that actively tries to avoid your swings (and yields 3 points for the enemy team, but 1 for you).
The story itself seems appropriately diverse, and the game feels even more like a 2D "Half-Life 2" - especially when you fly through sewer-like pipes and fight off manhacks. No physics puzzles yet though, unless you consider busting fairly obvious walls to be puzzles.
All in all, me likes. I'll buy it when I figure out the weird service thing they distribute it through. Or when/if they release it in physical form.