I agree 10000000000% about the Estus mechanic being gone. Honestly, I thought Estus was one of the best mechanics in Dark Souls and was extremely sad to see it leave. One of the things I loved about Souls games is I never felt like I was FORCED to farm. Maybe I needed just one more level so I farmed an area for a few minutes to get the souls, but it never felt forced. Until NG+ I had to farm blood vials at least 5 times which was extremely annoying. Once I got to level 120ish I just started buying all my vials and bullets at the shop in the Dream because at that point blood echoes become useless.
The other part about the Estus mechanic I loved in Dark Souls was how it tied into the lore. The Bonfires were like safe havens for the undead (which they tell you in the game), but, they didn't just tell me it, I felt it. The farther I went from a bonfire, the more tense things got. Whether it's because I was running low on Estus, or because I didn't want to backtrack if I died, there was a tangible fear that came with being far away from a bonfire. Not to mention finding a bonfire gave me an actual feeling of relief and safety. Lanterns in no way feel that way in this game and it kind of makes me sad.
Other than that, it's a great game. Loading times suck unfortunately, and I am hoping for a patch soon. The other huge issue is PvP. They have made PvP such a chore to do, that unless they fix it soon, or give us new ways to PvP, this game will not have nearly the lasting power the other Souls games did. Without PvP, not many people will be playing to NG +9 and beyond.