Asklemmy

You benefit a lot from being able to use ranged weapons from time to time.

Totally. My first playthrough was as a sorcerer which was difficult, but advantageous in many ways. These games are praised for not hand-holding and DS2 is no different - you're expected to adapt. Adaptability is not just a stat, but a state of mind.

When there is enemy spam in ds1, you can almost always run past it. In ds2 you’re pretty much forced to fight every single enemy every single time.

I have to disagree. I never felt body-blocked so often in 2 as I did in 1. They don't make it easy, but in 2 most areas you can just run through if you bait enemy attacks as you dodge. There are some exceptions like Iron Keep which is downright sadistic in forcing you to kill the enemies, though, for sure. I felt the same way with the bloat-heads in Oolacile township, Demonic Foliage in Darkroot Garden, crystal undead in Duke's, 90% of enemies in Undead Burg and Parish, New Londo Ghosts. I'm sure the amount of experience with either game can make the difference between running through and getting stun-locked though - I still feel like a noob when playing 1.

I do think it’s over hated but I think it’s because people wanted a clone of ds1 which its not. If you went into without any expectations, I suspect it would be viewed much differently.

I think you're right. I played 2 before 1. Both were frustratingly difficult at times, but that was the only expectation I had going in, since the series is known for being about overcoming challenges.