The story doesn't change, but to me the quality of the scenes aren't up to the original and I don't mean the renders or anything technical. Like the scene with Kyra, it was more evocative, had more context and explained the situation better and you had a choice, I think that is important. The market scene was terrible imo. It made so much more sense in the original with the abusive owner being chided for his actions which were against Zetan culture. That showed Ivy you were trustworthy and cared about the less fortunate. Whereas, the new one has a violent thief who you have to let go if you want the mutant storyline, but you have no real reason to release her. It's illegal for her to be in city, she's a thief and she violently attacked a citizen.
The scene with the 'thief' now brings up a moral question that wasn’t there before, especially if, like Zaton says, you believe the man’s side. You don’t get the chance to fully compare both stories, so it’s hard to know what really happened. The girl breaks free and reacts strongly. Given how he treated her, it makes sense, but we still don’t know if the man was telling the truth.
As you pointed out, the path to Ivy and the mutants seems less logical now due to the changes in this scene. Without enough context, it’s tough to decide who to trust, so you end up siding with the girl more out of sympathy than solid evidence.
I don’t remember all the details of the Kyra rescue, but I see what you mean about that scene being more evocative before. It felt longer, with Zaton taking time to check everything around him. There were choices to make, like negotiating with the decayed or fight them. And there was that moment when Shani opens a door and sees a decayed cutting up a body.
As mentioned, one could question the meaning of these changes, and maybe the dev will revisit it. I’m not sure. Personally, I think the area where some clarification is needed is in the scene between the man and the girl, who’s presented as a thief. Choosing to help her doesn’t seem like an obvious decision, so a bit more context here could help clarify things.
That being said, I really enjoy the new visuals, and overall, these scenes remain engaging and entertaining. I wouldn't be in favor of removing them in favor of the old versions, as I feel the dev shouldn't waste too much time on that. Of course, he can do whatever he wants, as it's his game and artistic vision.
