The spellcasting system is quite different from BaK, as you need to progress from knowing the god first (gaining their favor), only then you can cast spells associated with that god. As for the UI, I totally love what I am calling "The wheel of echs" (echs being the words of power that compose the spell), even if I have been heavily inspired there, I admit it. I am thinking of improving that side too, as picking the spell power is very unintuitive now.
Okay, that's good to hear. I haven't actually played the demo, so these were only my superficial impressions based on screenshots and the video. That's great that the spell system is different then.
Hopefully, the riddle chests will be easier than in BaK because I'm shit at word-based puzzles... analytical/symbolic puzzles I can solve all day, but words are hard, man! Yeah, I know you won't change it
All in all, looking forward to the game. I noticed it's only on Steam yet, have you tried contacting GOG? Personally, I'm trying to stay away from Steam as much as possible, and although I'll pay for this game, realistically I'll need to download the cracked version too for "archival" (I hate DRM, don't trust it either...)