So I start a new game, after finishing it once.

It wasn't new game+, it's a new game entirely, just like the first playthough.

Knowing what I know now and use all of those to my advantage, I found the game incredibly easy, regardless of the mode.

In my first playthough, I have to duck left and right not to engage with some enemies, but now I pretty jump into all fight, heck, I even found many hidden mines and pictos that I didn't have the first playthough.

All I want to say is, knowing about pictos systems and how to use them before the game start vs knowing how to use them after you finished the act 3 is a major game changer.