I have been playing both versions now for a while and I have to say that the old version plays better than the new version. It's far more likely to run into dead end situations in the new version, which then requires you guessing blindly, which is never fun in a puzzle game. The old version felt better balanced that way. It felt close but I could always deduct the next tile to uncover with my remaining health. The difference is significant imho. maybe I am just hallucinating? will keep on playing and see how it goes.
Viewing post in New Dragonsweeper Version! comments
There is some difference, the difficulty was re-balanced towards knowing more about patterns. In the old version even without knowing monster mechanics you could still deduce the placements with just numbers and math.
In the new version you still can most of the time, but now, if you want more consistent runs, you have to observe the monster patterns. The most important tip from the instructions/Monsternomicon is this "Observe monster patterns when dead".
When you will figure out more about monster patterns you will rarely run into a dead end even in this new version.