Actually, after playing it a bit more I do still find it more difficult at times, but overall I personally percive it as an improvement and it's not impossible to win. Having a quicker to solve first level is better in my opinion, but for some reason I do feel like it has gotten harder that it was previously. It feels like it got more difficult, but this doesn't mean it's difficult per se. Again, this is only my personal opinion and does not represent reality as a whole
I do think the first map should be a bit easier still... I will try to rebalance a bit. I think it feels harder because there's less "free" spaces, or easy to deduce spaces. My problem is that reducing enemies doesn't always mean easier, because ultimately that's how you get the XP needed. I do think less higher tier monsters and more 1-2-3's will make it more manageable for beginners