There was a great video by Digital Foundry that discussed comparisons to OpenLara. I remember one point specifically was how the water physics on OL were better. I'd recommend giving it a watch.
I'm most of the way through 1 right now, and I love how much this remaster is showing how far ahead of their time these games were.
The redone controls aren't perfect, but make the game a less daunting prospect than ever before. I prefer the old-school graphic settings, but it's nice to hotswap to the new camera when I need the flexibility.
It's an 8/10 remaster in my opinion; well worth a playthrough.