Using c++ without (most of) the standard library and avoiding operator overloads has made me like the language again. It's an extremely capable language, but my LORD is it bloated and overgrown. Using it like "c with classes" again is the way.

I can imagine that using just a subset of it is more comfortable and will introduce consistent programming behavior. I also wanted to upgrade to C++ and use it in the way you describe. But then came AI and got very distracted. DId you know AI actually is quite good at C? Much wow :)

The problem with c++ is that all of the old defaults are now bad practices, so to do anything right you need keywords everywhere.

Yes!!! That's what I've been saying about C devs for ages now: Just program C++ like it was C, then at least you have some damn features *if* you need them :P