I recently finished the game on pc and boy am I torn. Firstly I want to go over what I enjoyed.

Combat

It's hard to put into words what parts of combat I enjoyed most. It may be how visceral it is or the fluidity of it. I loved constantly running out of ammo and having to use random things on the ground to win a fight.

The AI was excellent with them constantly flanking, out-maneuvering, and mourning for dead comrades.

And that's if you engage with things head on. The stealth in the game, while not as complex as metal gear, is very serviceable and is a totally viable play style that is extremely enjoyable.

Honestly I had more fun in the rogue-like mode and encounters than I did with the main story. Which brings us to...

The Story

I really enjoyed the story of the first "Last of Us" and I think what made it so great was Joel & Ellie. They had a great dynamic that really held your attention for the breadth of the game.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON

Spoilers

Killing Joel off is not a bad idea in it of itself. It's a powerful move that did make an impact on me at my first playthrough. But my god they do nothing with it. His death and the vengeance story that falls after is twisted into some sick Zionist propaganda. I really hate how the WLF and Sepharites are handled. I could explain it all but vice made a pretty decent article about it.

My overall opinion on the game is I really disliked the story. Not just because of the propoganda but also because half the characters are terribly unlikable. Abby is described as a piece of shit in the story. And I uh. Honestly agree.

My favorite character in the game has to be Lev. It's crazy what happens when you make a character likable.

This is the end to my semi-rant about a game I didn't enjoy as much as I would have liked to.