Finished it after 35 hours. On survivor difficulty.
Instant classic.
I saw the leaks and this still ended up as the most engrossing story I've ever played in a video game. I knew what was coming but it was so perfectly paced and executed better than any video game has any right to. They made me hate the new characters, then love them(except Mel, fuk Mel). Made me love the returning characters even more than a whole lot less.
How they made me Love this Brolic bytch I don't know, but they did. Abby and Lev are the best and don't tell me otherwise.
Even better than the story? Everything in the gameplay is exponentially better. Exploration, movement, controls, gunplay etc and the combat arenas are as well designed as Dishonored 2. I am so impressed and never would have expected a studio like Naughty Dog to pull it off.
I have to play through it another time to see where it ends up on my personal list but this is an EASY GOTY, and easily the best AAA game ever made.
What an ending brehs. I think I experienced what you call Catharsis.
Good fukking to any big budget title trying to one up this because all I can think about is playing this at 60fps on a PS5 then playing whatever Naughty Dog and Druckmann have planned next. Jesus.