After beating it and sitting on it a few days, this is a worthy follow up to a game that had the bar set stupid high. Graphics, game mechanics, facial animations, all top notch as expected. There's no telling cutscene graphics from gameplay graphics. That was evident from the beginning when I didn't know I had control of Joel for a few seconds.
The progression through the world is what both part 1 and 2 do well. I don't understand the people that want to rush through this just to shyt on the ending because there's some really unique looking set pieces and environments in this game. Loved the atmosphere of it.
I knew it was coming but I didn't know when they were gonna kill Joel. It was definitely a bold move and they used it to jump start the story, so after the immediate shock of it happening I was ready for Seattle to go after Abby. I was locked in for all of Ellie's half of the story. All 3 days were dope and provided something different from the first. Exploring run down Seattle day 1 and escaping from the hospital. The Hillcrest neighborhood area with the dogs and the truck sequence with Jesse in Day 2. Going through more of the city to get to the Aquarium in Day 3. All of it was good
Wasn't expecting for Abby to grow on me like she did because any character that kills my favorite character from Part 1 would seem automatically unlikable. There were a lot of flashbacks that were necessary to tell the story and even though it was intentional to gain sympathy for Abby they worked on me. And to be honest her half of the story is way more intense than Ellie's so when you experience all that shyt (the ship, the woods, the apartments, the hospital basement) you got no choice but to respect her.
In her revenge quest Ellie lost Jesse, Tommy got maimed, Dina left with the baby, and her ability to play the guitar was taken (which was the last connection to Joel). I feel like she did all of it to try to get her purpose back in life but it ended up taking more from her the harder she pushed for payback. She also cost Abby everyone she cared about.
If Ellie's ultimate goal is giving her life purpose then the only way they can close out this story is to have her give herself up for a cure in part 3. The final bow on the story can be that it doesn't work, and Joel is redeemed in a way for keeping Ellie alive so they could at least spend a few more years together.