Why I'm making the review:
I've finally beaten TLoU2 on survivor difficulty- my second playthrough. I loathe and enjoy the game at the same time. There are many reviews online hating on the game because of the story, giving it a very low score on places like Metacritic and the Ph.D. youtube comment section. My voice is important because I've been a fan of the game/series since its preview at E3 in 2012. I've beaten the original TLoU on my PS3 (PlayStation 3) either 3-4 times, I've found all the collectibles, I've bought the remastered edition for the PS4 (PlayStation 4) and played that twice, completed the DLC "Left Behind", played TLoU2 for roughly 50 hours on two separate playthroughs (one on normal, one on survivor)... suffice to say that my voice holds more weight behind it.

Why I'm posting this review on FA:
Why are you reading this review on FA? This isn't just a porn site for furries, dummy. This is where I hold a platform, albeit small.


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Background
The Last of Us is one of the best games ever created, the emphasis is on the story. The gameplay oscillates between stealth, a casual stroll through the environment, heart-pounding gunfights, and tear-jerking emotional moments. For real: I cried probably 6 times playing the original game.

The gameplay and story are centered around two people for a majority of the time: Joel and Ellie. Joel is an Austin, Texas man who, before the outbreak, worked as a carpenter taking care of his daughter, Sarah. A single father, the beginning of the original TLoU started the player back in 2013 (when the outbreak starts). Spoiler alert: Sarah is killed by a soldier in a scene that will ALWAYS make me fucking cry. Twenty years past and Joel is an older man, between the ages of 45-55. He is a smuggler who works with a very strong woman named Tess in a military-occupied quarantine zone in what was Boston, Massachusetts. (Skips Robert story) Joel meets 14-Year Old Ellie (yes, born during the outbreak) and is tasked with taking her across the USA to create a cure (it is later found out that Ellie is immune to the parasitic fungal infection that turns humans into zombies. Stuff happens and many people are killed at the hands of Joel and Ellie. Spoiler alert: when it is found out the Ellie must die to create the cure, Joel decides Ellie's life is greater than finding the cure to save humanity. Joel tells Ellie a VERY big lie and she trusts him. Game ends.

In the next game, the player takes control of two characters: Ellie (who is now 19-Years old) and a new girl named Abby. The game makes it obvious that the characters are different, yet similar. They both have pregnant allies, they both are hellbent on revenge, and they both are strong female leads that the community typically doesn't see in gaming.

The reason why the community doesn't like the sequel (TLoU2) is mainly due to the story.

I will say this now: you will not enjoy the game if you've played the original TLoU game.
You may enjoy the game if this is your first experience.
This game is NOT for everyone.


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The Review (Spoiler Free)
Should YOU play the game? Yes. However, whether you enjoy it is up to you. I will copy the answer I've just given above...

"I will say this now: you will not enjoy the game if you've played the original TLoU game.
You may enjoy the game if this is your first experience.
This game is NOT for everyone."
~Me, 2 minutes ago

I've scored the game based on several factors (listed below) the final score is ... 6.7/10
Setting: Masterpiece, better than the first game 10/10
Story: See (The Problem) underneath this section 2/10
Characters: See (The Problem) underneath this section 2/10
Audio: Sounds Effects are amazing, music is alright 7/10
Visuals: 2020 AAA-quality graphics with few issues 9/10
Gameplay: Only slightly better than the original, which was pretty good 8/10
Quality: Pretty polished with not many issues 9/10


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The Problem (Spoiler Alert)
The problem is the story, specifically regarding the character and ambitions of Abby. The player is forced to play as her (NOT DLC) for roughly the same amount of time as Ellie (roughly 10 hours).
Why is Abby so hateable? She tortures and kills Joel, one of the most beloved characters in gaming, without choice, literally in the first hour of the entire game. After killing Joel, with Ellie watching, you play as Ellie with a goal to seek revenge on Abby. I can understand the intentions of the developers, but it's executed extremely poorly. However, after an encounter with Abby on Day 3 past Joel's death, the player goes back to Day 1 to play as Abby. Yes- you play as the character who killed Joel. The developers intended for the audience to grow an understanding behind Abby's intention, such as providing flashbacks to show that the doctor you killed in the first game has a family. However, it fails because Abby never once thinks about why her father was killed- the reason why we love Joel's character. His motivations. It gets worse when a year after the main story, the plot of the game gets thrown away. The reason Ellie wants to kill Abby is due to the fact that Abby tortured and killed Joel, her father figure. So, imagine why people hate the game when Ellie spares Abby. The player isn't given the choice- which I believe would save the story.


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The Setting (Spoiler Free)
Just as amazing as the first game with major graphical improvements. I love the settings of the urban environments the most, with beautiful tall grass and ferns covering what was once asphalt while vines grow on old, dilapidated buildings. Graphical effects, such as decent lighting effects (which were WAY better in the E3 gameplay footage), fog, smoke, fire, mold, dust... the look of this game is nothing short of breathtaking.


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The Story and Characters (Spoiler Free)
Even though the developers try to humanize Abby by showing the audience flashbacks of her friends and family, giving her a realistic-feeling fear of heights (that activates when looking down from a high place), having her optionally play with her 'government-subsidized' dog, vomiting at the sight of a friend's death... the developers simply fall short of (forcing) players that she's a good character. Giving her 10 hours of gameplay was a bad idea- I believe her story would've worked SO much better as a DLC.

Ellie has changed since her appearance is the previous game. This was done well at times and excruciating at other times. The person she was changed after Joel reveals his lie, which I thought was done well. However, I would expect Ellie to at least consider finishing the job of the previous game and attempting to find people to make a cure- a game that would have been SO much better than what we were given. The ending of the game is, as said earlier: "excruciating". I LOVE Ashley Johnson's work as Ellie and I know the story wasn't her fault.

The other characters in the game are rather bland. Tommy is decent (Joel's brother), Dina is a nice addition, Jesse is a "just okay" addition, Owen is a great addition, Mel is also "just okay", and everyone else is unneeded and/or annoying. I won't count common enemies in the character category, but I absolutely believe that these enemies are people (when they aren't aiming perfectly at my head from behind cover).

Also, I would like to thank Naughty Dog for their generally good representation of LGBT+ characters, specifically Lev and Ellie/Dina.


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The Audio (Spoiler Free)
The sound effects, speech, and environmental sounds are almost fully realistic. There were a few complaints of stereo issues, but I haven't experienced it within my playthroughs. The music wasn't as groundbreaking as the first game. I love you, Gustavo Santaolalla, but your music/the use of your music in TLoU2 is underwhelming. Also, to whoever recorded the glass breaking sounds, bless your soul(s).


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The Visuals (Spoiler Free)
Great- specifically fluid dynamics, soft lighting, what I want to call ray-tracing, and the blood. I've seen the best blood in this violent video game than I've ever seen in a violent video game. Aside from a few graphical inconsistencies and glitches, the game is absolutely beautiful. However... I want to say that I liked how Ellie looked in the original TLoU compared to her updated character model in TLoU2. It's a personal gripe, so I won't subtract any golden stars.


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The Gameplay and Quality (Spoiler Free)
Blind would people probably have a better time playing TLoU2- and that isn't an ableist joke! Accessibility is tackled well in this game, giving people who have difficulties such as physical and mental disabilities additions that provide all players with the equal opportunity to play a (insert your favorite adjective) game.
In general, the gameplay is only slightly upgraded compared to the previous game. Stealth is slightly better. Enemy A.I. is slightly better. Weapons are slightly better. Weapon upgrades are slightly better (as someone who genuinely appreciates unneeded animations that enhance the realism of the game, even if scratching the pistol with a nail file doesn't do shit to help stability).
Again, there are a few errors/glitches in the game. Ally A.I. is typically underwhelming- usually standing still and doing a good job at being invisible. In all honesty, I was actually looking forward to better ally A.I. because the first game did a rather awful job having them hide. However, at least they DID something during combat- TLoU2 really likes having the player do all the work while the ally just hides behind a desk and do nothing, firing and hitting very rarely on occasion.


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The Conclusion
As I said before- the game is decent.
It's a great game if you haven't played the original. It's a slap in the face and a kick in the ovaries if you did.
I hope to god there isn't a sequel and Naughty Dog is able to fix the ending. I also want Naughty Dog to inform the public what happened with the storyline leak prior to the release of the game SINCE IT SEEMS KIND OF IMPORTANT.
If you managed to read this entire review, I thank you dearly. Please be safe and be comfortable.