I love the game and wouldn't change a damn thing. The only "issue" with the writing that I can fathom, is that it's aiming too high for what the AAA gaming industry is. The first game was already very well-written and fairly unconventional in the gaming space. The ending, which pretty much made the first game for me, was somewhat controversial and isn't universally loved. I was shocked! I thought it was exceptional and unlike anything I had ever seen in the gaming space. The second game doubles down on everything that made the first game controversial and unconventional. The narrative choices, the pacing, the set of characters, the set of events, everything about it is attempting to elevate what video game storytelling had largely been up to that point. The level of vitriol directed at the game was unfortunate, but not completely unexpected. The Last of Us Part II is as arthouse as AAA video games had ever been up to 2020 and the audience wasn't ready for it. Luckily the reviews were stellar and ultimately the game got a ton of intense love, but the hatred is hard to forget. Unfortunately, a hefty portion of gamers are bigots and that was made very clear in the aftermath. I used to watch Angry Joe before the game, but after he was essentially reduced to a child ranting about the game and revealing what a huge transphobe he was, I never went back. I think I must have blocked a thousand people on Twitter back then, just because of the bigotry present in every comment section regarding the game. The leaks made the situation a lot worse because a ton of (unfounded) rumors started festering on largely right-wing spaces and they got loud enough that a good portion of gamers went in with preconceived notions and no intention of giving the game a chance. A lot of people had genuine issues with the game (as people do with any project that isn't to their liking), but I wish there had been more of that and less ranting, bigotry, and bad-faith arguments.
I will never forget how I felt after finishing TLOU Part II. Exhausted, amazed, completely beaten down. I've never felt anything like that after finishing a video game, just for the strength of the storytelling alone. It felt as if I had seen an arthouse film for the first time after a lifetime of blockbusters. I felt that for weeks, for months. The next game I played was Ghost of Tsushima, which I enjoyed tremendously, but I couldn't help but think what a disappointment it was to go back to regular video game writing, after such a revelation. It's a cool game, with a perfectly fine, trite, cliched, and entirely safe storyline that couldn't possibly offend anyone. That's what most big-budget games are and it's a little bit hurtful that there never might be another Part II.
but my opinion is still the same. Up until playing Persona 5R, tlour was the best video game I have ever played. 
