TLOU2 is no masterpiece but then neither was the first one. 

The voice acting is stellar and some of the story beats are interesting, but if this was a 'gritty' movie or tv series it'd be forgotten in a week. The fact that it's lauded as masterful storytelling says more about your average game than the writing itself. When it does get made into a cringy 'dark' HBO series this much will become apparent.

TLOU2 is at its best when it leans into being what it wants to be: a cynical, angsty bloodbath. Playing as a knifey iron lesbian filled with piss, vinegar and adolescent fury as she carves her way through drab psuedo-military survivalists and Hare-Krishna serial killers is even more fun than it sounds. 

As far as the plot backlash, 50% is coming from people who didn't even play the game. 35% is coming from those who stopped playing it after Joel died and 15% stopped playing it after you switch to Abby. And no, watching an obviously scripted let's play where some obnoxious internet personality reiterates that it trash during every cutscene is not an honest way to experience the game. Joel died because he was a hateful, cynical, selfish, broken headcase who wanted another chance at feeling like a dad by any means necessary. But even if he was a paragon of virtue, it's the fucking apocalypse. The aggressively ever-present threat of death doesn't care about your character development.

You can't have it both ways. You can't love a story because of it's cold, unflinching portrayal of dystopian existence where the life of your loved ones can be snatched away in an instant, and then be pissed when the life of a character you love gets snatched away in an instant. If you feel entitled to have your sexy, rural, gravelly voiced daddy figure be immortal to the repercussions of his actions then you never wanted a post apocalyptic story, you wanted a survivalist power fantasy.

TLOU2's story is about as good as the first one. It's fine with moments of greatness. The gameplay is better and it looks better. It's less linear, but then there is more heel dragging with the flashback scenes. The 'Woke Agenda Neil Cuckman SJW' bullshit is just that, bullshit.

8.3/10 for the game and Abby is hot, would bang 8.5/10


EDIT: Oh and no one asked me but Cyberpunk2077 is gonna be a massive letdown. 

I'tll be an over-ambitious mess of loads of different mechanics that aren't polished enough to enjoy on their own. The illusion of size and choice will obscure wonky shooting mechanics, floaty jumps and bullet sponge enemies. The dialouge will probably be cringe and the story will either stick to the most basic anarchist, edgy hacker anti-hero tropes known to man or will overreach into something more complex and become nonsensical.

The game will be pretty but in the end it will just feel like a less polished Deus Ex in a more lifeless Los Santos.

Cyberpunk 2077 will be the Skyrim the next decade.