I want to specify from the start that I played the game on PS5 with the enhanced patched (dynamic 4K resolution at 60 FPS). It was the first game that I popped into my PS5 right after buying one a few months ago. This game almost made my buy a PS4 Pro when it was announced, but when I read that most PS4 games will also play on PS5 I just waited a little longer. My review is based on the PS5 version of the game.
I had the play the game because I love the first one. I also did not listen to all those negative feedback based on the very biased opinions of players that did not even play the game. The game looks amazing from the start to the finish. I did not encounter any major bugs (I think I got stuck in an area without the possibility to advance and I had to restart a checkpoint). Just like with the first game, I paused it a lot to just look at the environments and how well they were made. It is a game that pleases the eye.
The a design point of view the game masks loading extremely well. There are long cutscenes that benefit from the power of the PS5 (the game loads in the background). You can only skip them after the game has finished loading (but why would you want to skip???). Besides these cutscenes there is no loading, the experience is very fluent. The PS5 patch makes the game even better at 60 FPS. It is an absolute joy to look at.
From a gameplay point of view, it did not take me too long to play it, having played the first game. There are of course subtle differences that are needed. You will get to play with quite a few characters besides Ellie and Joel. I liked the fact that the story is not linear. You can approach certain areas in a different way, but this is not a guns blazing game: you will have to be stealthy from time to time or you will not advance those areas. Gameplay is not always as stealthy as in the first game, but this is due to the fact that it is more visceral and even more violent than the first game. This is a subtle shift that does not alter the game's quality for me.
It was a joy to play it and I am looking forward to playing a possible multi-player mode (to the day of this review there are rumors that Naughty Dog did not give up on multi-player). I gave it a 9 because there are parts of the story that I do not agree with and because there are characters that I do not like (and this is not related to Ellie's sexuality or anything about that). Nonetheless this is a must play on PS5 if you enjoyed the first game even a little bit. I enjoyed every second of the game, I will definitely watch the HBO series and play any games that will be released in the future.