so yes, this was visually a big jump from the first game but that doesn't make up for the less than stellar gameplay that wasn't improved on in any significant fashion. the set pieces are something of a spectacle in and of themselves but upon a replay their impact is diminished and the scales are tilted way too far towards combat versus exploration for my liking.

not sure what my disconnect is honestly. see so much talk about this being a masterclass in pacing or something and i feel like i played something else? with the combat overload that i complained about in the first game spreading across most of the game this go around (though it goes off the rails even further in the last eight chapters or so to make it worse) it just universally felt like a slog. the repetition of the cold open with a few trims and the attempts at diversifying what you're up to with the brainless puzzles being a flop didn't help, i guess.

my biggest takeaway with this revisit is that i just cannot stand Nathan Drake. he was annoying in the original in a somewhat harmless way but that's before you had multiple games of him. i think The Lost Legacy might come out on top when i get through this series if only because he's gone.