So happy I decided to buy the first one on sale and decide for myself if this is a franchise I can get into. Didn't like it at all, felt way too punishing for all the stupidest reasons and didn't respect my time at all. Clearly one of those games where they expect you to have all day to obsess over it. It's also the type of game with a false image of decision making, most of the time you get railroaded into making the decisions they want you to make with the progression going in a singular direction it was intended to. To top it off the combat was awful IMO, with the gameplay being very slow to get through.
I just don't see the appeal of these games at all, but then again I don't like the Dark Souls style of games either. The praise for those always made me very weary of buying into hype and praise for games that don't really grab my interest. That and I completely distrust overwhelming industry praise after TLOU2 as well, that game basically signaled a massive divide between journalists, the media, and what I could genuinely find appealing. I've actually been at the point where if I see a game getting 9's and 10's by the journalists I immediately ask what's wrong with it and start looking for any signs or reports of the usual bullshit in it.