Great comments 'graaf, you’re the first comment I’ve read in this thread since I’ve been avoiding while I played. I also just finished a day or two ago and I had pretty close to the exact opposite feelings about the game :P
The game landed almost completely for me - I loved it. I’m still working through my feelings on exactly why, but I also felt virtually nothing for the relationship between Ellie and Joel in the first game, while I found these character arcs more compelling (excluding some of the Seraphite stuff in the second half).