While some find the level design to be a step back from 1, I disagree, the frustration it can add certainly creates tension, but in a way that benefits the games story and themes tenfold.
The story is both deeply layered, interesting, and proves its point in such a beautiful manner.
The Soundtrack is possibly one of the best in gaming, and the muddy grungy graphical style helps sell this bleak world incredibly.
One of, if not my favorite game of all time, certainly one of the most influential pieces of art I have experienced in my life.

An important artistic moment for videogames, where the gameplay is made un-fun on purpose and it WORKS.
Playing this game is hell for the best reasons and a knowledge of the events and climate of the industry surrounding its release are needed for full appretiation of this game.
If you are the type of player to care only about gameplay this game is NOT for you, hell if you havent played mgs1 and don't care about the industry and videogames as an art form this game also is not for you.
If you are interested to see Kojima slap the gaming industry in 2001 and predict the future of both games and society in general, this game is for you.

Everything really came together for me in the last two chapters of this game.

Now, this game is definitely not without its flaws. The combat felt needlessly complex at times (I don't think I scratched the surface of its mechanics), the voice acting made me cringe so many times (especially compared to XC1's stellar voice acting) and that fucking compass got me lost more times than I care to admit.

But this game's story was incredible, especially the last 1/3. Seeing how all these seemingly disparate heroes and villains intertwine was a joy to watch, and Monolith Soft continue to be masters at creating rich, vibrant worlds with fascinating lore. Everything clicked for me towards the end of this game, and although XC1 still takes the #1 spot over it, this game is definitely special in its own way.