I really do not understand any of the prevailing criticisms this received at release. The vast majority of the story critiques are bad faith media illiteracy, and the more niche gameplay criticisms I remember hearing about just don't hold up to my experience (it's worth noting that I played this on the normal difficulty and that I played extremely aggressively, which I think both fits the tone of the story and the strengths of the gameplay systems the best. On high difficulty modes I think this could be quite frustrating).
I found this to be excellently paced with several arresting set pieces and a very nice mid-game gameplay switch up to go along with the change in perspective. The story feels entirely earned and consistently makes the most interesting choice, which is the best praise I feel a story can get.

I do have one complaint, but it's a heavy late game spoiler so be warned:
I REALLY wish the Rattlers didn't exist. They have no meaningful bearing on the story and are entirely disposable enemies to give the last act someone to fight. I think if Naughty Dog wanted to get Abby into the position Ellie finds her in at their final showdown they really could've found numerous better ways to do so, and if the final act needed disposable enemies to fight they should've just doubled down on the infected since they kinda already serve that function throughout the game. This game has such a thematically intertwined world and introducing an unambiguously evil faction of faceless goons to be slaughtered in the final two hours of the narrative feels like the only glaring misstep in a game otherwise strong.