First one was like 6/10 gameplay 9/10 story, second one is like 8/10 gameplay and 6/10 story

An unfortunate trade
Absolute ass pacing throughout the game is probably the biggest issue, along with the split stories lacking any like meaningful cohesion. I definitely won't get very hyped for the next installment. This was a one step forward two steps back sequel through and through.
All that said the good parts are great. I enjoyed the vibe of exploring Hawaii, and some of the story beats are a lot of fun to play through. Just unfortunate that it plays out more as a monster of the week sort of thing instead of the much more thematically consistent previous game