The game is way too long and bloated. It's really tiring.
Personally, I have to clearly disagree with this theory. For what Part II is, the length is just right. The feeling of time alone that is created by the structure of the game is simply magnificent. Every time I am in Seattle Day 2 - 3 with Ellie and then think back to the earlier set pieces, I always have this feeling that the events in Jackson happened a long time ago. Even though I played it "ingame" maybe only 3 - 5 hours ago. Nevertheless, the anger towards the Salt Lake crew and the desire for "justice" is unbroken.
It becomes particularly fascinating as soon as we are playing as Abby. From Abby's Seattle Day 2 at the latest, the game simply feels like a completely different game to me. On the other hand, this is also due to the different feel of the game with Abby, because the controls simply feel different. But you're also immersed in a completely different storyline and the feeling that was still present with Ellie the whole time is gone. Every time Ia m suddenly standing in front of the theater with Abby and Lev, everything suddenly seems surreal. It iss as if I'm standing in a different game again. You are simply brought back down to earth.
It would even be interesting to see how this whole sense of time would have changed if they had followed the plan with Seattle Day 1 - 5 and not just three days. For me, however, it is clear that the implementation worked perfectly as it is now and that speeding up/shortening the processes would not convey this whole feeling as it does now.
Many people are now saying that the Santa Barbara part in particular was unnecessary. But here too, I think it rounds off the atmosphere. At some point in Seattle, the monotony and the constant rain got on my nerves. Santa Barbara provided a breath of fresh air at such a late point in the game. That is why I think it's good that we did not finish the game in Seattle.
Fun side note: My first two playthroughs still took 22 - 25 hours. Since then, all my runs have been consistently between 14 - 17 hours. And this despite the fact that I always try to loot as much as possible/get as much artifacts as possible. I do not skip any cutscenes either. In other words: I am not even rushing through the game.
