Moving through the story you'll encounter intense survival-horror mixed with some really heavy dramatic moments that hit hard. The infected encounters with clickers and stalkers keep that classic terrifying tension going but its the character drama between ellie and abby that really drives things forward. When you're sneaking around wlf territory, make good use of tall grass and getting under vehicles since the ai is pretty observant, and explosive arrows give you some nice tactical options when things get messy.

The emotional weight definitely hits different than typical horror-action stuff, especially when you're dealing with themes of revenge and grief, so be ready for some intense story beats. Combat feels brutal and grounded with the new dodge mechanics letting you barely slip past attacks, while the listening mode helps spot threats through walls which is super helpful when plotting your approach. Interesting thing about the stealth - enemies communicate really well with each other so staying hidden actually takes some careful planning.

Remember the environments work really well for both combat and story moments, switching between tense horror sections and these quieter character moments that pack some serious emotional punch. Just dont expect typical action game pacing since this one takes its time building up the psychological impact of everything that happens.