After all the controversy, I wanted to play the whole game before passing any judgment. Now that I have, I can confidently say that the majority of the people who hate this game are just deeply uncomfortable with a story that robs them of comforting moral certitude, with clear good guys and bad guys (and maybe they're just homophobic or transphobic, too). Part 2 Is deeply faithful to the world and experience of part 1, and takes the things that were great about the original even further; damn close to perfection in my view.
DO NOT play this game if you don't want to suffer emotionally, be exposed to human cruelty and brutality, or be forced to introspect.
DO play this game if you want to be uncomfortable, want your preconceptions challenged, want to be forced to do things you'd rather not. It will make you love and hate both main characters, and challenge your ideas of what a protagonist even is.
As far as gameplay, it's pretty much the same as the first one, with some improvements. The story is really what stands out here.