First of all, I don't like the character of Zoe and I don't like the way her voice actress is portraying her. She's not the only annoying character, but you spend an awful lot of time with her. That aspect stopped being a big issue for me after the other two playable characters have been introduced.
Dialog is all over the place. When used to push the story forward, it's usually fine, at times even inspiring, but many parts used for fleshing out the characters are incredibly cheesy and unconvincing. Not to mention that sometimes it just keeps on going and going and going... Interestingly enough, I didn't mind that in TLJ, but it bothers me here. Maybe it's because the game has moved into a more cinematic territory where such lengthy and slow dialog sequences seem more out of place.
And yes, swear words are sometimes used gratuitously, but not always.
The story is becoming more interesting the further you get, even though the buildup is rather slow and the early parts aren't particularly exciting. Made even worse by sometimes painfully bad dialog, they were boring the hell out of me. Now it's quite gripping and I'm dying to see what happens next.
Puzzles are on the easy side, but there are some more creative ones several hours into the game. I hated running errands with Zoe in Marcuria, why are such tedious fetch quests still allowed in games? I also had problems with the melody puzzle, couldn't have found any hints so I solved it by randomly trying out different combinations. All in all, they're extremely easy, but enjoyable when supported by other gameplay elements (stealth and urgency of some situations, which really add to the immersion).
Combat is serviceable once you accept its limitations, but it's really miles and miles below the fluid and engaging encounters of today's action (and even action adventure) games. Stealth is simplified a lot, but it works fine in context of puzzle-solving. On its own it wouldn't stand a chance.
Visuals are gorgeous from the artistic standpoint, even though the game is not a technological marvel (some very nice shaders are used, though). Animation often leaves a lot to be desired, characters are somewhat too stiff which is especially noticeable during the lengthy dialog sequences. In that regard, HL2 leaves this game in the dust.
Well, I think that about covers it. Anything particular you'd want me to elaborate on? I'd go back to playing it, but they're showing Deliverance on TV.
