First off, this is a very bleak tale. There are rays of sunlight in there, but it's mostly darkness. Don't play this game if you're not in the right headspace.
Gameplay wise, I feel the game really forces you to mix up your playing styles. I wanted to be stealthy and not kill anyone as much as I could, but that's very difficult. At least for me. And because you can't quick save, but have to rely on checkpoints (which, to be fair, are mostly pretty generous) I quickly abandoned that ambition to avoid getting frustrated. That said, if you just go with the flow and play opportunistically, there are a lot of ways and tools to get through the gameplay arena's.
The environmental puzzles are pretty straightforward and not particularly difficult. They usually focus on one mechanic in a confined space. They seem to be there to mix up the pace and offer some gameplay variety, rather than challenge you.
Don't expect to be playing all the time, though. There are a lot of sections where you're just walking while listening to exposition. I don't mind these sections at all, but they are numerous.
I have to admit I'm not particularly critical when it comes to stories in video games. That said, the game succeeded in making me care about the characters and their fates, and after finishing the game I looked up story interpretations online, which I don't often do. I recommend Lord JLO's video "Unraveling the Prima Macula through Alchemy: A Plague Tale Analysis" on Youtube. The game's story left an impression on me that games don't often achieve, so make of that what you will.
Also, I think the English voice actress for Amicia did an amazing job. It's a very melodramatic performance, but that's the entire game, so in that context it comes across as very sincere and believable. The rest of the English voice cast is fine. Sometimes the dialogue and heartfelt moments can feel a bit cheesy, especially the souvenirs, not because they're particularly badly written, but because the in-game facial expressions and animations just can't handle the subtlety that's required. The fact that you can freely move the camera around during some of these scenes also doesn't help. As a collectible, the souvenirs are great, though. They really add flavour and depth to the experience.
The game looks amazing, although the HDR doesn't seem particularly well implemented and the ray tracing seems buggy. Also, the water often looks a bit too shiny and oily, which is typical of most video game water, but because the static textures (like rocks and other surfaces that don't have to move) look very realistic, it can be jarring. Since there are a lot of scenes with water, it stood out to me.
A thing that stood out to me in a positive way is the music, relying on a chamber choir (which I feel is pretty unique for a video game), a small ensemble of (seemingly) time appropriate instruments, and electronic percussion and drones. To me it fits the game's focus on the characters interact with the world and the plague, rather than emphasizing the scope of the plague and how it leaves its mark on the world as a whole. It's a more intimate musical approach, instead of going for bombast and epicness.
Great looking game with decent gameplay and a touching story that left me an emotional wreck at the end.
