I just finished the series, so here's my take. Oh, and I haven't played the game (I'm not a console gamer, and from my understanding, it wouldn't be my kind of game anyway).
First, I had read some opinions beforehand, and based on them, I started with slightly negative expectations. I'm sure you'll know what these were mostly about.
The actual show was a positive surprise. Sure, it doesn't bring anything new to the post-(zombie)apocalyptic sub-genre, but it succeeds in telling an entertaining story. It's surprisingly free of wokeness and largely avoids the black-and-white worldview.
My main issue was the overuse of extended flashbacks (often involving characters who don't even appear outside them). Ellie's adventure in the mall was by far the worst of them, and the gay couple's backstory was the best (it was needed but went on for far too long).
Ellie and Joel were good characters and delightfully morally ambiguous. Ramsey and Pascal did an excellent job of portraying them. Except for the flashbacks, the pacing was great, and the ruined world looked fabulous.
The season's ending was weird, though. So abrupt and mid-scene that it felt more like an ad break than a season break.
I do think it's trying to offer a comparatively nuanced approach in regards to the different groups that Joel and Ellie encounter
I agree. Even the communist utopia, referred to earlier in the thread, was 1) declared to be a solution unfit for large pre-apocalypse communities (aka countries) and 2) keeping itself safe by demonstrations of force and over-the-top violence towards outsiders.
I liked how everyone was acting on reasonable (or at least understandable) motives instead of being merely good or bad people.
I might even give the season 4/5 (at the very least 3.5).