No idea how people can state x character isn't likeable when they know nothing about said character, see how they build the other sides perspective, action have consequences and rarely do we see those consequences come back to a past playable character. Joel was not a good person and had to pay for his sins. He lived a life of his own revenge after Sarah's death, his hate spread to his victims just the like virus spread cross the planet.
The pain/struggles of the world they've created shouldn't only be centered around Joel and Ellie, as a quote from Ellie in the first game "I've lost people too"







