It was a decent episode and I hope every episode is at least as good. I think there are essentially two reasons it is being so breathlessly praised:

1. Fans of the game are super happy to see it given the Prestige TV treatment - video games and video game adaptations are rarely taken this seriously. There’s also probably not a small section of TLOU’s gamer audience that don’t often watch shows that place that much emphasis on dramatic storytelling over world building, lore and action - which tend to be the basis of most genre TV shows.

2. The non gaming audience of TLOU probably weren’t expecting a video game adaptation to be given the Prestige TV Treatment and were likely expecting something closer to The Walking Dead or a Marvel show.

Simply put, it deviated from half the audiences expectations and exceeded the other half’s, which has lead to slightly inflated reviews from both.

Add to that a great one off performances by actors loved by both - the gamers love Ron Swanson, the non-gamers loved seeing Murray Bartlett getting his ass are in The White Lotus - and you’ve got a recipe for success, as well as a nagging sense that you’re being pissed on and told it’s raining.