The story of the Last of Us would have worked with two changes:
1. We don't fight the rebels at the end and we have no information similar to Ellie.
One of the worst of the story, was the forced decision to save Ellie against her wish. I feel like the developers and me have a clear misunderstanding. The journey makes it clear, that the world is shit show and I was all in with Eliie, taking this chance to save the world. I guess, the developers actually wanted to show, that people working together and loving each other can overcome even the harshest environments. But there were many points in the story, where this wasn't enough to save them. The game forced Joel's opinion on me, what wasn't elegant at all and I hated the long final fight because of it.
2. Have Ellie leaving or fighting Joel at the end
Being such a selfish asshole like Joel needed to have consequences. He lied to her (which she clearly knows) and he became a mentally unstable person, which she can't trust and possible would drag her down. The game ends at the worst possible point and didn't felt concluded. If it's "open to interpretation", than it would be inconsistent. The story-telling up to this point was very straightforward with both characters. It just felt like sequel-bait.
And to be on topic, yes, the gameplay is very mediocre with some very bad examples of level-design.
I tried to shoot the guy with the MG, before Ellie and the two brothers would walk down the road, through the window, he was shooting. Turned out, there was nobody their and a ghost was shooting the MG. The guy was gone, so they could play the cut-scene, where he attacks you from behind. Very weird decision.
Also at the part, which is the main point of the OP, I could not continue the game, since I couldn't open the door at the end and enemies were spawning infinitely. Turned out, you HADE TO FAIL at stealth, so that Eliie can shoot somebody, so that the following cut-scene actually make sense. The gameplay truly was the bitch for the story...