I haven't played 2 yet, but I know the story, and it just seems oppressively bleak. So yeah, hoping they can inject some levity into the series.
I'll remain vague to prevent major spoilers for people new to TLOU.
But I think the most important part of liking 2 comes down to how much the player can relate to Abby and her group. The initial quest for vengeance felt pretty good and worked well, it was much more of a traditional (revenge) story. But then halfway into the game getting to her side my initial reaction wasn't very good. The game had to win me over (but did so by crafting an amazing group of new characters). I think the cast of the second half is equally well written when compared to any TLOU character and it made me feel uncomfortable about the acts I committed in the first half in hindsight. I feel like they took a big narrative risk with the structure. They could make it more accessible by simply adjusting the order of the story.
Still, I don't think it is necessarily too bleak. A lot of characters paid the highest price for their actions, but several come out of the plot alive, well, and with hope for the future.
Too bad you already know the story though, personally I thought it was one hell of a ride, about equal to the first.
Yeah, RE1 is more of a remaster than remake. It's essentially the original game remastered for modern platforms.
I'm pretty sure it's a remastered version of the remake that was originally a GameCube exclusive. I haven't played that version in a very long time but I remember enjoying it. I know they modernized some controls and stuff compared to the PS1 version but I wonder how it holds up today.
It was an HD remaster of the original game. I believe the GameCube exclusive you're thinking of is Resident Evil Zero.
The original Resident Evil has two versions on the Playstation 1 (the original and the directors cut), as well as an enhanced version on the Nintendo DS. This original version has this old school live action intro. On the Gamecube, however, they released a full on remake. All the recent HD remasters have been remasters of that remake.
The original version is a wonky cheesefest that has aged terribly, in my opinion. Resident Evil Remake, often referred to as REmake, is excellent (and the only tank control RE I enjoy).