<blockquote>I am having trouble following the lore</blockquote>

It was the same for me and kind of still is even though I watched some youtube videos that explained it which made me appreciate it more. Still though, just the main gameplay look and the environment by itself for me was enough to get me hooked quite some time. Like many games, this one is just too long (and hard) for me to ever fully finish it. Maybe some day I might go back to it.