This review contains spoilers
After completing it i cannot stop thinking about the game. The game has made me feel things i have never felt before. In some ways its its an absolute masterclass while in others its borderline sickening. Its the most miserable game i have ever played and i think that’s exactly what naughty dog were aiming for. Its undeniably one of the most emotional stories thats ever been told. I understand what naughty dog were trying to do and the more i think about it the more i like the game. Joels death was heartbreaking even though hes an incredibly flawed human being and for him to be killed so unceremoniously is horrible to watch but i think it really works as a hook into ellies story and it really gives you as the player the motivation to go out with ellie for vengeance. And if you take the flashbacks we are given into account its even more powerful and tragic. When joel and ellie return to Jackson after their life changing adventure in the first game, joel an extremely broken man finally finds purpose in ellie. However when ellie starts fitting in at jackson she no longer really has a need for joel and we see how joel awkwardly tries to repair their relationship and its hard not to feel bad for joel. Ellie is the last thing joel has and he desperately doesn’t want to lose her. This relationship is only worsened by joels lie which ellie soon sees past. She threatens to leave jackson if joel doesnt tell her the truth. Joel, desperate for ellie to stay admits the truth and ellie is devastated by it and tells joel to stay away from her. A Heartbreaking moment for joel. But he regrets that he didnt let ellie live the life she wanted. And the irony is that even in death joel still does this, the fact that ellie never got the opportunity to repair their relationship and forgive joel which is the reason that ellie so badly wants revenge so when she is about to kill abby by forgiving her she is also forgiving joel and now thats shes done that theres no reason for her to kill abby thus ending the “cycle of violence” The real theme of the game is forgiveness not revenge. Its not until a year later that ellie finally talks to joel again and it just so happens to be the day before his death. The two talk and ellie suggest that she wants to work towards forgiveness (just thinking about this beautiful scene gets me teary) joel is overwhelmed with happiness that it draws him to tears and thats the last time the two speak. Ellies revenge isnt just about avenging someone she loved. It was the fact that she never got the opportunity to repair that relationship. Abby represents an opposite of ellie, she is avenging someone she loved. Abby is an evil person and i believe she is to be hated but the fact that she lost her father to joel is understandable. Abby eventually realises that killing joel changed nothing and didnt help her pain at all. However the second abby section of the game is far too long and is not as interesting as the ellie one also i think the story would have benefited from less flashbacks and more stuff told in chronological order, this simple change would add so much more tension and the structure of the game wouldn't be so muddled which in turn would help the games pacing . Its one of the most memorable experiences i expect i will ever have as far as the entertainment industry goes, it will traumatise you and upset you to the point where you feel like quitting. Neil clearly wanted to try something new after the last of us. That being said the game of course is visually beautiful and the world building is excellent, the sound design is impeccable: from the shriek of a clicker echoing through a subway tunnel to the crunch of the shotgun. The soundtrack is also brilliant my boy Gustavo has teamed up with Mac Quayle from Mr robot and they have created something on par with the original. Its good to note though that Gustavo did the best tracks lol. The gameplay is very engaging, the exploration is fascinating and levels are often very open and extremely detailed. The combat is brutal and intense and the enemy designs are often terrifying, wether its the whistling of the cult like seraphytes or the slow intense engagements with groups of infected stalkers. The 1 on 1 melee fights are cool too and the brutality here is clocked up to 11. Another surprising thing that you might not expect from a naughty dog game are the genuinely well done boss fights. Confrontations with the overhauled infected bloaters are super intense and there is another encounter later on in the game with a new kind of infected that gets your heart pumping and keeps you moving, its very reminiscent of something out of resident evil. Overall i respect the game for what it was trying to do and i really like some parts of it but overall the plot is a bit of a mess and im not sure if i could recommend the game to anyone because it gets you so depressed but if you are feeling up to it, play it.
I'm still in the midst of figuring out how I truly feel about the story, but it's a truly phenomenal game overall. I don't think it's as good as the first one, but it comes damn close.
Update: After several days, I came back and finished The Last of Us: Part II in a single sitting. Upon completion, I can safely say that I was wrong: Part II is a solid game. However, it's far from perfect.
There are so many moments scattered throughout that are worth the experience, both of heartbreak and of hope. It's also mind-blowingly beautiful to the eyes and ears. Furthermore, I dig the combat. Then again, it definitely does outstay its welcome and becomes altogether sluggish to get through by the end.
As mentioned, I can't say that it's perfect; far from it. The pacing can be trying, some characters are one-dimensional, dialogue can be cringe-worthy, and the experience as a whole is simply much too long. I also ran into several bugs, a few puzzles that felt pointless, and often felt as if the narrative was trying way too hard to be emotionally manipulative. The cliches and tropes within more than once made me reach the point of laughter.
But, overall, I enjoyed it. If some content were to be cut, some quality of life issues to be resolved, and some plot conveniences taken out, my opinion would likely be exponentially more positive. As it stands, though? The Last of Us: Part II is a game I'll often look back on. However, I certainly won't always be looking back on it fondly.
Initial Review: After many hours of loving The Last of Us: Part II, I began to loathe it for a variety of reasons. Without going into spoilers, there is much to be said for heeding the old saying that less is more. The creators of this game certainly did not.
For those first hours, I was hooked: combat felt fantastic, exploration was enticing, and the narrative was solid. It felt a little soapy at times and nothing to do with romance clicked with me. But, besides those qualms, I simply found it amazing.
And then: I didn't. I felt as if a practical joke was being pulled on me, but then it kept going. And going. Until I could no longer stand it. Maybe someday I'll be able to play The Last of Us: Part II and not walk away with a sour taste in my mouth. For now, I must deal with the immense disappointment I am left with.
As a game with so much potential, brilliance, and wonder, it truly wastes it all in the pursuit of being different. It's certainly novel, as it wastes its potential in a manner that is exceptionally bamboozling and unique; a reference for the ages on how not to structure narrative nor make a point to your audience. (Original Score: 4/10)
Content: Single-Player Campaign
Difficulty: Moderate
Source: PlayStation Store
Input: DualShock 4
Display: TV
Audio: Headphones
Location: Home
Audience: Solo & Accompanied
Tweaks & Mods: N/A (None)
There are so many moments scattered throughout that are worth the experience, both of heartbreak and of hope. It's also mind-blowingly beautiful to the eyes and ears. Furthermore, I dig the combat. Then again, it definitely does outstay its welcome and becomes altogether sluggish to get through by the end.
As mentioned, I can't say that it's perfect; far from it. The pacing can be trying, some characters are one-dimensional, dialogue can be cringe-worthy, and the experience as a whole is simply much too long. I also ran into several bugs, a few puzzles that felt pointless, and often felt as if the narrative was trying way too hard to be emotionally manipulative. The cliches and tropes within more than once made me reach the point of laughter.
But, overall, I enjoyed it. If some content were to be cut, some quality of life issues to be resolved, and some plot conveniences taken out, my opinion would likely be exponentially more positive. As it stands, though? The Last of Us: Part II is a game I'll often look back on. However, I certainly won't always be looking back on it fondly.
Initial Review: After many hours of loving The Last of Us: Part II, I began to loathe it for a variety of reasons. Without going into spoilers, there is much to be said for heeding the old saying that less is more. The creators of this game certainly did not.
For those first hours, I was hooked: combat felt fantastic, exploration was enticing, and the narrative was solid. It felt a little soapy at times and nothing to do with romance clicked with me. But, besides those qualms, I simply found it amazing.
And then: I didn't. I felt as if a practical joke was being pulled on me, but then it kept going. And going. Until I could no longer stand it. Maybe someday I'll be able to play The Last of Us: Part II and not walk away with a sour taste in my mouth. For now, I must deal with the immense disappointment I am left with.
As a game with so much potential, brilliance, and wonder, it truly wastes it all in the pursuit of being different. It's certainly novel, as it wastes its potential in a manner that is exceptionally bamboozling and unique; a reference for the ages on how not to structure narrative nor make a point to your audience. (Original Score: 4/10)
Content: Single-Player Campaign
Difficulty: Moderate
Source: PlayStation Store
Input: DualShock 4
Display: TV
Audio: Headphones
Location: Home
Audience: Solo & Accompanied
Tweaks & Mods: N/A (None)
The Last of Us is one of the best games I have ever played.
This is not an unpopular opinion, I’m sure you know, as The Last of Us put into the public eye a strong focus on narrative in video games while also balancing it with one of the most engaging combat systems I’ve seen in a survival horror game. The design of its combat paired with the excellent pacing of its story made it easily one of the most powerful games of the last generation.
I was not looking forward to a sequel; I was almost dreading one. The ending of that first game is so beautifully ambiguous that giving definitive meaning to it could only ruin it. Joel and Ellie's relationship had been so perfectly played out that there was nothing a sequel could possibly add to their dynamic, I thought.
But somehow those sick, naughty dogs found a way to not only balance the intention of that ending with its new story, but elevate it to heights it had not seen before. Never would I have expected this game to show so much respect to its prequel, and still expand even further upon its themes and characters without eliminating the choice that Joel made.
I could go on and on about Ellie's journey and what it means for both her and Joel, but it’s entirely worth experiencing yourself. The kind of complicated, personal questions it asks you are genuinely thought provoking enough to warrant a playthrough from that alone.
But that isn’t all Part II has to offer, because the already rich gameplay structure of Part I is also expanded upon, turning the original’s Resident Evil 4 into full-on Metal Gear Solid 3 territory. The amount of new craftable items, unlockable weapons and upgrades, enemy variety, verticality, open-ended level design – it’s all to the absolute benefit of this game making it one of if not the most enjoyable Naughty Dog games to just pick up and play ever. I can almost guarantee that more than half of my time playing this game will be in exclusively the Encounter Select.
The Last of Us Part II improves on the original in so many different ways, that it almost competes with its predecessor in quality. there is no way to say that lightly. Naughty Dog have beaten all conceivable odds and created not only a wonderful game, but a sequel that should stand as a symbol of what any continuation of a game should strive to be.
The Last of Us Part II is one of the best games I have ever played.
This is not an unpopular opinion, I’m sure you know, as The Last of Us put into the public eye a strong focus on narrative in video games while also balancing it with one of the most engaging combat systems I’ve seen in a survival horror game. The design of its combat paired with the excellent pacing of its story made it easily one of the most powerful games of the last generation.
I was not looking forward to a sequel; I was almost dreading one. The ending of that first game is so beautifully ambiguous that giving definitive meaning to it could only ruin it. Joel and Ellie's relationship had been so perfectly played out that there was nothing a sequel could possibly add to their dynamic, I thought.
But somehow those sick, naughty dogs found a way to not only balance the intention of that ending with its new story, but elevate it to heights it had not seen before. Never would I have expected this game to show so much respect to its prequel, and still expand even further upon its themes and characters without eliminating the choice that Joel made.
I could go on and on about Ellie's journey and what it means for both her and Joel, but it’s entirely worth experiencing yourself. The kind of complicated, personal questions it asks you are genuinely thought provoking enough to warrant a playthrough from that alone.
But that isn’t all Part II has to offer, because the already rich gameplay structure of Part I is also expanded upon, turning the original’s Resident Evil 4 into full-on Metal Gear Solid 3 territory. The amount of new craftable items, unlockable weapons and upgrades, enemy variety, verticality, open-ended level design – it’s all to the absolute benefit of this game making it one of if not the most enjoyable Naughty Dog games to just pick up and play ever. I can almost guarantee that more than half of my time playing this game will be in exclusively the Encounter Select.
The Last of Us Part II improves on the original in so many different ways, that it almost competes with its predecessor in quality. there is no way to say that lightly. Naughty Dog have beaten all conceivable odds and created not only a wonderful game, but a sequel that should stand as a symbol of what any continuation of a game should strive to be.
The Last of Us Part II is one of the best games I have ever played.
This review does not contain spoilers for Part II.
One of if not the most ambitious game story I've ever experienced. Glad to see this site is free from the review-bombing on day 1 that metacritic has had to endure. Interesting to see how the score has been trickling up now people have actually had a chance to FINISH the game. I predict that in time people will give this game the respect it deserves, even if they aren't entirely won over by the story.
I actually really admire Naughty Dog and Neil Druckmann for attempting to interrogate the morality of the first game's closing decision. What Joel did was selfish, although understandable, which is why TLOU I's ending was so effective. Part II opens up the world with new factions that expand upon the narrower scope of the original. I personally prefer the approach of Part I due to its simplicity but find Part II to be a much more thought provoking narrative that raises ideological and moral quandaries that have you question the players you inhabit during its approx 30 hour game-time. To play as a character that acts in ways the player may not condone, outside of the choice to make that happen, opens up extremely interesting possibilities for how video games can probe feelings in the player they may not particularly like about themselves. Druckmann seems to be the only video game writer in town that writes dialogue that seems sourced from reality, and comparable to scripts written for TV and Film. The jump in narrative quality between Uncharted 1-3 and 4 best displays this example. It's hard to feel for characters in games with emphasis on story when they don't feel like recognisable human beings. Let's face it, most video game writing is poor when compared to television and film, mediums the industry is obsessed with trying to replicate. This isn't to say games with simple stories and wooden characters are bad, because game-play is always paramount.
For years most games have acted as power fantasies that seek to empower the player. To see a game that puts you in the shoes of those driven but hatred instead of virtue was a refreshing change of pace from most other games I have played. The greyness in character evoked similar feelings as playing most From Software games. Games that, when interrogated, could make the case for the player being the villain. Of course, I don't see it as simple as that and would prefer games to experiment with characters and scenarios that depict people for who they are - flawed, not a hero, or a villain.
I'll admit that some of the structural elements of the game's story did begin to become a bit haphazard in their presentation, with constant flashbacks and flash-forwards punctuating a large portion of the game. However, as a fan of LOST, flashbacks aren't the pet peeve that many others find them to be. I can forgive a whole lot of plot inconsistencies and expand my suspension of belief to quite a large scale if the story presents interesting ideas, which this game does better than almost every other game. If you are one to pick a part a story because of plot holes/inconsistencies, then this game may not be for you.
The game-play however should convert most, and is for the most part the most successful Naughty Dog has ever been at the marriage of game-play and story. As already stated, game-play is paramount to a good game, which I think a lot of game developers miss these days with more emphasis going into making the game well presented instead of actually fun to play (I'm looking at you, Red Dead 2). Part II is one of the rare instances where both parties can be pleased, those that want a game that is interesting to play, and those want to have an experience. I believe there is a distinction between those two.
I found myself consistently impressed by the emphasis on environmental storytelling and moments of interesting game-play subversion. One moment had me attacked whilst in a situation the game had previously taught me was safe, which didn't feel cheap, because the game world supported this. I can't express how hard it for games to get moments like these right.
Many of my gripes with their past work has been with their intentions for the player's experience often not accounting for how the player would eventually approach the game. With games so heavily lent on player experience and immersion, it is far too easy to feel a disconnect from the developer's intentions. I think I may have gotten lost maybe once in the entire play-through, compared to the PTSD-inducing lack of clarity on where to go next on the first three Uncharted games. The game felt free to traverse in my own way and times where the game takes control and corrals you into the next section didn't break that immersion, as it felt in tune with how I was playing. The way the game caters to how you approach it without breaking immersion is extraordinary. Naughty Dog has always struggled with this and they have never done it better than they have here.
This game will stay with me for a long time and I look forward to how people view the game down the line, when it has had chance to sink in. If you separate yourself from the discourse surrounding this game (not an easy task), and instead surrender yourself to it, you will find one of the best games released on the PS4, and arguably Naugthy Dog's crowning achievement.
One of if not the most ambitious game story I've ever experienced. Glad to see this site is free from the review-bombing on day 1 that metacritic has had to endure. Interesting to see how the score has been trickling up now people have actually had a chance to FINISH the game. I predict that in time people will give this game the respect it deserves, even if they aren't entirely won over by the story.
I actually really admire Naughty Dog and Neil Druckmann for attempting to interrogate the morality of the first game's closing decision. What Joel did was selfish, although understandable, which is why TLOU I's ending was so effective. Part II opens up the world with new factions that expand upon the narrower scope of the original. I personally prefer the approach of Part I due to its simplicity but find Part II to be a much more thought provoking narrative that raises ideological and moral quandaries that have you question the players you inhabit during its approx 30 hour game-time. To play as a character that acts in ways the player may not condone, outside of the choice to make that happen, opens up extremely interesting possibilities for how video games can probe feelings in the player they may not particularly like about themselves. Druckmann seems to be the only video game writer in town that writes dialogue that seems sourced from reality, and comparable to scripts written for TV and Film. The jump in narrative quality between Uncharted 1-3 and 4 best displays this example. It's hard to feel for characters in games with emphasis on story when they don't feel like recognisable human beings. Let's face it, most video game writing is poor when compared to television and film, mediums the industry is obsessed with trying to replicate. This isn't to say games with simple stories and wooden characters are bad, because game-play is always paramount.
For years most games have acted as power fantasies that seek to empower the player. To see a game that puts you in the shoes of those driven but hatred instead of virtue was a refreshing change of pace from most other games I have played. The greyness in character evoked similar feelings as playing most From Software games. Games that, when interrogated, could make the case for the player being the villain. Of course, I don't see it as simple as that and would prefer games to experiment with characters and scenarios that depict people for who they are - flawed, not a hero, or a villain.
I'll admit that some of the structural elements of the game's story did begin to become a bit haphazard in their presentation, with constant flashbacks and flash-forwards punctuating a large portion of the game. However, as a fan of LOST, flashbacks aren't the pet peeve that many others find them to be. I can forgive a whole lot of plot inconsistencies and expand my suspension of belief to quite a large scale if the story presents interesting ideas, which this game does better than almost every other game. If you are one to pick a part a story because of plot holes/inconsistencies, then this game may not be for you.
The game-play however should convert most, and is for the most part the most successful Naughty Dog has ever been at the marriage of game-play and story. As already stated, game-play is paramount to a good game, which I think a lot of game developers miss these days with more emphasis going into making the game well presented instead of actually fun to play (I'm looking at you, Red Dead 2). Part II is one of the rare instances where both parties can be pleased, those that want a game that is interesting to play, and those want to have an experience. I believe there is a distinction between those two.
I found myself consistently impressed by the emphasis on environmental storytelling and moments of interesting game-play subversion. One moment had me attacked whilst in a situation the game had previously taught me was safe, which didn't feel cheap, because the game world supported this. I can't express how hard it for games to get moments like these right.
Many of my gripes with their past work has been with their intentions for the player's experience often not accounting for how the player would eventually approach the game. With games so heavily lent on player experience and immersion, it is far too easy to feel a disconnect from the developer's intentions. I think I may have gotten lost maybe once in the entire play-through, compared to the PTSD-inducing lack of clarity on where to go next on the first three Uncharted games. The game felt free to traverse in my own way and times where the game takes control and corrals you into the next section didn't break that immersion, as it felt in tune with how I was playing. The way the game caters to how you approach it without breaking immersion is extraordinary. Naughty Dog has always struggled with this and they have never done it better than they have here.
This game will stay with me for a long time and I look forward to how people view the game down the line, when it has had chance to sink in. If you separate yourself from the discourse surrounding this game (not an easy task), and instead surrender yourself to it, you will find one of the best games released on the PS4, and arguably Naugthy Dog's crowning achievement.
The Last of Us Part II doesn't serve as a satisfying, safe sequel that intends to play on audience nostalgia. Instead, it attempts to offer a twisted, brutal, and nuanced narrative that constantly forces the player to question the motivations of the title's main characters. Intense stealth action, combined with some of the most fluid third-person combat, make TLOU Part II a must play. I think people will better appreciate this game with time.
This game really makes you FEEL like a pissed off stupid teenager.
Also it's real good. Its everything you liked about The Last of Us but better. Improved stealth AI around enemies, improved stealth options with the prone and silencer. Its not MGSV but as a linear story driven action game it's one of the best ones out there.
And that beautiful UI. Dark Mode baby! Dark Mode! Seriously this has one of the most pleasing and clean looking UIs out there and combined with the audio cues it makes for a pretty welcoming and well considered presentations in western AAA gaming. Theres as much care for the player here as in a Dragon Quest.
Also it's real good. Its everything you liked about The Last of Us but better. Improved stealth AI around enemies, improved stealth options with the prone and silencer. Its not MGSV but as a linear story driven action game it's one of the best ones out there.
And that beautiful UI. Dark Mode baby! Dark Mode! Seriously this has one of the most pleasing and clean looking UIs out there and combined with the audio cues it makes for a pretty welcoming and well considered presentations in western AAA gaming. Theres as much care for the player here as in a Dragon Quest.
"There was a sequel. Wasn't as good."
- Joel Miller
- Joel Miller
extremely surreal to see that a prevalent consensus on this is that it's an OBVIOUS uberbleak nihilist exercise in cynical ultraviolence when I feel like it's Very Clearly shooting for (but emphatically not always flawlessly succeeding at) humanist themes exploring mercy, kinship, and absolution: The last spoken line/thesis of the game is literally "I don't know if I can ever forgive you, but I'd like to try" which basically mirrors the bubbly final sentiment in Steven Universe of all things... like come on people the game clearly has a lot of faith in human compassion and optimism that we can be (and are) better than our worst impulses. We can (and should!) totally debate the efficacy of the way the game communicates these ideas. I think there are plenty of areas to criticize or outright condemn in terms of execution; the pieces written about the games fraught zionist inspirations and the discomfiting misogynoir on display in regards to a specific moment are especially vital reads--but framing this story's outlook as intentionally nihilist, player-blaming pain porn about the inescapable cycle of violence is just.. totally disingenuous to what it's clearly trying to do, imo. A story about empathy without a soft and tender pastel veneer does not render it ineffective or worthless. I would probably argue that the game's refusal to over-sentimentalize the repugnance of its deuteragonists' actions (or make their realities easily accessible/justifiable) lends more integrity to the challenge of conveying the inherent worth and potential for change within them... I feel like the game makes it extra clear that Abby and Ellie are not universalizing prescriptive ciphers for the human condition / our inescapable URGE 4 VENGEANCE and are instead very specific / detailed character studies of damaged people whose emotional processing is expressed through borderline surrealist New French Extremity interactive dream logic in a world that also presents a variety of individuals with approaches and outlooks that are direct foils to these self-destructive coping strategies!!!
lots and lots of thoughts about this game, might revisit and explore further at some point
(also feel the need to say that Naughty Dog's crunch culture is a blight on the industry and this game could have been just as affecting as a more contained and less needlessly sprawling experience)
lots and lots of thoughts about this game, might revisit and explore further at some point
(also feel the need to say that Naughty Dog's crunch culture is a blight on the industry and this game could have been just as affecting as a more contained and less needlessly sprawling experience)
easily the best game of all time, bigots can cry me a river
Excellent story, amazing sound design, beautiful soundtrack, and the atmosphere is impeccable. An overall great title
Yeah, I think everyone can agree that TLOU2 is far from perfect and the overall narrative and themes are inconsistent at times, disconnected from each other, even. The story is way more ambitious and less focused than the first game and I think that was the biggest problem. It definitely doesn't have the same charm or character development as good as in TLOU1. Combat and gameplay loop are better and that is expected, the areas are way bigger and more open this time but the exploration is not very rewarding and ends up hurting the pacing a lot. I think I just prefer these type of games to be more linear.
I don't think this game can be called a masterpiece like the first one but it came very close. Since the narrative is a lot, lot more complex and complicated to implement, that is impressive af if you ask me. Cinematic games fo life don't at me
I don't think this game can be called a masterpiece like the first one but it came very close. Since the narrative is a lot, lot more complex and complicated to implement, that is impressive af if you ask me. Cinematic games fo life don't at me
This game ain't perfect, by no means. But that doesn't mean it's a bad one like everyone is portraying it. While the story ain't one of my favorites, and it feels... simply wrong, with bad characters, and bad development, the game itself it's beautiful. With great soundtrack, awesome (and gruesome) gameplay, with so many little details that makes the experience and atmosphere breathtaking. This, this could have been the perfect sequel, but at least for me, it isn't. Maybe it'll grow with me, just give it some time.
TLoU2
- An impressive technical achievement. How the acting and the animations bring the characters to life is so incredibly good.
- The atmosphere is perfect. So tense, dark, scary, hopeless.
- I love Seattle (one of the few US cities I’ve visited), and seeing it taken over by nature and decay but still so recognizable was very cool. Wonderfully done.
The “mini open-world” section of Downtown Seattle was great. Not so big that it could be overwhelming but big enough that it felt rewarding to explore as much of it as possible.
I loved the open-ended design of the encounter locations. So good to be given so many ways to approach the encounters in terms of the layouts of the levels.
The “Naughty Dog polish” is ever present here. The little details, the casual conversations and quips throughout, the well-crafted interiors of the countless houses and apartments - all felt so realistically unique.
Loved the new characters. Fan of Dina. Fan of Lev.
Loved the story. I read someone saying that it’s impressive how the game takes you from hating and raging againts a character at the beginning, to having compassion for them at the end. I couldn’t agree more. A great storytelling achievement.
I’m Team Abby.
On way too many occasions, the editing made me think I had reached the end of the game. The cut to blacks were a bit over-used, I felt.
I think it was a reflection of how gripped I was by the story that I wanted to reach the conclusion so bad - I wanted to know how these characters’ arcs would end - that at some point I started thinking that the game was too long. Looking back, I can see that given the ambitious story they wanted to tell, and the character explorations they achieved, I appreciate the time it takes for it.
I guess by the end I was already used (maybe desensitized) by it, but I remember being very shocked by the oh-so-detailed, graphic, and seemingly realistic gore and violence of the game during the first hours. It’s a testament to how excellent is the overall execution of the acting, animation, and visual development.
The guitar playing! Oh my. As a guitar player myself, I loved how the guitar was such an important part of the story itself! And of course, the level of detail of the guitar-playing sequences was fantastic.
The musical work, unsurprisingly, was masterful.
Maybe it was simply because I was always scavenging every corner, nook, and cranny of every place I went though for crafting materials and ammo, and I tried to be as stealthy in the encounters as I possibly could, but I never ran out of ammo for any of my weapons. (Also, I played on Moderate difficulty so that probably helped).
- An impressive technical achievement. How the acting and the animations bring the characters to life is so incredibly good.
- The atmosphere is perfect. So tense, dark, scary, hopeless.
- I love Seattle (one of the few US cities I’ve visited), and seeing it taken over by nature and decay but still so recognizable was very cool. Wonderfully done.
The “mini open-world” section of Downtown Seattle was great. Not so big that it could be overwhelming but big enough that it felt rewarding to explore as much of it as possible.
I loved the open-ended design of the encounter locations. So good to be given so many ways to approach the encounters in terms of the layouts of the levels.
The “Naughty Dog polish” is ever present here. The little details, the casual conversations and quips throughout, the well-crafted interiors of the countless houses and apartments - all felt so realistically unique.
Loved the new characters. Fan of Dina. Fan of Lev.
Loved the story. I read someone saying that it’s impressive how the game takes you from hating and raging againts a character at the beginning, to having compassion for them at the end. I couldn’t agree more. A great storytelling achievement.
I’m Team Abby.
On way too many occasions, the editing made me think I had reached the end of the game. The cut to blacks were a bit over-used, I felt.
I think it was a reflection of how gripped I was by the story that I wanted to reach the conclusion so bad - I wanted to know how these characters’ arcs would end - that at some point I started thinking that the game was too long. Looking back, I can see that given the ambitious story they wanted to tell, and the character explorations they achieved, I appreciate the time it takes for it.
I guess by the end I was already used (maybe desensitized) by it, but I remember being very shocked by the oh-so-detailed, graphic, and seemingly realistic gore and violence of the game during the first hours. It’s a testament to how excellent is the overall execution of the acting, animation, and visual development.
The guitar playing! Oh my. As a guitar player myself, I loved how the guitar was such an important part of the story itself! And of course, the level of detail of the guitar-playing sequences was fantastic.
The musical work, unsurprisingly, was masterful.
Maybe it was simply because I was always scavenging every corner, nook, and cranny of every place I went though for crafting materials and ammo, and I tried to be as stealthy in the encounters as I possibly could, but I never ran out of ammo for any of my weapons. (Also, I played on Moderate difficulty so that probably helped).
A powerful, ambitious sequel. Tells a compelling story all its own, while also doing right by the ending of the first game -- which many would argue should have been left be. Its biggest failing is probably that same ambition that makes it feel so special; at times the pacing feels a bit drawn out and the lengthy run-time keeps you guessing.
Probably the best playing Naughty Dog game ever, as the marriage of their animation, AI systems, sound design, level design, and variety of play styles mesh beautifully.
Probably the best playing Naughty Dog game ever, as the marriage of their animation, AI systems, sound design, level design, and variety of play styles mesh beautifully.
Full spoilers for the game will be in this review. Continue at your own discretion.
The Last of Us Part II is a game that on all fronts I was not really expecting much from. The 7 year wait had me go through a rollercoaster of theories and expectations. It is safe to say that absolutely none of my theories were correct and I’m so damn glad they weren’t. This game will take fans through a much much different type of story that I think many of us were expecting and that is a GOOD thing. If this game was just Joel and Eliie on a wild ride part 2 I don’t think it would be nearly as good as the first and I really don’t think it would be very good at all in that case. While I adore The Last of Us, It is a simple story that has characters that made me really love it. The themes it also presented were thought provoking and really hit you in the core. Joel is a selfish man who makes a choice that ultimately dooms all of humanity because he can suppress the emotions and feelings he has for his late daughter. While this sounds like a decision that is intended to make fans hate Joel, we went on a 12 hour adventure playing as him and bonding with Ellie which really made me sympathize with him personally. That being said, in The Last of Us Part II, we open with a cold relationship between our two heroes. It’s pretty obvious that Ellie has found out about what happened at that hospital and she ultimately is furious with Joel. Joel seems more vulnerable and he spends his days playing guitar and just sulking. You can tell that he regrets what he did but he still would do whatever it takes to keep Ellie, even though he has already lost her. That’s why It feels so perfect to me that this game opens with Joel dying. He gets exactly what was coming to him. That may sound harsh but in my opinion it is the unfortunate truth. It isn’t a ceremony, it isn’t something that’s done out of him being honorable, it is just his past finally catching up to him in front of the one he loves most. Then we are off. He doesn’t come back. There isn’t a ghost Joel, there is no final Ellie and Joel team up, we are just dumped into the Ellie revenge tour. She wants to get her revenge because his death comes at a time where it could not have been any worse, as Ellie was taking the first steps of trying to forgive him for the wrongs he had committed. So she seeks out his killer Abby. Abby is almost completely villainized in this first half as well as the rest of her group and so playing as Ellie here really made me excited to go on and get my revenge. However, something feels so off about it all. The game doesn’t exactly make you feel bad but rather this revenge almost felt completely pointless as time went on and the real kicker for me was when Ellie stabs Mel and realizes what she has done. She killed a pregnant woman and when she comes to realize, it is an astonishingly heartbreaking moment. This isn’t the fun and loving Ellie we used to know. She is killing people left and right with damn near no remorse. Until we get to Nora and this point we do realize how this is hurting Ellie. I don’t think she wants to do this but rather she feels as if her hand was forced to do this. Joel would have done it for her, so why shouldn’t she? Ellie’s journey of rampage continues throughout a gorgeous Seattle area until we reach what I think is the much better half of the game which kind of came out of left field for me which was that we get to play a whole second half as Abby.
Playing as Joel’s killer seems to turn off a lot of people but almost immediately It is obvious that she is a better person. Abby’s father was the doctor that was in charge of Ellie’s surgery in the first game until he was brutally murdered by Joel. It immediately hits you when Abby walks in on her dead father after playing through a short chapter with the both of them. It almost mirrors Joel in the sense of how Sarah dies in his arms and how Abby finds her hero dead on the floor. Abby’s revenge isn’t pointless. Joel completely deserved this. Abby has been planning this for years and everytime she gets a lead it’s just another dead end. One day it finally isn’t a dead end and she strikes. This game makes you realize right off the bat that Abby is almost completely in the right here. She is painted as a better person but she obviously isn’t some saint. That being said, her adventure with two ex members of the crazy religious cult in Seattle that she accidentally gets thrown into really only made me like her more. Through seeing her father die, Ellie killing all her friends, being ousted by a group she considered family and was a bigshot there, she still does the right thing to help Lev. Lev is the boy that Abby helps but honestly Lev helps her more. He shows her the bridge, stops her from killing Dina, gets her the boat. Lev is a character that doesn’t seem massively important but he is what Ellie was to Joel for Abby. Lev is what makes her come back down to earth. Their relationship was one of my favorite parts of the game but what is truly my favorite part of the game is when we switch back to Ellie and see her life with Dina. While it all seems fine, Ellie has what seems to be PTSD from Joel's death. She never got the revenge she feels she needs. So when Tommy comes back to tell her that and it was the final straw it really just made me break down. She is willing to leave her whole family to go kill Abby. It was a moment that reminded me of Nathan Drake leaving his family to go on one final adventure with his estranged brother. Just a lot more depressing. So we get one final section that just builds to one final climax. Abby and Lev were captured and forced to be slaves in Santa Barbara while looking for one of the last Firefly bases. Ellie finds them and actually rescues them. Her and Abby are both so beat up and Abby tells Ellie she won’t fight her. But Ellie threatening to Kill Lev makes Abby agree and your final moment is fighting Abby. It felt so painful to do this but thankfully, Ellie spares Abby. This is Ellie coming full circle to me. She finally realizes all the horrible things she has done and that she is better than this. The game comes full circle here for me and It made me love Ellie more than I already did. She comes out a better person in this moment even after all the wrongs he committed. The Last of Us Part II is a game that I loved from the second I turned it on and it surpassed every expectation I had. Please play this game for yourself and don’t listen to the review bombing. It’s something truly different and I think it surpasses the first game in damn near every way. Oh the gameplay is really good as well.
The Last of Us Part II is a game that on all fronts I was not really expecting much from. The 7 year wait had me go through a rollercoaster of theories and expectations. It is safe to say that absolutely none of my theories were correct and I’m so damn glad they weren’t. This game will take fans through a much much different type of story that I think many of us were expecting and that is a GOOD thing. If this game was just Joel and Eliie on a wild ride part 2 I don’t think it would be nearly as good as the first and I really don’t think it would be very good at all in that case. While I adore The Last of Us, It is a simple story that has characters that made me really love it. The themes it also presented were thought provoking and really hit you in the core. Joel is a selfish man who makes a choice that ultimately dooms all of humanity because he can suppress the emotions and feelings he has for his late daughter. While this sounds like a decision that is intended to make fans hate Joel, we went on a 12 hour adventure playing as him and bonding with Ellie which really made me sympathize with him personally. That being said, in The Last of Us Part II, we open with a cold relationship between our two heroes. It’s pretty obvious that Ellie has found out about what happened at that hospital and she ultimately is furious with Joel. Joel seems more vulnerable and he spends his days playing guitar and just sulking. You can tell that he regrets what he did but he still would do whatever it takes to keep Ellie, even though he has already lost her. That’s why It feels so perfect to me that this game opens with Joel dying. He gets exactly what was coming to him. That may sound harsh but in my opinion it is the unfortunate truth. It isn’t a ceremony, it isn’t something that’s done out of him being honorable, it is just his past finally catching up to him in front of the one he loves most. Then we are off. He doesn’t come back. There isn’t a ghost Joel, there is no final Ellie and Joel team up, we are just dumped into the Ellie revenge tour. She wants to get her revenge because his death comes at a time where it could not have been any worse, as Ellie was taking the first steps of trying to forgive him for the wrongs he had committed. So she seeks out his killer Abby. Abby is almost completely villainized in this first half as well as the rest of her group and so playing as Ellie here really made me excited to go on and get my revenge. However, something feels so off about it all. The game doesn’t exactly make you feel bad but rather this revenge almost felt completely pointless as time went on and the real kicker for me was when Ellie stabs Mel and realizes what she has done. She killed a pregnant woman and when she comes to realize, it is an astonishingly heartbreaking moment. This isn’t the fun and loving Ellie we used to know. She is killing people left and right with damn near no remorse. Until we get to Nora and this point we do realize how this is hurting Ellie. I don’t think she wants to do this but rather she feels as if her hand was forced to do this. Joel would have done it for her, so why shouldn’t she? Ellie’s journey of rampage continues throughout a gorgeous Seattle area until we reach what I think is the much better half of the game which kind of came out of left field for me which was that we get to play a whole second half as Abby.
Playing as Joel’s killer seems to turn off a lot of people but almost immediately It is obvious that she is a better person. Abby’s father was the doctor that was in charge of Ellie’s surgery in the first game until he was brutally murdered by Joel. It immediately hits you when Abby walks in on her dead father after playing through a short chapter with the both of them. It almost mirrors Joel in the sense of how Sarah dies in his arms and how Abby finds her hero dead on the floor. Abby’s revenge isn’t pointless. Joel completely deserved this. Abby has been planning this for years and everytime she gets a lead it’s just another dead end. One day it finally isn’t a dead end and she strikes. This game makes you realize right off the bat that Abby is almost completely in the right here. She is painted as a better person but she obviously isn’t some saint. That being said, her adventure with two ex members of the crazy religious cult in Seattle that she accidentally gets thrown into really only made me like her more. Through seeing her father die, Ellie killing all her friends, being ousted by a group she considered family and was a bigshot there, she still does the right thing to help Lev. Lev is the boy that Abby helps but honestly Lev helps her more. He shows her the bridge, stops her from killing Dina, gets her the boat. Lev is a character that doesn’t seem massively important but he is what Ellie was to Joel for Abby. Lev is what makes her come back down to earth. Their relationship was one of my favorite parts of the game but what is truly my favorite part of the game is when we switch back to Ellie and see her life with Dina. While it all seems fine, Ellie has what seems to be PTSD from Joel's death. She never got the revenge she feels she needs. So when Tommy comes back to tell her that and it was the final straw it really just made me break down. She is willing to leave her whole family to go kill Abby. It was a moment that reminded me of Nathan Drake leaving his family to go on one final adventure with his estranged brother. Just a lot more depressing. So we get one final section that just builds to one final climax. Abby and Lev were captured and forced to be slaves in Santa Barbara while looking for one of the last Firefly bases. Ellie finds them and actually rescues them. Her and Abby are both so beat up and Abby tells Ellie she won’t fight her. But Ellie threatening to Kill Lev makes Abby agree and your final moment is fighting Abby. It felt so painful to do this but thankfully, Ellie spares Abby. This is Ellie coming full circle to me. She finally realizes all the horrible things she has done and that she is better than this. The game comes full circle here for me and It made me love Ellie more than I already did. She comes out a better person in this moment even after all the wrongs he committed. The Last of Us Part II is a game that I loved from the second I turned it on and it surpassed every expectation I had. Please play this game for yourself and don’t listen to the review bombing. It’s something truly different and I think it surpasses the first game in damn near every way. Oh the gameplay is really good as well.
An absolutely phenomenal game. What an achievement.
The graphics, sound, gameplay -- everything is top notch. And the story is amazing. I had tears in my eyes by the end.
My only complaint with it is the bad pacing in the middle of the game, but that lasts only an hour before things get interesting again.
-- Spoilers ahead --
All the reviews complaining about the story are so ridiculous. It seems like everyone wanted a simple revenge story, but are upset that we got something more complex where the characters are actual human beings who are struggling and trying to figure things out. Ellie grows so much as a character, going from being full of hate and anger to realizing that all of this is not going to bring her peace, and will just lead to more violence. Hate begets hate, violence begets violence. Did the game have to spell it out to make it any clearer?
I loved the story and I loved the characters. I hate Abby for what she did to Joel, but I see her side of the story. I would do the same if some guy killed my dad in cold blood too.
What I do agree on with the review-bombers is that Naughty Dog did a bunch of false advertising. That wasn't a good move on their part.
The graphics, sound, gameplay -- everything is top notch. And the story is amazing. I had tears in my eyes by the end.
My only complaint with it is the bad pacing in the middle of the game, but that lasts only an hour before things get interesting again.
-- Spoilers ahead --
All the reviews complaining about the story are so ridiculous. It seems like everyone wanted a simple revenge story, but are upset that we got something more complex where the characters are actual human beings who are struggling and trying to figure things out. Ellie grows so much as a character, going from being full of hate and anger to realizing that all of this is not going to bring her peace, and will just lead to more violence. Hate begets hate, violence begets violence. Did the game have to spell it out to make it any clearer?
I loved the story and I loved the characters. I hate Abby for what she did to Joel, but I see her side of the story. I would do the same if some guy killed my dad in cold blood too.
What I do agree on with the review-bombers is that Naughty Dog did a bunch of false advertising. That wasn't a good move on their part.
.
I'm well aware this is the unpopular opinion but I've completed this entire game and it isn't bad. Like it isn't even mediocre. The story can be a little bit of a wishy-washy mess that beats you over the head with it's themes and it does not go the direction I wanted but I don't think the game is bad because of this. Just fucking play the game past "the scene" before forming opinions on a thirty hour experience.
Spoilers, obvs.
So going into this amidst the flood of toxic waste that is the discourse online about TLOU2, I didn't expect it actually turn out to be something I'd call a fairly faithful sequel to the original. It improves on the gameplay to an enormous extent whilst embracing and evolving on the storytelling concepts the first game brings up. Even as it's tearing down the relationship between joel and ellie, it improves upon it and wraps up that story well. Even if it wasnt particularly neccessary. On top of that, the game goes all in on embracing the way both games don't cast judgement on the characters themselves with the framing. TLOU2 essentially boils down to two of these characters smushing together and truly embracing the consequences of it, which you witness from both perspectives. And at it's best, it's really effective. Viewing these twisted spirals of pointless violence from both sides leads to some really powerful moments. A lot of which involve friends being shot in the face uncerimoniously. Maybe a few too many.
That core conceit is built on a world of absurd levels of violence/consequence and a "no country for old men" degree of 'well you can also just get fucked by unrelated things out of nowhere', which is where things could probably start to fall down for some. TLOU2 teeters on the line between achieving it's hyper-realistic immersion and a shlocky snuff film, and I can definetly see some people's suspension of disbelief breaking and never coming back due to this, along with some more questionable elements (playing with the dog, all the enemies screaming out each other's name as they bleed out, Ellie killing Mel). And since this is such an emotionally driven game, with character actions being dictated by rage rather than logic, once you've checked out looking at it from outside a layer of immersion i'm sure looks a bit stupid. Ellie chasing Abby to santa barbara is blatantly not a well thought out act.
The issues of the story I actually have mainly come down to pacing and a couple of elements not being developed or built up right. Pacing is a particular problem for the first 2 days of Ellie's part, with seemingly nothing happening for a large proportion of the game other than Ellie killing a bunch of people. Whilst Abby has her Sidequests with Lev, Ellie is just left chasing leads and getting into hijinks for an unreasoable amount of time. There's good stuff in these sections but about 10 hours of very little after a strong opening is a bit annoying in retrospect.
On Abby's side, the Scar x WLF subplot feels a little tacked on, and the Scars themselves dont really get enough time devoted to them outside of Lev, who is a great companion and very likeable.
The split campaigns also leaves a chunk of the supporting cast a bit underdeveloped. Dina's relationship with Ellie feels a bit rushed and would have worked better imo as an existing thing before the game's start. Tommy, Owen and Mel could have done with another few scenes each, and even Lev and Yara could have done with more time to flesh them out and build up the relationships. It's not a huge issue and god knows the game has enough quiet time as it is, but maybe the characters could have been consolidated a little bit.
I know i'm rambling but the peformances, animation and general technical prowess of the whole affair really elevates it. The heightened realism approach of TLOU2's visual design is a huge factor in it's successes and it not losing people imo.
Now, gameplay. I wont touch on it much because frankly it's far less interesting to talk about, but it's a massive improvement throughout, with some of the absolute best environments and level design of a thing like this ever. If there's any game that shows the value of production values, its this, as every room of every arena feels handcrafted and like it has it's own cool way of having combat encounters. The differing toolsets of Ellie and Abby are also enhanced over the first game, and are fun to mess around with.
Main problem with the gameplay is the difficulty. It's too easy to lose guards on any difficulty selection and the systems can easily be gamed if you really want to. It's a shame because the thrill of being hunted and hunting can be legitimately fantastic.
But the big issue here? Lack of Multiplayer. Yes, I know it's probably coming at some point in some form, but TLOU1's multiplayer was really the best gameplay experience the game had to offer, if not the best part of the game altogether - and it's a massive dissapointment for me right now to not be using those cool tools the game has in the challenging environment the first game had.
Overall, I think this is the better last of us game, and probably Naughty Dog's best singleplayer experience. I think the story is definetly a milage may vary thing, but the enormous improvements on gameplay and the environements cements it for me. Not a perfect experience, not the best storytelling in a game ever, messy and not for everyone, but definetly worth checking out.
So going into this amidst the flood of toxic waste that is the discourse online about TLOU2, I didn't expect it actually turn out to be something I'd call a fairly faithful sequel to the original. It improves on the gameplay to an enormous extent whilst embracing and evolving on the storytelling concepts the first game brings up. Even as it's tearing down the relationship between joel and ellie, it improves upon it and wraps up that story well. Even if it wasnt particularly neccessary. On top of that, the game goes all in on embracing the way both games don't cast judgement on the characters themselves with the framing. TLOU2 essentially boils down to two of these characters smushing together and truly embracing the consequences of it, which you witness from both perspectives. And at it's best, it's really effective. Viewing these twisted spirals of pointless violence from both sides leads to some really powerful moments. A lot of which involve friends being shot in the face uncerimoniously. Maybe a few too many.
That core conceit is built on a world of absurd levels of violence/consequence and a "no country for old men" degree of 'well you can also just get fucked by unrelated things out of nowhere', which is where things could probably start to fall down for some. TLOU2 teeters on the line between achieving it's hyper-realistic immersion and a shlocky snuff film, and I can definetly see some people's suspension of disbelief breaking and never coming back due to this, along with some more questionable elements (playing with the dog, all the enemies screaming out each other's name as they bleed out, Ellie killing Mel). And since this is such an emotionally driven game, with character actions being dictated by rage rather than logic, once you've checked out looking at it from outside a layer of immersion i'm sure looks a bit stupid. Ellie chasing Abby to santa barbara is blatantly not a well thought out act.
The issues of the story I actually have mainly come down to pacing and a couple of elements not being developed or built up right. Pacing is a particular problem for the first 2 days of Ellie's part, with seemingly nothing happening for a large proportion of the game other than Ellie killing a bunch of people. Whilst Abby has her Sidequests with Lev, Ellie is just left chasing leads and getting into hijinks for an unreasoable amount of time. There's good stuff in these sections but about 10 hours of very little after a strong opening is a bit annoying in retrospect.
On Abby's side, the Scar x WLF subplot feels a little tacked on, and the Scars themselves dont really get enough time devoted to them outside of Lev, who is a great companion and very likeable.
The split campaigns also leaves a chunk of the supporting cast a bit underdeveloped. Dina's relationship with Ellie feels a bit rushed and would have worked better imo as an existing thing before the game's start. Tommy, Owen and Mel could have done with another few scenes each, and even Lev and Yara could have done with more time to flesh them out and build up the relationships. It's not a huge issue and god knows the game has enough quiet time as it is, but maybe the characters could have been consolidated a little bit.
I know i'm rambling but the peformances, animation and general technical prowess of the whole affair really elevates it. The heightened realism approach of TLOU2's visual design is a huge factor in it's successes and it not losing people imo.
Now, gameplay. I wont touch on it much because frankly it's far less interesting to talk about, but it's a massive improvement throughout, with some of the absolute best environments and level design of a thing like this ever. If there's any game that shows the value of production values, its this, as every room of every arena feels handcrafted and like it has it's own cool way of having combat encounters. The differing toolsets of Ellie and Abby are also enhanced over the first game, and are fun to mess around with.
Main problem with the gameplay is the difficulty. It's too easy to lose guards on any difficulty selection and the systems can easily be gamed if you really want to. It's a shame because the thrill of being hunted and hunting can be legitimately fantastic.
But the big issue here? Lack of Multiplayer. Yes, I know it's probably coming at some point in some form, but TLOU1's multiplayer was really the best gameplay experience the game had to offer, if not the best part of the game altogether - and it's a massive dissapointment for me right now to not be using those cool tools the game has in the challenging environment the first game had.
Overall, I think this is the better last of us game, and probably Naughty Dog's best singleplayer experience. I think the story is definetly a milage may vary thing, but the enormous improvements on gameplay and the environements cements it for me. Not a perfect experience, not the best storytelling in a game ever, messy and not for everyone, but definetly worth checking out.
There’s some stuff going around which is completely false, namely the story about Druckmann humping Laura Bailey in a mocap suit (which someone photoshopped her tweeting about and she had to come out and shoot it down). There’s also rumours about it being transphobic which I really don’t agree with and I think were at least somewhat overblown. I thought the trans character was handled really well, and the trauma he faced due to his gender identity was alluded to and discussed in dialogue but never directly shown, which was a nice restraint for an otherwise very disturbing game. I’m not trans, so of course I’m not an expert on this and maybe I’m missing something, but I thought it was respectfully done. The review bombing in general is ridiculous, and all the misinformation has led to a lot of toxic and polarizing discourse, which for the most part I think has been unwarranted. It’s also the gayest major video game out there which I’m 100% here for.
Gameplay wise, the best thing Naughty Dog has made in ages, maybe ever. The stealth is vastly improved, and actually a viable option for the majority of encounters now. Hiding in tall grass and bushes isn’t a binary invisibility but a layered system based on proximity and movement. Instead of everyone just instantly knowing your position when you’re spotted, there’s a caution phase where enemies will be on higher alert and search your last known position. The crafting is expanded even further from the first game, allowing you not only to craft explosives and ammo for combat encounters but also further options for stealth, such as makeshift silencers and arrows for the bow. As before, crafting one item often comes at the direct cost of another, and many of these choices are suited to either stealth or action, only now there's even more such choices you have to make. Fights between multiple factions allow you to pit your enemies against each other, tossing throwables to draw them together and stir the pot, occasionally thinning the herd from the shadows.
There’s also more depth to the progression system this time around, with character upgrades attached to various perk trees that are gradually acquired throughout the game instead of just a list that you can tackle in any order, requiring you to actually put some level of planning in to get the stats you want, and with more variety than the typical combat/stealth/resources trio that a lot of modern games have. It’s still a pretty straightforward system, nothing super in depth, but it’s a welcome addition to flesh out the gameplay a little more, and fits nicely into the more methodical, preparation based encounters of the game.
The level design is also a huge step up, often featuring multiple routes through encounters. There’s even some more open areas, with optional locations that have their own sectioned-off combat scenarios. Unlike Uncharted 4, where I felt the open areas where neat but didn’t offer much in the way of incentive to explore, these parts of Last of Us 2 often have additional upgrade materials for perks, weapon upgrades, and even new guns, directly rewarding your exploration on a tangible gameplay level, as well as fleshing out the games’ environmental storytelling chops. Human enemies are smarter than in the first game, and the Seraphites even have their own creepy whistling system that impacts how quickly they’re able to notice you. The weapon upgrade system is basically the same thing as the first game, though additional holsters are now moved over to exploration instead. The infected have a few new enemies types, but for the most part they play quite similarly to the first game. Overall, it’s a lot of fun to play, and even if the story doesn’t grab you I think the game is worth picking up for the combat. It’s not gonna win over people who don’t like Uncharted or Last of Us 1, but for those who do it’s the best iteration of Naughty Dog’s TPS gameplay loops.
As with the first game, the big explosives setpieces are spaced out more so than the Uncharted games, making them more impactful when they do come around even though they’re smaller in scope. ND does a great job blending cutscene and gameplay here, so much so that I was occasionally telling myself “nah this can’t be running in real time it looks too damn good” only to be greeted with a QTE prompt 2 seconds later. God, this game looks great. Probably the most visually impressive game I’ve ever played (though I’m yet to get around to Red Dead 2), not only on a technical level, but also an artistic one, with the lighting reflecting and contrasting the mood of particular scenes, unending natural beauty punctuated by the evil that humans do to each other. The animations are incredibly detailed without being overlong and interfering with the gameplay too much, which is something I find ND is really good at in general. The music, performances, writing, and cutscene direction continue to be some of the best in the medium, pushing interactive storytelling into new and unconventional places.
Narratively, I understand why the game is so much more divisive than the first one: it’s challenging material that makes you feel bad and questions the very core of its characters, featuring a Pulp Fiction-y non-linear structure that puts you in the shoes of characters you thought you hated. I don’t think it’s trying to be directly critical of the player for their use of violence, rather it’s deconstructing why the protagonists choose to inflict such pain at all. There’s no big picture, no cure for the survival of the human race, just people, vengeance, and civil war. As with the ending of the first game, it’s often about the hateful things done for love, selfishly destroying everyone in your path to protect loved ones, even if it costs the world and ends up destroying the relationship with your loved ones that drove you in the first place.
Many have criticized this game for its lack of levity, and that’s somewhat true, but only in the back half of the narrative, and though it is depressing there’s very much a thematic purpose behind it. The flashbacks and happy moments early on in the narrative establish what characters are leaving behind in their quests for revenge, but also what was taken from them to stir that desire for vengeance in the first place, a web of violence and trauma becoming more and more tangled by self destructive tendencies until they have nothing left.
The story is hardly ‘fun’ in any kind of traditional sense, even though the gameplay is. It cuts deep, leaving scars on the cast that will perhaps never heal. It could’ve just been Joel and Ellie adventure 2.0, which it seems is what a lot of people wanted, but this is so much more daring, unique, and interesting that I have a hard time imagining how straightforward replication of the first’s formula could’ve been better (and I don’t mean this in a derogatory way, at least not completely, I love Uncharted 2 and that’s basically just the first game but bigger and more better). The Last of Us is not a brand that got its acclaim by playing it safe and giving us formulaic fun adventures. The reason the original stood out in the first place is because it dared to slow down and let you feel, building a deeply flawed protagonist who obviously does the wrong things, but making you care about him anyway. A game that just did what we expected from it would not be a worthy successor to The Last of Us.
Gameplay wise, the best thing Naughty Dog has made in ages, maybe ever. The stealth is vastly improved, and actually a viable option for the majority of encounters now. Hiding in tall grass and bushes isn’t a binary invisibility but a layered system based on proximity and movement. Instead of everyone just instantly knowing your position when you’re spotted, there’s a caution phase where enemies will be on higher alert and search your last known position. The crafting is expanded even further from the first game, allowing you not only to craft explosives and ammo for combat encounters but also further options for stealth, such as makeshift silencers and arrows for the bow. As before, crafting one item often comes at the direct cost of another, and many of these choices are suited to either stealth or action, only now there's even more such choices you have to make. Fights between multiple factions allow you to pit your enemies against each other, tossing throwables to draw them together and stir the pot, occasionally thinning the herd from the shadows.
There’s also more depth to the progression system this time around, with character upgrades attached to various perk trees that are gradually acquired throughout the game instead of just a list that you can tackle in any order, requiring you to actually put some level of planning in to get the stats you want, and with more variety than the typical combat/stealth/resources trio that a lot of modern games have. It’s still a pretty straightforward system, nothing super in depth, but it’s a welcome addition to flesh out the gameplay a little more, and fits nicely into the more methodical, preparation based encounters of the game.
The level design is also a huge step up, often featuring multiple routes through encounters. There’s even some more open areas, with optional locations that have their own sectioned-off combat scenarios. Unlike Uncharted 4, where I felt the open areas where neat but didn’t offer much in the way of incentive to explore, these parts of Last of Us 2 often have additional upgrade materials for perks, weapon upgrades, and even new guns, directly rewarding your exploration on a tangible gameplay level, as well as fleshing out the games’ environmental storytelling chops. Human enemies are smarter than in the first game, and the Seraphites even have their own creepy whistling system that impacts how quickly they’re able to notice you. The weapon upgrade system is basically the same thing as the first game, though additional holsters are now moved over to exploration instead. The infected have a few new enemies types, but for the most part they play quite similarly to the first game. Overall, it’s a lot of fun to play, and even if the story doesn’t grab you I think the game is worth picking up for the combat. It’s not gonna win over people who don’t like Uncharted or Last of Us 1, but for those who do it’s the best iteration of Naughty Dog’s TPS gameplay loops.
As with the first game, the big explosives setpieces are spaced out more so than the Uncharted games, making them more impactful when they do come around even though they’re smaller in scope. ND does a great job blending cutscene and gameplay here, so much so that I was occasionally telling myself “nah this can’t be running in real time it looks too damn good” only to be greeted with a QTE prompt 2 seconds later. God, this game looks great. Probably the most visually impressive game I’ve ever played (though I’m yet to get around to Red Dead 2), not only on a technical level, but also an artistic one, with the lighting reflecting and contrasting the mood of particular scenes, unending natural beauty punctuated by the evil that humans do to each other. The animations are incredibly detailed without being overlong and interfering with the gameplay too much, which is something I find ND is really good at in general. The music, performances, writing, and cutscene direction continue to be some of the best in the medium, pushing interactive storytelling into new and unconventional places.
Narratively, I understand why the game is so much more divisive than the first one: it’s challenging material that makes you feel bad and questions the very core of its characters, featuring a Pulp Fiction-y non-linear structure that puts you in the shoes of characters you thought you hated. I don’t think it’s trying to be directly critical of the player for their use of violence, rather it’s deconstructing why the protagonists choose to inflict such pain at all. There’s no big picture, no cure for the survival of the human race, just people, vengeance, and civil war. As with the ending of the first game, it’s often about the hateful things done for love, selfishly destroying everyone in your path to protect loved ones, even if it costs the world and ends up destroying the relationship with your loved ones that drove you in the first place.
Many have criticized this game for its lack of levity, and that’s somewhat true, but only in the back half of the narrative, and though it is depressing there’s very much a thematic purpose behind it. The flashbacks and happy moments early on in the narrative establish what characters are leaving behind in their quests for revenge, but also what was taken from them to stir that desire for vengeance in the first place, a web of violence and trauma becoming more and more tangled by self destructive tendencies until they have nothing left.
The story is hardly ‘fun’ in any kind of traditional sense, even though the gameplay is. It cuts deep, leaving scars on the cast that will perhaps never heal. It could’ve just been Joel and Ellie adventure 2.0, which it seems is what a lot of people wanted, but this is so much more daring, unique, and interesting that I have a hard time imagining how straightforward replication of the first’s formula could’ve been better (and I don’t mean this in a derogatory way, at least not completely, I love Uncharted 2 and that’s basically just the first game but bigger and more better). The Last of Us is not a brand that got its acclaim by playing it safe and giving us formulaic fun adventures. The reason the original stood out in the first place is because it dared to slow down and let you feel, building a deeply flawed protagonist who obviously does the wrong things, but making you care about him anyway. A game that just did what we expected from it would not be a worthy successor to The Last of Us.
《Spoilers Ahead!》
This game and the first are so different from each other, and I'm glad for that. People wanted this game to be exactly like the first, but I don't think the game would be anywhere near as meaningful or impactful if they played it safe.
They took the gameplay from the original game and improved it A LOT. There are elements of the original game, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Tomb Raider (2013), Uncharted 4, etc., scattered throughout. Nearly everything is an improvement.
The storytelling is effective (though it drags in certain places and goes on for a lot longer than it feels it should at times). Towards the end, you often feel like you know where it's going, "here it comes, finally, the ending is coming up!" Nope. "Oh no, here it actually is!" Nah. Every time you feel like it's going to end, it adds a few more hours. The story feels like it went on too long and was unnecessary (with a purpose) until you reach the ending. And man..what an ending.
The ending shows both the depravity of the world (and the people within it) and gives hope for a better future for some of the characters we meet along the way, though, the characters we have left at the end aren't left with much. Hopefully, they can find some sense of normalcy in this even more distorted version of the world that they've created for themselves.
This game is a deep dive into the human condition and some of the stupid things we do not only to others, but to ourselves. This is for sure my game of the year (at least so far). I have so much more that I want to say about this game, but I have yet to even process most of what I just played, so I'm not even sure how to put what I'm feeling into words.
This game and the first are so different from each other, and I'm glad for that. People wanted this game to be exactly like the first, but I don't think the game would be anywhere near as meaningful or impactful if they played it safe.
They took the gameplay from the original game and improved it A LOT. There are elements of the original game, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Tomb Raider (2013), Uncharted 4, etc., scattered throughout. Nearly everything is an improvement.
The storytelling is effective (though it drags in certain places and goes on for a lot longer than it feels it should at times). Towards the end, you often feel like you know where it's going, "here it comes, finally, the ending is coming up!" Nope. "Oh no, here it actually is!" Nah. Every time you feel like it's going to end, it adds a few more hours. The story feels like it went on too long and was unnecessary (with a purpose) until you reach the ending. And man..what an ending.
The ending shows both the depravity of the world (and the people within it) and gives hope for a better future for some of the characters we meet along the way, though, the characters we have left at the end aren't left with much. Hopefully, they can find some sense of normalcy in this even more distorted version of the world that they've created for themselves.
This game is a deep dive into the human condition and some of the stupid things we do not only to others, but to ourselves. This is for sure my game of the year (at least so far). I have so much more that I want to say about this game, but I have yet to even process most of what I just played, so I'm not even sure how to put what I'm feeling into words.
spoilers ahead
--
theres an old copypasta "If there were two guys on the moon and one of them killed the other with a rock would that be fucked up or what?" finally a game is asking: if there were two dudes in a ski lodge and one of them killed the other one with a golf club would that be fucked up or what?
come be punished by naughty dog for caring at all. enjoy a tale of revenge gone bad as your perspective is yanked across characters and timelines assembled and arranged together less in service of a theme than as shock value. look on as some of the most overwrought moments in video gaming happen at you. enjoy a little twist of the knife every time you run into a doomed character or dog you thoughtlessly slaughtered in a previous segment and try not to check out completely. heavy handed in the wrong places and sometimes for the wrong reasons. there's a good narrative here, but less effort was put into assembling a cohesive storyline that sticks true to its characters than was expended trying to inflict emotional whiplash.
that being said, joel's death was inevitable. if 10 spec scripts were written for this game, joel's death would feature heavily in 9 of them, and in the tenth he'd already be dead. suspicious enough in a sentimental zombie thriller for the main character to live to the end of one installment; let alone two; let alone if he killed scores of people and possibly doomed humanity. joel's death in this game comes mercifully quick: two hours in and your revenge story is all teed up. killing off the beloved main character of the last game? it's a bandaid being ripped off, it simply had to be done. better it be done near the opening, setting the emotional timbre high, for ellie and you and me both. brilliant, if it's in service of something. here though it's in service of... just more golf clubs demolishing skulls, over and over, until they don't.
dueling protagonists and nonlinear storylines are both welcome ideas to me & credit where it's due; props to a triple a studio for trying something different and daring with their story. do they succeed? do the excesses in structure and emotional story beats pay off? eh.
much of the writing and plot beats in the game seem calibrated as a morality play for someone who simply... doesn't know revenge and killing are bad things. for a game about the cycle of violence it sure revels in forcing you to do violence. previous games with themes of the morality of killing have at least given you the option of a nonlethal approach. and a character study about trauma could be interesting, had they been more restrained and subtle.
here subtlety and restraint are out the door. there's not one but two pregnancies, two love triangles ending in tragedy, two lengthy (but gorgeous) flashback sequences of you and a loved one exploring a museum. when you have two of everything mirrored across protagonists, it becomes transparently formulaic, trite. it falls flat on its face. when ellie kills an obviously pregnant character and begins dry heaving (mirrored by abby discovering their corpses and throwing up), all i could do was roll my eyes. i understand what they were going for: a feeling of profound loss, of saudade for a tragically abridged life, one you only got to see one half of. but they failed. it just comes off as contrived.
part of the reason these moments failed for me was that naughty dog chose a structure that did their (pretty good) story no favors. you begin abby's playthrough after reaching the end of ellie's three days in seattle, so you know the fates of most of her friends already. for me it ruined the illusion of this being anything other than a scripted narrative from the very beginning. characters stopped being characters in their own right, only there to act as some mechanical part of an emotional torture device.
most of the emotional torture and killing is pretty fun, (and gorgeously acted and well produced) admittedly. you can dive in and out of stealth, playing hit and run as you whittle down enemy numbers. killing the dang puppers? the heckin flooferinos? pretty damn fun. hearing them whine as they die and whine over their dead handlers? pretty cool. then you get to play catch with them in abby's playthrough.
killing is bad, revenge is bad. but it's fun and good and necessary. these enemies are humans too! they have names! you get to be acquainted with them after the halfway point! they're abby's friends and play the dang ps vita! just kidding, because abby soon starts slaughtering her own friends too, and its actually a big, positive, cathartic character moment for her. the game wants to taunt you for engaging in black and white thinking and indulge you all the same. it wants to make you feel things while making you emotionally deadened at the things you do.
that's not to say that amorality and contradiction is a bad thing. its a feature of this setting after all. the last of us 1 ends with an egoist act divorced from any other moral calculus. its a triumph of love at any cost. you can both celebrate it and know that it might be wrong. you can understand you did a Bad Thing and yet still be happy. love for a daughter and a character both are demonstrated by the lengths you went to keep them. the last of us 2 taunts you with that decision, and decisions like those, constantly, rubbing your nose in them. examining amoral situations that are a feature of the setting with a moralist lens and ruminating on how fucked up it is a shitty copypasta, not great writing.
in this story, you are forced to play as abby, trying to kill ellie. youre forced to play ellie, trying to kill abby. the final boss fights happening to be each other is both a nice touch and cool gameplay moment but also a stark indication of how meaningless and contrived it is. after all, you could simply just die. you could be macheted over and over again as abby fighting ellie or be switchbladed in the gut over and over or blasted with a shotgun in the head or as ellie you can let abby beat you to death or drown you. but this is a game about breaking the circle of violence and revenge right? only kind of. at least twice people go out of their way to be merciful and it only ends up getting their friends or themselves killed.
no, this game is about a symbolic emotional journey of grief and coping and regret and letting go. it's ironic then, that it has all the exaggerated emotional lability and uses all the weaponized sentimentalism of an abusive relationship.
--
theres an old copypasta "If there were two guys on the moon and one of them killed the other with a rock would that be fucked up or what?" finally a game is asking: if there were two dudes in a ski lodge and one of them killed the other one with a golf club would that be fucked up or what?
come be punished by naughty dog for caring at all. enjoy a tale of revenge gone bad as your perspective is yanked across characters and timelines assembled and arranged together less in service of a theme than as shock value. look on as some of the most overwrought moments in video gaming happen at you. enjoy a little twist of the knife every time you run into a doomed character or dog you thoughtlessly slaughtered in a previous segment and try not to check out completely. heavy handed in the wrong places and sometimes for the wrong reasons. there's a good narrative here, but less effort was put into assembling a cohesive storyline that sticks true to its characters than was expended trying to inflict emotional whiplash.
that being said, joel's death was inevitable. if 10 spec scripts were written for this game, joel's death would feature heavily in 9 of them, and in the tenth he'd already be dead. suspicious enough in a sentimental zombie thriller for the main character to live to the end of one installment; let alone two; let alone if he killed scores of people and possibly doomed humanity. joel's death in this game comes mercifully quick: two hours in and your revenge story is all teed up. killing off the beloved main character of the last game? it's a bandaid being ripped off, it simply had to be done. better it be done near the opening, setting the emotional timbre high, for ellie and you and me both. brilliant, if it's in service of something. here though it's in service of... just more golf clubs demolishing skulls, over and over, until they don't.
dueling protagonists and nonlinear storylines are both welcome ideas to me & credit where it's due; props to a triple a studio for trying something different and daring with their story. do they succeed? do the excesses in structure and emotional story beats pay off? eh.
much of the writing and plot beats in the game seem calibrated as a morality play for someone who simply... doesn't know revenge and killing are bad things. for a game about the cycle of violence it sure revels in forcing you to do violence. previous games with themes of the morality of killing have at least given you the option of a nonlethal approach. and a character study about trauma could be interesting, had they been more restrained and subtle.
here subtlety and restraint are out the door. there's not one but two pregnancies, two love triangles ending in tragedy, two lengthy (but gorgeous) flashback sequences of you and a loved one exploring a museum. when you have two of everything mirrored across protagonists, it becomes transparently formulaic, trite. it falls flat on its face. when ellie kills an obviously pregnant character and begins dry heaving (mirrored by abby discovering their corpses and throwing up), all i could do was roll my eyes. i understand what they were going for: a feeling of profound loss, of saudade for a tragically abridged life, one you only got to see one half of. but they failed. it just comes off as contrived.
part of the reason these moments failed for me was that naughty dog chose a structure that did their (pretty good) story no favors. you begin abby's playthrough after reaching the end of ellie's three days in seattle, so you know the fates of most of her friends already. for me it ruined the illusion of this being anything other than a scripted narrative from the very beginning. characters stopped being characters in their own right, only there to act as some mechanical part of an emotional torture device.
most of the emotional torture and killing is pretty fun, (and gorgeously acted and well produced) admittedly. you can dive in and out of stealth, playing hit and run as you whittle down enemy numbers. killing the dang puppers? the heckin flooferinos? pretty damn fun. hearing them whine as they die and whine over their dead handlers? pretty cool. then you get to play catch with them in abby's playthrough.
killing is bad, revenge is bad. but it's fun and good and necessary. these enemies are humans too! they have names! you get to be acquainted with them after the halfway point! they're abby's friends and play the dang ps vita! just kidding, because abby soon starts slaughtering her own friends too, and its actually a big, positive, cathartic character moment for her. the game wants to taunt you for engaging in black and white thinking and indulge you all the same. it wants to make you feel things while making you emotionally deadened at the things you do.
that's not to say that amorality and contradiction is a bad thing. its a feature of this setting after all. the last of us 1 ends with an egoist act divorced from any other moral calculus. its a triumph of love at any cost. you can both celebrate it and know that it might be wrong. you can understand you did a Bad Thing and yet still be happy. love for a daughter and a character both are demonstrated by the lengths you went to keep them. the last of us 2 taunts you with that decision, and decisions like those, constantly, rubbing your nose in them. examining amoral situations that are a feature of the setting with a moralist lens and ruminating on how fucked up it is a shitty copypasta, not great writing.
in this story, you are forced to play as abby, trying to kill ellie. youre forced to play ellie, trying to kill abby. the final boss fights happening to be each other is both a nice touch and cool gameplay moment but also a stark indication of how meaningless and contrived it is. after all, you could simply just die. you could be macheted over and over again as abby fighting ellie or be switchbladed in the gut over and over or blasted with a shotgun in the head or as ellie you can let abby beat you to death or drown you. but this is a game about breaking the circle of violence and revenge right? only kind of. at least twice people go out of their way to be merciful and it only ends up getting their friends or themselves killed.
no, this game is about a symbolic emotional journey of grief and coping and regret and letting go. it's ironic then, that it has all the exaggerated emotional lability and uses all the weaponized sentimentalism of an abusive relationship.
A borderline masterpiece that is held back only by its incongruity of story and gameplay.
Overall thoughts were that the game had too much padding. The pacing was not good. The story was stretched too thin for a 24 hour long game.
It had some great moments. With top notch performances and very impressive motion capture cinematics, the game does a wonderful job of immersing you in this world.
The sound design was 10/10 and the graphics were impressive. The gameplay was satisfying and intense while it was fresh, but became stale and repetitive after the 14 hour mark.
It had some great moments. With top notch performances and very impressive motion capture cinematics, the game does a wonderful job of immersing you in this world.
The sound design was 10/10 and the graphics were impressive. The gameplay was satisfying and intense while it was fresh, but became stale and repetitive after the 14 hour mark.
A stylishly directed, powerfully acted by the numbers revenge story riddled with pacing issues with a lacklustre ending.
It's not perfect, but it is one of the best games of the generation. The presentation is second to none, I was constantly blown away with how good the game looks and sounds. The stealth is pretty much unchanged from the first game but that's no bad thing. Combat is more brutal than ever. The story isn't as well done as the original for me and there are pacing issues as well as the game going a bit over the top in places. But overall it's an incredible experience that will stay with me for a long time.
The most complex emotional experience I've ever had with game. It takes you by the collar and throws you into a whirlwind of blood and anger that funnels itself into one of the most beautifully cathartic pieces of artistic media ever created. It does not have (nor tries to replicate) the smooth elegance of the original, and instead orchestrates an elaborate dialogue on the demons of revenge and virtues of empathy, all in a manner that only video games can offer. To have a Triple AAA game muster this much balls and ovaries, in this day and age, is in itself a gargantuan achievement.
Pretty much as dark and depressing as the medium gets, and the overall tragedy of this story and these characters will stick with me for a while. (Cards on the table - the first game's ending rubbed the wrong way and the inciting incident in this one made all kinds of sense to me.) Just an almost overwhelming sadness stemming from moments both big and small, which, yeah - well done, Naughty Dog. Gameplay's a secondary concern here and was, I dunno, adequate? (Survival horror still isn't my bag; your mileage may vary.)
Abby did nothing wrong