A complete failure.
TLOU2 relies on shock value & subversion as its inciting incident. Two very dangerous writing tools if handled poorly. If you're going to spite the audience, there better be a pay-off. So naturally TLOU2 spends its entire game maligning one character and whitewashing the other after the latter tortures a man to death. It's a game whose main theme is "revenge is a caustic cycle." A story about showing humans not as black & white, but as shades of grey. Meanwhile, TLOU2 has a pure evil, crazy cult that wants to murder a child, which the director's waifu protagonist triumphantly murders. It's such abysmal story telling that beats you over the head with its message, without a scruple of self-consciousness.
TLOU2's shortcomings present themselves so frequently it's easier to list the things it gets right. The gameplay has (mostly) been improved from the first game. The TLOU1's largest problem gameplay wise was the human AI. It's not only fixed but can be impressive from time to time (even if many of its best moments are scripted). Though the ability to enjoy the gameplay is inhibited by the constant, barely interactive walk & talk sections TLOU2 doubles down on from the first game. These Cinematic Gameplay Events™ are so numerous you'd be insane to replay TLOU2 on a regular basis, even if you loved the mechanics. The game looks amazing considering the hardware it's on. It sent multiple devs to hospital due to extended crunch periods, but, still, it looks nice!
Pretentious. Proselytising. Derisive. It's a narrative-driven game where the story struggles to stick out above fan-fiction.
TLOU2 relies on shock value & subversion as its inciting incident. Two very dangerous writing tools if handled poorly. If you're going to spite the audience, there better be a pay-off. So naturally TLOU2 spends its entire game maligning one character and whitewashing the other after the latter tortures a man to death. It's a game whose main theme is "revenge is a caustic cycle." A story about showing humans not as black & white, but as shades of grey. Meanwhile, TLOU2 has a pure evil, crazy cult that wants to murder a child, which the director's waifu protagonist triumphantly murders. It's such abysmal story telling that beats you over the head with its message, without a scruple of self-consciousness.
TLOU2's shortcomings present themselves so frequently it's easier to list the things it gets right. The gameplay has (mostly) been improved from the first game. The TLOU1's largest problem gameplay wise was the human AI. It's not only fixed but can be impressive from time to time (even if many of its best moments are scripted). Though the ability to enjoy the gameplay is inhibited by the constant, barely interactive walk & talk sections TLOU2 doubles down on from the first game. These Cinematic Gameplay Events™ are so numerous you'd be insane to replay TLOU2 on a regular basis, even if you loved the mechanics. The game looks amazing considering the hardware it's on. It sent multiple devs to hospital due to extended crunch periods, but, still, it looks nice!
Pretentious. Proselytising. Derisive. It's a narrative-driven game where the story struggles to stick out above fan-fiction.