An absolutely brilliant game that I couldn’t stop playing, even if the zombies and gratuitous brutality left me in a constant state of discomfort.

I’m not a huge horror guy. In fact, I pretty strongly dislike the genre. I avoid all scary movies and video games like the plague. I also generally have pretty bad anxiety; suspenseful situations really do a number on my stomach. Additionally, grotesque violence gets to me a bit, especially violence against animals. So you may be wondering - “Why in the world did you play The Last of Us 2?” Good question. I honestly don’t know what compelled me to play this. Every aspect of this game was pushing against me and shoving me so incredibly far out of my comfort zone, and yet I couldn’t put the game down. The only reason I stopped playing in the evenings was because it scared the crap out of me. Despite the fear and constant anxiety I experienced while playing the game, I looked forward to playing more of it every day because I was just so dang invested in the story.

It’s difficult to talk about the story without getting into spoilers, but I truly think it is one of the best stories in video games right up there with Red Dead Redemption 2. I cared about the characters and the story so much that I found myself getting actually angry with decisions they made and how things shook out. I was fully in. I could’ve done without the zombies but I’m grateful that there were enough accessibility settings in the game to make the zombie encounters a bit easier.

The gameplay is a nice step-up from the previous game. All the upgrades were worthwhile and noticeable enough that it encouraged me to scavenge for whatever I could find... Even if 25% of the crap you find are collectibles that feel so tonally out-of-place for your character to get excited about while you’re fighting for your life. “Oh neat. I don’t have this card yet!” moments after you brutally murder six people and their pet dog.

The Last of Us: Part II is honestly brilliant. The fact that someone like me, who hates scary games and has awful anxiety, couldn’t put the game down should tell you all you need to know. Reality the only thing I’d change in the game, aside from the zombies, is how gratuitous a lot of the violence i, especially the violence against dogs. I understand that the point of the game is for you to grapple with the terrible stuff you’re doing and I get that the violence in the game is so brutal and realistic intentionally to make you uncomfortable, but I personally don't think "realistic violence in video games" is a thing I was ever really missing from my life.

+ Brilliant writing
+ Incredible acting
+ Great gameplay improvements
+ Fantastic accessibility options

- Violence and brutality feels gratuitous
- Collectibles are dumb

Reviewed on Feb 03, 2023


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