Rate top gamesPhenomenal achievement in gaming and storytelling. 'The Last of Us Part II' is a truly immersive experience which is challenging, thought provoking, and beautiful. The team at Naughty Dog should be super proud of what they have created.
Before playing the game I made sure I knew practically nothing about other opinions on the game. I didn't want their thoughts to hinder my experience of the game. I made sure to finish the game at a solid pace to ensure nothing was ruined or spoiled for me. This made me shocked at the amount of hate that was directed towards the game. I initially couldn't understand why people disliked the game so much. However, I do believe there are some valid points why people may dislike the game. I understand the story is not for everyone. For instance, Joel right at the beginning, Ellie being an unplayable character for a couple hours in the game, Abby being a character who takes a quite long time to develop a connection with, and so forth. It's challenging. Whilst I believe Naughty Dog did an excellent job at making these creative decisions work.
I honestly didn't want a game that just did what a lot of other games do; satisfy fans. I feel some of the best creative projects (that be in film, gaming, music, etc.) are those which do something new and unique. Naughty Dog have done just that. They made me not want to kill the person that killed one of my favourite video game characters ever. They made me realise how revenge serves no purpose. That revenge is something that feels like it will make things right, however, it does the exact opposite. It destroys people. It destroys Abby and Ellie. More importantly, it destroys the people they love.
Neil Druckmann does an excellent job with the writing. The dialogue feels authentic, and the world in which these characters inhabit feels real and lived in. One criticism I hear a lot is how Abby is an unlikable character. This may be because she is so different to Ellie or maybe because she is somewhat emotionless for a large part of the game. However, I don't think the pure fact she is unlikable means the writing is poor. She is just different. She takes a while to grow and to realise that she is in fact flawed as a person. She wants to present herself as unbreakable and emotionally tough, whilst deep down, she knows that is not who she is. She has room to love, and Lev is the person who offers her that chance to love.
At the end of the day, The Last of Us has always been a series looking at morals and the choices we make in life. Joel made a bold choice to save Ellie at the end of the first game, even when he knew that would prevent the world from finding a cure. Ellie and Abby make bold choices to avenge the death of those they love. They kill many along the way and that's because they are inheritably flawed as people. They are blinded by passion and love. This is why I think The Last of Us Part II is a masterpiece. It's complex, layered, and truly spectacular.
Also, if you haven't played the game, don't listen base your opinions on the game on what others have said. Video games are after all different to every other medium because they require you to be a 'player'. Immerse yourself in this world. Immerse yourself in this story. I promise you it will be worth your time.
Before playing the game I made sure I knew practically nothing about other opinions on the game. I didn't want their thoughts to hinder my experience of the game. I made sure to finish the game at a solid pace to ensure nothing was ruined or spoiled for me. This made me shocked at the amount of hate that was directed towards the game. I initially couldn't understand why people disliked the game so much. However, I do believe there are some valid points why people may dislike the game. I understand the story is not for everyone. For instance, Joel right at the beginning, Ellie being an unplayable character for a couple hours in the game, Abby being a character who takes a quite long time to develop a connection with, and so forth. It's challenging. Whilst I believe Naughty Dog did an excellent job at making these creative decisions work.
I honestly didn't want a game that just did what a lot of other games do; satisfy fans. I feel some of the best creative projects (that be in film, gaming, music, etc.) are those which do something new and unique. Naughty Dog have done just that. They made me not want to kill the person that killed one of my favourite video game characters ever. They made me realise how revenge serves no purpose. That revenge is something that feels like it will make things right, however, it does the exact opposite. It destroys people. It destroys Abby and Ellie. More importantly, it destroys the people they love.
Neil Druckmann does an excellent job with the writing. The dialogue feels authentic, and the world in which these characters inhabit feels real and lived in. One criticism I hear a lot is how Abby is an unlikable character. This may be because she is so different to Ellie or maybe because she is somewhat emotionless for a large part of the game. However, I don't think the pure fact she is unlikable means the writing is poor. She is just different. She takes a while to grow and to realise that she is in fact flawed as a person. She wants to present herself as unbreakable and emotionally tough, whilst deep down, she knows that is not who she is. She has room to love, and Lev is the person who offers her that chance to love.
At the end of the day, The Last of Us has always been a series looking at morals and the choices we make in life. Joel made a bold choice to save Ellie at the end of the first game, even when he knew that would prevent the world from finding a cure. Ellie and Abby make bold choices to avenge the death of those they love. They kill many along the way and that's because they are inheritably flawed as people. They are blinded by passion and love. This is why I think The Last of Us Part II is a masterpiece. It's complex, layered, and truly spectacular.
Also, if you haven't played the game, don't listen base your opinions on the game on what others have said. Video games are after all different to every other medium because they require you to be a 'player'. Immerse yourself in this world. Immerse yourself in this story. I promise you it will be worth your time.
«Blew my mind»
Other reviews62
There are some things that really didn't get to me in this game, mainly around some artistic / storyline decisions. I liked that it tried a bit to be like Attack on Titan, to make you see both sides of the same story and of the same conflict, in a morally ambiguous setup. And while Attack on Titan manages to make you love and feel sad for Reiner, which represents the other side, The Last of Us fails to make Abby more than a mediocre character which saves some kids because she felt bad. That is probably due to more decisions of how she is presented in game or her personality, but, for me, a big contributor to this (which also made everything feel a bit anticlimactic) was the storyline splitting decision: to have me (almost) finish Ellie's storyline and then make me start all-over from the beginning playing with Abby. That's quite a bold decision, pretty hard to digest - maybe if they made the storylines side by side, more intertwined and linked together it could've build up more immersiveness? I am not sure. But I am sure that the current version feels flawed.
Anyway, all that aside, the game is absolutely gorgeous. It hits you with the same emotional rollercoaster as the first one, maybe even a bit more, as it is more mature and more brutal, and it knows exactly how to handle the wounds, that it inflicts to you right at the beginning of the game, throughout the story. The gameplay is from another world, the visuals are unforgettable, the ending is brutal as hell. Makes you wonder who the real villain really is, while rooting for the same villain (because, again, the other protagonist is not that likeable).
I really hope people don't miss out on this game because of some storytelling decisions that they did not like. The game is totally worth it and it comes at you with an emotional rollercoaster and also a fun challenge I liked to play while in-game - how many times and how brutally can you kill Abby?
PS: the soundtrack is absolutely <3
Anyway, all that aside, the game is absolutely gorgeous. It hits you with the same emotional rollercoaster as the first one, maybe even a bit more, as it is more mature and more brutal, and it knows exactly how to handle the wounds, that it inflicts to you right at the beginning of the game, throughout the story. The gameplay is from another world, the visuals are unforgettable, the ending is brutal as hell. Makes you wonder who the real villain really is, while rooting for the same villain (because, again, the other protagonist is not that likeable).
I really hope people don't miss out on this game because of some storytelling decisions that they did not like. The game is totally worth it and it comes at you with an emotional rollercoaster and also a fun challenge I liked to play while in-game - how many times and how brutally can you kill Abby?
PS: the soundtrack is absolutely <3
«That ending!»
«OST on repeat»
Just got done with my second playthrough of this. *spoilers for those who may have not played it*
Honestly I think I like it more than the first time I played it. Really took my time this time around.
Gameplay is solid. Character movement feels amazing.
I love how quickly stuff can go wrong in a conflict. It's probably something that wouldn't play as well in other games and end up being irritating but with the setting of this game it makes total sense that you make a couple wrong moves and it's over for you.
Game has an excellent balance of supplies (I assume this game has somewhat of a dynamic difficulty?), It's very rare I like a crafting system these days but it works quite well in this game what with you having to make decisions as to what you need more in any given moment.
A key moment for me in the game is pitting infected against human enemies, but there's so little of it. I think you get to experience this like ...twice or three times in the whole game. I could fuck around with that for hours.
There's a few parts that irk me, story wise. But things considered for a sequel, they did a really fucking job pulling it together, props for them really trying something off the beaten path for a sequel narrative too. Considering the first game was such a hit, it would have been easy (and probably advised by investors to play it safe).
The final scene still hits hard.
A few extra notes:
I wish we learned more about the seraphites and the rattlers. I think it's perfectly plausible that groups like this would arise in the post apocalypse world after 30 years or so, but I'd love to know how they came about recruiting people and whatnot.
I wish there was some gameplay for the final part of Santa Barbara, when you release the prisoners, would be good to get involved in the chaos as they revolt against the Rattlers and would make for an excellent gameplay crescendo right before the final fight.
I'm not sure what they fuck they'd do if they made a part III, maybe something about Abby and the regrouping of the fireflies. But I'd be here for it if they made it.
There's probably a bunch of other things I thought of while playing this, but I didn't bother taking notes. this was the general gist of it tho.
9/10
Honestly I think I like it more than the first time I played it. Really took my time this time around.
Gameplay is solid. Character movement feels amazing.
I love how quickly stuff can go wrong in a conflict. It's probably something that wouldn't play as well in other games and end up being irritating but with the setting of this game it makes total sense that you make a couple wrong moves and it's over for you.
Game has an excellent balance of supplies (I assume this game has somewhat of a dynamic difficulty?), It's very rare I like a crafting system these days but it works quite well in this game what with you having to make decisions as to what you need more in any given moment.
A key moment for me in the game is pitting infected against human enemies, but there's so little of it. I think you get to experience this like ...twice or three times in the whole game. I could fuck around with that for hours.
There's a few parts that irk me, story wise. But things considered for a sequel, they did a really fucking job pulling it together, props for them really trying something off the beaten path for a sequel narrative too. Considering the first game was such a hit, it would have been easy (and probably advised by investors to play it safe).
The final scene still hits hard.
A few extra notes:
I wish we learned more about the seraphites and the rattlers. I think it's perfectly plausible that groups like this would arise in the post apocalypse world after 30 years or so, but I'd love to know how they came about recruiting people and whatnot.
I wish there was some gameplay for the final part of Santa Barbara, when you release the prisoners, would be good to get involved in the chaos as they revolt against the Rattlers and would make for an excellent gameplay crescendo right before the final fight.
I'm not sure what they fuck they'd do if they made a part III, maybe something about Abby and the regrouping of the fireflies. But I'd be here for it if they made it.
There's probably a bunch of other things I thought of while playing this, but I didn't bother taking notes. this was the general gist of it tho.
9/10
«Beaten more than once»
I simply don't have words to describe how good this game is.
Luckily, I had the opportunity to play this game and its precursory at once. That was crucial to my experience since Part II is an organic peace of Part 1. Why? well, let me explain. Basically, all events of Part 2 happen as consequences of the epilogue of Part 1. All the development we saw involving Joe and Ellie is elevated to extremes. But you have to play the first game to feel it. Going straight to the point, the prologue shows how impactful the new engine is. I played the Part 1 remake and was incredible, but still tied in the PS3 script. Here, there is no limit. It`s almost unbelievable to believe that this runs in a PS4. The expressions, lightning, physics. My god, is so verossimile. The gore though... insane. After that shocking beginning, we go thirsty to get our revenge. Fortunately, this game just shows us how important a perspective is. At first, I didn't like the Abby section. But when I started to get involved by the scars arc, man... I was totally into it.
This game is a study of human nature, such as Game of Thrones and Red Dead Redemption. Its connections to the first game add to the original narrative and integrate even more into the discussion about what we do for love. Powerful story. Unfortunately, since English is not my mother language, I really can't express myself about how impactful this game was for me. But anyway, I know you understand me if you played as I did.
Luckily, I had the opportunity to play this game and its precursory at once. That was crucial to my experience since Part II is an organic peace of Part 1. Why? well, let me explain. Basically, all events of Part 2 happen as consequences of the epilogue of Part 1. All the development we saw involving Joe and Ellie is elevated to extremes. But you have to play the first game to feel it. Going straight to the point, the prologue shows how impactful the new engine is. I played the Part 1 remake and was incredible, but still tied in the PS3 script. Here, there is no limit. It`s almost unbelievable to believe that this runs in a PS4. The expressions, lightning, physics. My god, is so verossimile. The gore though... insane. After that shocking beginning, we go thirsty to get our revenge. Fortunately, this game just shows us how important a perspective is. At first, I didn't like the Abby section. But when I started to get involved by the scars arc, man... I was totally into it.
This game is a study of human nature, such as Game of Thrones and Red Dead Redemption. Its connections to the first game add to the original narrative and integrate even more into the discussion about what we do for love. Powerful story. Unfortunately, since English is not my mother language, I really can't express myself about how impactful this game was for me. But anyway, I know you understand me if you played as I did.
«Blew my mind»
«Can’t stop playing»
-- The game is about not judging by people's worst actions, context matters
-- so that's why it's crazy how they can do that but switch protagonists to make you embody and empathize. It;s so meta that people hated the story and that's exactly what they're trying to get you to feel.
-- Revenge! Is it ever worth it? They're the same!
--the game is maybe too long? Stretched out and the back (like I had to do the revenge) and I didn't want to restart the story with Abby
-- The stealth mechanic was fun but the sound sucked for it and I wanted more interesting encounter styles
-- The world building is sublime
-- so that's why it's crazy how they can do that but switch protagonists to make you embody and empathize. It;s so meta that people hated the story and that's exactly what they're trying to get you to feel.
-- Revenge! Is it ever worth it? They're the same!
--the game is maybe too long? Stretched out and the back (like I had to do the revenge) and I didn't want to restart the story with Abby
-- The stealth mechanic was fun but the sound sucked for it and I wanted more interesting encounter styles
-- The world building is sublime
«Blew my mind»
«Just one more turn»
After budgeting a good amount of time between release and actually playing this, I can confidently say that the backlash to this game is maybe the worst of all the non-troversies that have shook nerdom in recent years.
I thought it was unanimous that the strengths of The Last of Us were always its commitment to complex characters, a gritty, dangerous world where no one was ever safe, and a genuinely morally grey journey. The Last of Us' ending is not some edgelord fake-deep ending. It's messy, it's uncomfortable, it's gut-wrenching. Joel does not emerge a hero, he's just Joel, with more blood on his hands and just a shred of hope left. It's this experience that left the impact on fans.
While Part 2 may have a different kind of story, at the end of the day, it's still The Last of Us at its core. I don't see any of the strengths from The Last Of Us absent in Part 2. If anything they're here stronger than ever. The journey may be a little darker and more complex, but it's always profoundly human in a way that few games are. Beyond that, gameplay has also been improved. Combat is highly energetic, kills are SO brutal, traversal is fun and intuitive. I was motivated to go at it again in New Game + (something I hardly ever feel), though I think I'm playing too many games right now to give that a go.
I still love Elli. Now I love Abby and Lev. I have no idea what they could do for Part 3, but I'd love to see them try.
I thought it was unanimous that the strengths of The Last of Us were always its commitment to complex characters, a gritty, dangerous world where no one was ever safe, and a genuinely morally grey journey. The Last of Us' ending is not some edgelord fake-deep ending. It's messy, it's uncomfortable, it's gut-wrenching. Joel does not emerge a hero, he's just Joel, with more blood on his hands and just a shred of hope left. It's this experience that left the impact on fans.
While Part 2 may have a different kind of story, at the end of the day, it's still The Last of Us at its core. I don't see any of the strengths from The Last Of Us absent in Part 2. If anything they're here stronger than ever. The journey may be a little darker and more complex, but it's always profoundly human in a way that few games are. Beyond that, gameplay has also been improved. Combat is highly energetic, kills are SO brutal, traversal is fun and intuitive. I was motivated to go at it again in New Game + (something I hardly ever feel), though I think I'm playing too many games right now to give that a go.
I still love Elli. Now I love Abby and Lev. I have no idea what they could do for Part 3, but I'd love to see them try.
I played TLOU I for the first time right before playing this game, which helped me see TLOU II as an extension of Part I. Still raw from the events from the first part, the second part ripped my heart out and I hated what was happening ...until I played as the antagonist. The game really underlines the fact that everyone, even our favorite characters, are only human and imperfect. The only misgiving I have about this game is the pacing. I mistook two chapters for the Epilogue before it actually ended. But what an ending.
«Blew my mind»
«Can’t stop playing»