The Last of Us Part II (2020)

Critics' Score:

Metacritic: 93/100

Famitsu: 39/40

Game Informer: 10/10

EDGE: 9/10

Gamespot: 8/10

IGN: 10/10

I totally understand The Last of Us detractors when they criticize it as more than a film that a game. The experience I have is certainly more "filmy"; as the biggest difference in video games and movies is the audience's agency in the narrative. Deus Ex, the only game I have reviewed here, is a perfect example of the perfect game. However, in the kind of category in which Naughty Dog develops its entries, that being a hardcore-narrative railed-experience, they are without a doubt the best. Although, there's no way you can change in any shape of form the events that will take place in their stories, during gameplay they give you enough free-space, to give you the illusion of some kind of agency over the character you play.

And that's where this game truly shines. I never felt too alienated from the story and character. Which should be the main topic of this review. The story. At the end of the first chapter of the game, I knew this was already a piece of genius. I was so surprised by the bravery of the writers in that very first act, that I had to replay it again and still was surprised. This is a simple story in fact, just as the first one, Neil Druckmann the writer of both games said that he liked simple stories with complex characters and that's what he does. The two main characters feel different to each other and layered, although I felt they lacked the intricacy of Joel in TLOU. Maybe that line between simplicity and complexity make them even more human.

The story deals with hate, in a very outright manner, no subtlety whatsoever. Unlike the Part I, here we don't have nice vistas with giraffes and whenever we do get some beautiful landscapes, the illusion of a beautiful world vanishes incredibly soon. If the first entry, had a warm artistic environment, here we have tones of blue hues, it feels cold and damp. This game isn't even very original at the story they tell, they aren't the first ones to investigate the depths of hate/revenge and its unpleasant stains that leave on the human psyche. However, utilizing the two point of views of opposite characters, Druckmann has managed to fill the story with layers, playing with our empathy. For a long while I haven't seen that story told in such a stark, bold and humane manner in a long time, treating it with the elaborate treatment that it deserved. And it's the first time I have seen such an adult story told this way in video games.

I know that some fans have blamed it for being too "woke" or "SJW". It has some "progressive" elements for sure, but while I can agree that in some other pieces those elements are only for face value, to the point they reach to be almost a parody. I was impressed at how real and respectful they implemented those elements in the game and narrative, it isn't front page and center, but rather as a layer to ground this game and the world in the intricacy of reality.

I didn't know if I wanted a Part II. Now, after being hurt, surprised and moved by it. I can only say, we are lucky to have it available to us.

Score: 95/100

The Last of Us Part II will probably be the best game that I play in 2020, and I didn't like it. I played it on a PS4 slim and it looked amazing. The gameplay felt great and going to other games just feels clunky by comparison. I'm not going to go into too much detail, and I'd recommend anyone played the The Last of Us to give this one a try, but if you're on the fence, just wait until the price drops. It's a Naughty Dog game; their quality of game design is on a higher level.

I was eagerly waiting for this expecting a fine wine, and instead it felt like someone switched out my drink for a fine vinegar. I can appreciate a high quality vinegar, but that's not what I thought I was getting. I've never felt so uninterested in a character as I did in this game. It wasn't just their story telling and flow of the game that bothered me. The violence was unsettling. I'm not real enthusiastic about a wind pipe severing and dog killing simulator.

The decision on how they would tell this story felt like an idea that was entertained to the point that they went too far and saw it through to the end. "Think different." A different approach like this may be memorable and get people talking, but I'm just not interested in the route they took. I play games as an escape from the unexplainable complexities of our existence.

Farewell Seattle. I wish we left on better terms. Maybe in another 7 years I'll have forgiven them. I set out with high hopes and left with a sour pit in my stomach.

One of my issues with the first game was I found the story to be too derivative to other post-apocalyptic stories I've seen. It's doing a good job telling the story, but it bored me with how unoriginal it was. The Last of Us Part II's story has the exact opposite problem. There are few stories I can compare it to and even then, none of them go to the scale of this game. Too bad the story is told poorly. The brutality of the combat kills the impact of some pivotal moments in the game. The story is overwritten: the game would make it's point and then keep going to continue making the same point. It makes the story feel unnecessarily dragged out. The relationships between friendly characters are built using shallow small talk and flirtation. I couldn't get invested in any of them. The freshness of the story made it entertaining to watch play out. I didn't know where it was going, so there were plenty of surprises. I just didn't care about anyone involved.

I do think material between Joel and Ellie is really well done at least. It's the only relationship I found myself invested in because there's a whole game worth of story supporting it, and the last game ends at a very interesting moment between them. I was curious to see how that changed their relationship. The game delivered on that end.

The combat is much better here than in the first game. I had gotten tired of fighting in the first game about halfway through due to a lack of enemy variety and variety in the encounters. Since this is a sequel, they of course added more, and they managed to hit a sweet spot here. More depth has been added to the melee where you can pretty much get into a proper fist or knife fight with enemies. I can dodge their attacks and wait for an opening to land a combo of punches. It also takes into context whether or not I'm attacking someone near a wall or running at full speed when striking a character which I can use to my advantage in a fight. The environments where enemy encounters happen are much bigger allowing for better use of stealth. There's enough room to retreat and lose line of sight when I get spotted. The feel of the shooting still isn't great, but I think that's acceptable in a Survival Horror game. It forces you to wait until the last second before pulling the trigger. It keeps things tense. There are several amazing set piece moments too. I would love to play through this game again to max out skill trees if I didn't have to play through the sections where characters are just hanging out.

Obviously, this game is technically impressive. It's Naughty Dog. It's gorgeous to look at. I'm especially in awe of the animation. There are so many details in characters' movements during gameplay that are smoothly executed here.