The Last of Us Part II (2020)

This game had been in my backlog for a while, as I didn’t feel like playing it during the chaotic discourse surrounding its release. I wasn’t sure whether the hate it received had any merit, and I wanted to decide that on my own terms. Sure, Naughty Dog did lie in their trailers to avoid "ruining" the twist—which, in my opinion, is always a silly thing to worry about. But regardless, I found the game to be really good. And unlike many others, I am not mad about what happens to Joel. It is not like he didn't murder dozens of people who were trying to save the world. And he did so to save a single person — someone he knew would have wanted to make the sacrifice. People got attached to him, I get it, but it is not unreasonable to think his actions (whether you agree with them or not) would lead to the events of this game. With that being said, the second game is basically an extension of this flawed-human narrative.

Mechanically, this is a well-polished, extremely fine-tuned game. There is little to say in that regard. The gameplay is more of the first game, but refined. Narratively, however, it's a clear step up. From the scenario to the dialogues everything is so immersive... which can be a double-edged blade for the experience of the player. You see, you are playing a morally gray character at best. From the very beginning, your enemies are always humanized. Even during conflicts, the way they react whenever they find you managed to kill one of their friends shows a lot more emotion than in most other games. They will, in disbelief, pronounce "they killed [insert person's name]", scream "no, no, no!", or just proclaim a silent "oh my god". Some will even plead for you not to kill them.

And then came the dogs... and suddenly, the game got way harder to play. Not because they are particularly difficult enemies, but because you know the game will make you kill dozens of them. And the dogs are designed to foil your stealth, just so you feel the need to take them out first. And yes, the dogs will whimper if their owners are killed — because of course that level of immersion was needed. In a way, this is the complete opposite of a "Can you pet the dog?" game.

With some stealth skills you could also try to avoid killing (some) enemies — but would Ellie even want that? She has a vendetta against the group, even if her true targets are only a few individuals. And just in case you ever forget her disdain for the group, you are reminded as she angrily mutters "shut up" while slicing their throats in stealth kills. She will even add the occasional "f*cker" after the deed.

But don't get me wrong: Ellie's enemies are no saints either and you get to experience their side. Everything I have described above is, of course, by design. The storytelling is trying (and succeeding) to make you uncomfortable. Even more so than the ending of the first game that frustrated so many of my friends. Naughty Dogs has just gotten way too good at making you sit back and think: "Jeez... I think I am playing as a psychopath!"

It's a fun game — except when it's clearly trying not to be.

Everything is better and Sony made sure to funnel enough money into both ending world hunger and propagate more genocide in the middle east so that this game is indisputably a technical marvel. It's really pretty, wow! The combat is great and very in depth too! WOW! The short open world segments are dumb though and show that this is still a game designed to fit a quota, to crash on concurrent fads more than anything else and whatever soul you got from this soulless corporate product is still because afterall: this franchise is a game design Frankenstein who was raised on a strict diet of Oscar Baiting, I'm sure some of the parts of that Frakenstein have a soul. The writing is still mediocre and on par with what a man thinks soap operas are written like, but the acting and scene direction works enough that you'd ignore everything is still very surface level and be sinked into an idea of "Atmosphere". Matter of fact halfway through this game you'll forget this is a generic zombie premise and think you're in a ultra realistic Vietnam war simulator. That feeling? That feeling that you're like a soldier suffering PTSD? That's as good as the game gets, that whole segment had a great sense of escalation and pacing...

After that the pacing crawls to a stop which is sad because Abby was a promising character.

Abby's campaign starts cool at first showing that Seattle is as equally as a haven in the apocalypse if not even better than Jackson, to which at this point in the game you're like "Yeah I get it, Ellie's a fucking idiot and revenge is a fool's arrand how far are you gonna stretch this obvious moral you'd learn in preschool? What? THIS GOES ON FOREVER?". They should of made Abby's campaign as equally desolate and tense, especially considering she's a FUCKING SOLDIER WITH NO REMORSE, you can do a lot with that! But instead we get Call of Duty campaign with the worst design aspects of the first entry rather the cool stuff they were doing with Ellie.

Like yes you spare Abby because she's justified but basically kill literally EVERYONE else involved, it's stupid we get it, no worth over complaining how stupid it is, everyone's done that, if you're smart you never got your hopes up with a zionist to begin with.

ALSO, feel as if I have an obligation to say this, the whole wolves vs scars thing, it's a clear cut Zionist view of what they think religious people beneath them are up to (the more you think about it the grosser it is), there's transphobic torture being shown as an focal point as to why religious zealots are bad to which is funny coming from a social experiment to make the most conservative country USA funded think thank given statehood- even though the vatican is okay with trans people and Palestine's catholic history is being ethnically cleansed,

and honestly at that point, do yourself a favor: stop playing the campaign whenever it bores you, enjoy the one thing worth 100% savoring: The Resident Evil 4 Mercenaries thing.

Hm. Okay that mode is pretty cool. Thank you Fit.Girl.

Spoiilers ahead...but it is like a 5 year old game.

I was very excited for this game and boy did it disappoint. Like many having Joel die in the first half sucked. Then I had to play with one of the most un appealing characters in video game history in Abby was awful. I just wanted to keep letting myself die. Not that I had to try. Game took me 47 hours to complete. It was far far too long. I get it. You pay $60 for a game you want something. However I wait years to get it and spent like $20. I wanted that game to end after 20 hours. I cannot think of one redeeming quality of this game. The graphics were ok. The basic setting was ok (even if it was repetitive as hell) And why did Abby have to look like a dude with kind of a girls head on? At least Ellie was a scrappy kid/teen trying to make it in a horrible world. Abby on the contrary looked like she was ready for WWE. They don't all have to look like Lara Croft but at least make the person who killed my favorite character at least a little likeable. I know there is all this artistic crap about how both girls were mirror images of each other, blah blah blah. BS. I want a game where I kicked ass in a shitty world. Save me from the poetic license crap. I wish Ellie just held her down a little longer in the end. Super disappointed they went this way with what was one of the best PS4 games I had ever played.

Unfortunately this game gets a lot of hate. Some of the critiques I can understand while some are undeserving. Nevertheless, it had an unbelievable hard job of following its predecessor which is one of the best games ever but I believe it more than met the task. It’s a great journey and more than a solid sequel.

The Last of Us Part 2 is a big budget AAA sequel to a game that didn’t need one and features a brutal story that doesn’t know how to end. The graphics are highly polished with visuals out of a blockbuster movie. The narrative features expertly crafted cinematography and motion capture. The game is also extremely violent with depictions of gore, torture and dismemberment. The story is an emotionally draining experience and maintains a somber tone throughout the 30 or so hours it takes to complete.

As the name suggests The Last of Us Part 2 is the direct sequel to The Last of Us. The introduction immediately spoils the ending of the first game, so it is highly recommended you play the original game first. In fact even if you have played the first game I recommend brushing up on the story because Part 2 assumes you know about the Fireflies, WLF and the relationship between Joel and Ellie.

Part 2 starts four years later, with Joel and Ellie fully adapted to their new lives as townsfolk in Jackson, Wyoming. The relationship between Joel and Ellie is frayed and the previously inseparable duo are now actively avoiding each other. Joel confides to his brother Tommy about his decision to save Ellie from the Fireflies; while Ellie develops feelings for her friend Dina after a night out. The two pairs are part of a larger cohort responsible for patrolling the town’s perimeter to cull trespassing zombies.

Joel and Tommy don’t return from their patrol one day, prompting Ellie and the others to search for them. The perspective suddenly changes to a woman named Abby who seems unusually dedicated to tracking down Joel. Joel and Tommy stumble into Abby’s group after running from a horde of zombies. Abby shoots Joel in the leg and tortures him, while Tommy is knocked unconscious. She reveals to Joel that they are ex-Fireflies. Ellie tries to rescue Joel and is subdued, but not before witnessing his death. Abby, satisfied that Joel is dead, spares Tommy and Ellie. Ellie recovers and learns that Tommy has already left to hunt Abby. Ellie decides to pursue Abby as well but reluctantly allows Dina to join in her quest for revenge. The rest of the first half of the game involves Ellie and Dina finding Abby by following Tommy’s footsteps.

The gameplay is very similar to the original The Last of Us. It is a survival action game with an emphasis on stealth and combat with limited resources. Ellie plays similarly to Joel in the original The Last of Us but with better stealth and melee options. Ellie can avoid enemies by going prone under vehicles, structures and tall grass. She can actively dodge melee attacks with the press of the R1 button. There are also collectibles found in each level that can open new upgrade opportunities and unlock concept art in the Extras menu. Outside of combat there are numerous locked safes to unlock and crafting desks to upgrade weapons. The last notable feature are rope puzzles that involve throwing a rope or extension cord over obstacles to climb walls or power machines.

I am not a fan of the gameplay. Encounters feel like episodes of trial and error. It is far too easy to get killed. Clickers, direct shotgun blasts and explosions are one-hit kills. Ellie is often up against a swarm of zombies or a squad of soldiers. The game incentivizes the player to avoid combat and sneakily find the exit. Unfortunately, the combat arenas are far too open and it is difficult to figure out the objective without multiple repeated attempts. There is the option of methodically sneaking up and assassinating each and every enemy, but it makes encounters painfully long and boring.

Once an encounter is over, the scavenging phase begins. Due to the nature of the game, it is vital to look through every nook and cranny, to improve Ellie’s chances of survival. I absolutely abhor these moments. I don’t find it fun having Ellie wander around each room, rubbing herself on every piece of the environment just for collectibles. The game uses these opportunities for environmental storytelling but I didn’t soak in these experiences much. The “game” part of The Last of Us 2 encouraged me to run around mashing the Triangle button instead of observing the excellently detailed environments.

Ellie’s story of revenge is weak and one-note. A large portion of it is padded with a wild-goose-chase plot. I’m not expecting Ellie and Dina to be master detectives, but their line of deduction is laughable. The way they track down Tommy and Abby is the equivalent of following rumors from a cousin’s aunt’s brother-in-law’s best friend’s letter. Despite all that, the chemistry between Ellie and Dina is fantastic. The writing feels natural for a same-sex couple which is astonishingly rare for a video game of this budget. The motion capture is rendered with such fidelity that I had a hard time believing I was playing a video game. The visuals of seeing two characters kiss was extremely believable.

I will try my best not to spoil the game, but the second half has you play as Abby, the same Abby who tortured and killed Joel. Abby is much beefier than Ellie and her gameplay encourages an aggressive playstyle. Abby has stronger melee skills and access to heavy weaponry like assault rifles. She can also do stealth but not with the same finesse as Ellie since Abby needs to craft shivs to assassinate Clickers and takes longer to choke out enemies. Abby’s story takes place at the same time as Ellie’s story. Her story involves her group of friends dealing with the PTSD after Joel’s death as well as fighting against a religious cult known as the Scars.

The plot is extremely grim and constantly reminds players that revenge is bad. The story is cliche and hovers over familiar territory that despite there being a zombie apocalypse, the real monsters are the humans. There are also some progressive elements that may irk players. As mentioned before there are several same-sex romantic cutscenes. In addition, there is a trans-character, a woman with an extremely masculine build and a group of stereotypical red-necks called the Rattlers who keep people as slaves.

Last of Us Part 2 is an extremely polished game from a graphical and gameplay standpoint but wears out its welcome due to its length. Ironically despite the game’s length, numerous plotlines and characters never get fully developed as the spotlight is almost exclusively pointed at Ellie and Abby. The first Last of Us had a clear vision about a broken dad who lost his daughter and finds comfort in protecting a complete stranger. The Last of Us Part 2 in the meantime is rudderless; constantly wallowing in the misery of revenge, blood and gore.

This is a worthy sequel with substantial upgrades to the visuals and careful tweaks to the game play. However, the story telling has intruded on game play to the detriment of the game as a whole. The game pulls back from systems as the driver, and in an effort to tell a more complex story, it has created a confetti of out of sequence game chapters with conflicted viewpoints.

And this is how I understand it.

The Last of Us series is an adaptation of The Iliad. The Iliad spends the majority of its chapters grimly detailing the effects of bronze age weapons on human flesh, never flinches from showing the invading army as animated by base purpose, and features a character implacable to change and solely animated by rage and vengeance. The Last of Us sticks to this material, and The Last of Us Part II returns to this material. Now we see the cycle perpetuate. Our new Achilles remains implacable, but the gift that she has been robbed of is the choice between, on one side, death and glory, and on the other, ignominious long life. Sadly, she is cheated twice: once in the narrative, and a second time by the form of the narrative. Our new Achilles finds herself in the narrative folds of the Odyssey which is ill suited to the story of vengeance.

To show the Trojans as worthy adversaries with their own distinct yet consistent viewpoint, Homer required a few speeches by Hector and Priam. Naughty Dog instead made a mash up between the Iliad and the Aenid.

Mixed feeling's overall. The gameplay has definitely improved, combat is more fluid and stealth feels and executes much better. Voice work and visuals are once again fantastic and keep you immersed in the depressing world you explore. What let's it down is it's Story and the direction it takes as the game progresses, many of the supporting characters are written poorly and thus don't feel much of a connection. The final few chapters left me scratching my head and had me leaving that world on a dampener.

Wow... I have been gone a long time. Very few games have piqued my interest recently.. Until now XD

The Last of Us 2 drops tonight at 11pm! and Oh Boy!, am I looking forward to it! Should I pull an all-nighter and be tired and cranky tomorrow? Or should I just wait to play until tomorrow after work and have a weekend gaming sesh?

Hmm...

As a massive massive TLOU fan, watching The Last of Us 2 videos now didn't inspire anything inside me but disappointment. 'We want to make you feel bad killing enemies and dogs by having them name the dead and have death-whines.'

One, it just sounds like a psychopath simulator. Two, then have the player kill a dozen enemies in the entire game rather than making them disposable fun-generators! BUT, YOU CAN'T - because it's JUST a shooter for which you're forcing the narrative to take all the strain of its tired violence mechanics.

I don't wish to dispose of entire genres of games, but can we at least resist strapping a paper mask of the Mona Lisa on Doom and calling it something else? The emperor has no clothes.

I have no doubt it's going to be great to play with its Uncharted 4 levels and the story will be a merciless heart-stirrer, but this issue really hampers any potential it and the rest of gaming has for storytelling. It's the difference between needing to play the game to experience the story and just being able to watch the cinematics.