The Last of Us Part II (PS4)

Finally finished. What a game.

I’m choked up at the ending, what an incredible story, an absolute masterpiece.
 
I’ve just finished this this morning. What a game. Excellent in almost every way for me. Thought the credits were going to roll a few times though before they actually did. Anyway, I’ll spoiler tag the rest, and bit of a warning - could be a long post...


Also good to see a game that divides opinion. For me, I went through a range of emotions a certain points as the story decisions unfolded.

Playing as Abby initially I thought was a smart way of introducing the new characters and setting up the game. It was pretty good imo in how that section switched back and forth between Abby and Ellie as it led to the turning point of the story.
The killing of Joel was brutal and for me, unexpected. I expected Joel to kick the can at some point but hadn’t thought it would happen so early.
I hadn’t seen any of the leaks thankfully and I’d bought Naughty Dogs marketing ploys to think something else was going to unfold (what I thought was going to happen was that Ellie and Dinas relationship was much further along and it was Dina that was going to get brutally murdered on that early patrol. ND only showed Dina in the early parts of the game (quite easy really) and alluded to her demise. They also implied Joel would go along with Ellie - even going so far as featuring Joel in the trailers delivering the lines that were actually said in the game by Jesse “you didn’t think I’d let you do this on your own, did you?” So well played ND for being a bit crafty in their marketing).
Introducing Abby, Owen, Manny etc, and killing Joel was in no way “lazy writing” imo. Lazy writing would have been keeping the status quo and kept Ellie and Joel doing largely what they did in the first game. Abby, Owen and co were all fully fleshed out, with their own back stories and motivations...that’s not lazy writing is it?
Anyway, playing as Abby the second time at the mid point in the game...initially I wasn’t keen and I remember thinking...ok, I bet this is where the “I don’t like the direction ND are going with this” comments stemmed from when the leaks happened (I could be wrong). Thing is, the more I played, the more I grew to like and understand her. I’m sure that was NDs point, and again, the way they develop that should be applauded. She’s not a bad person, she’s actually quite nice. And that’s where her, Ellie and Joel are the same - not bad people, but are willing and capable of doing very bad things if they feel their loved ones have been threatened or killed. If anything Abby, is more forgiving than Ellie, and lets her live on a couple of occasions.

I did feel this part of the game dragged a bit...particularly the jaunt to the island with Lev but the parallels between her and Lev and Joel and Ellie weren’t lost on me, but were never going be as impactful.
When it came to fighting Ellie I wasn’t keen on that - I certainly did not want to kill Ellie so was glad when Abby let her live. I thought that was the end...with the scenes at the house with Dina and baby acting as an epilogue a la RDR1/2.


When Ellie decided to go back after Abby again I was surprised. Thought she’d let it lie but no. (Also, how the hell did Tommy live? Looked like he copped a bullet to the back of the head)
When Abby got captured I thought I knew what was going to happen. Ellie was going to find them, release them and they’d talk everything over and then head onto Santa Barbara to the fireflies so that Ellie could be used to develop a cure - righting Joel’s wrong and allowing Abbys Dads death not to be in vain (ultimately). Ellie would die as part of the process but would fulfil her wish of her immunity having a meaning. That’s what I thought was going to happen. Ultimately I’m glad how it ended though - I didn’t want either Ellie or Abby to die so I’m glad Ellie finally relented.

An incredible game though. One I’ll be thinking about for a while. Glad I’ve got it done though so I can read spoilers and others comments and stuff without fear.
Oh, and as for DLC...Tommy’s shenanigans would be an excellent choice imo. Would be good to see what he was up to in the same-ish areas of Seattle.
 
Same here.Most fell in love with Joel and Ellie's chemistry in the last one and would of been more than happy with a continuonce of that.Druckman was too obscessed in being too cool for school imo.

Druckmann has certainly ensured a lot of the PC boxes have been ticked in the game, perfectly fine if it adds to the story, I don’t feel it does in this game. Still it’s a game that has split opinions and is what it is.
However he did direct the first game too, so he’s more then capable of creating a game I like and where I look beyond any PC box ticking.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What seems, 'laughable' is how so many seem to take it personally if people don't, 'get on board' with their viewpoint of the game, whether that is 'for' or 'against' it. I mean I can see certain individuals taking it abit personal if they were involved in the actual production of the game but I'll go out on a lim and say that no one on this thread was.:rolleyes:
That is so true, it’s as though if you don’t like it their is something wrong with you? I loved the first one and was really excited for this sequel, so am pretty disappointed especially in Naughty Dog, they had years to make this game and they gave us this. A game that’s split opinions, the first game seemed to join them.

Let's clarify.

I no way are we saying 'you have to like the game' or that 'there's something wrong with you if you dont'. I simply feel that they tried to do something unique, and actually fairly brave. They have trusted their audience to have the moral courage to play as someone they might initially hate. And they have paid us all the compliment of assuming we care enough about the story to make that leap, and have the emotional intelligence to look at things from another perspective. This is a game that really has something to say, and even if you dont like the message, I applaud them for sticking to the story that they wanted to tell. Fandom is important, but not to the point of pandering and effectively betraying the ethos of the franchise (one where nobody gets a truly happy ending).

Now you may not like the direction they took, but that doesn't mean its a bad game or that its 'poorly written'. I think just on the dialogue and character development alone, its very clear that this is exceptionally well written by video game standards (or frankly, any standards).

If you dont like the game, fair enough. We are all entitled to our opinions. But you cant blame those of us who love it for defending it against the more shallow criticisms.


Same here.Most fell in love with Joel and Ellie's chemistry in the last one and would of been more than happy with a continuonce of that.Druckman was too obscessed in being too cool for school imo.

So essentially, you wanted a hollywood style sequel where our beloved heroes go on a quest and fight the bad guys. That would have been the lazier direction. It totally suits something like Uncharted, but not The Last of Us. What they have done here, in my opinion, is something so much braver and more imaginative. Shame it wasn't for you.
 

Yes absolutely really, in TLOU DLC it felt natural, added something to the game, good for her, made you care, the way it’s been done in TLOU2 is like a PC box ticking exercise and I really couldn’t care less about it. That’s how I feel.

And no I don’t like the game, it’s story sucks, and its all down to the writing which is just lazy and rubbish, that is my opinion as you claiming the opposite is your opinion, and those opinions are also facts for the people who hold them because it’s a story and people will like it or hate it or be in the middle, a story is open to opinion and criticism.

I don‘t lack morale courage nor am I emotionally unintelligent. Perhaps you should be considerate with what you type here as that could be concluded as insulting to those who say they don’t like the game. And no I’m not going around telling people you must hate the game it’s rubbish, so why do you feel the need to tell those who don’t like it your wrong and you must like the game?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So essentially, you wanted a hollywood style sequel where our beloved heroes go on a quest and fight the bad guys.
Why do you think @jonwatts is asking for that type of sequel as opposed to the one you so 'bravely':rolleyes: defend? You surely do love your 'passive aggregation'....:blush:
 
Yes absolutely really, in TLOU DLC it felt natural, added something to the game, good for her, made you care, the way it’s been done in TLOU2 is like a PC box ticking exercise and I really couldn’t care less about it.

There's no PC agenda here, and thats coming from someone who hates identity politics. That's not this. The characters simply are who they are, there's no fanfare and no attempt to push one group at the expense of another. If you disagree, I'd love an example.


why do you feel the need to tell those who don’t like it your wrong and you must like the game?

That's literally the opposite of what I said, and shows you didn't listen to a single word. That's ok though.
 
Three hours later and I'm still thinking about the ending of the game.

Heartbraking, emotionally devastating, to see Ellie - and pretty much everyone - broken. I'm so happy that the final words she had with Joel weren't the fight at the party. That the fist step towards forgivenesss and reconciliation were tentaively taken. But it just hurts so much more knowing what was to come the next day.

Overall my take on the game is this.

I had managed to avoid all of the spoilers that were dropped online. But in the weeks running to up the release of TLOU2 I had come to terms with the fact that Joel probably wasn't going to make it out of the game alive. I didn't expect his end to come so soon, and so brutally though. It was a real gut punch when it happened.

This sets up perfectly Ellie's mission for revenge. And what a journey it is. With the refined melee and combat mechanics, the wider arena with expanded choices for approaches, it's a much more enjoyable experience to get stuck into.

The survival horror sections, in dimly lit buildings with some of the new infected, brilliant. My heart was racing on several occasions as I panicked trying to switch weapons because I'd run out of ammo and there was a stalker on my tail!

By the time we got to the aquarium I had forgotten about the conversation between Abby and Owen at the start of the game, so pretty discovered alongside Ellie, that we had just killed a pregnant woman. I felt sick. Honestly, it was horrifying.

When Jessie is uncerimoniously shot in the face by a murderous Abby, it was yet another gut punch that winded me, and I was ready for the big boss fight with her. But then, bang, it's a big old bait and switch and all of a sudden I'm playing the start of the game again, but this time as our antagonist.

I found this to be a really big problem. It took all of the momentum and tension that had built up over the last 15 or so hours, and stomped all over it. To go from the intensity of the shootouts at the hospital and aquarium, to all of a sudden seemingly a flashback very couple of minutes, was disorienting and a little annoying. but I stuck with it, and over the course of the next 10-15 hours I started to appreciate what Naughty Dog have done. It's not perfect, the pacing is off at times and I really didn't warm to Abby as much as I think I'm supposed to have, but it was great to get different perspective and to get to understand their motivations.

I didn't enjoy the Ellie boss battle. I didn't want to hurt Ellie, and I don't think boss fights are something that Naughty Dog do well. But at the end of it, when Abby went to slit Dina's throat I actually cried out NOO!

So, once that was all over, and we end up after, with the baby, I thought that was it. But no. Ellie - obviously! - has PTSD. And then, well Tommy turns up and now there's still another half a game to play!

Santa Barbara was fine, although it did feel a little unnecessary at this point. But the final few minutes were fantastic. The cycle of revenge is broken, but at quite a cost.

As an aside.
I played the first game through again last week, finished it on Friday then stuck part 2 on, so it was all still fresh. It's also a brutal, cyincal game that in a lot of ways is just as violent as this is. It also, for those getting their knickers in a twist because there are lesbian and trans characters in this game, had gay characters in it. In that game, as in this, I didn't perceive any agenda, as someone else mentions above, they're just characters. Well realised characters, in my opinion.

We really need to get past the point where whenever there is a character that isn't heterosexual in some media content, people immediately point at the screen and shout SJW/PC etc.

Overall I thought this game was excellent. It was a couple of hours too long though, and there were a lot of movie cliches that felt a little silly. But everyone had such conviction that I bought into it, and could forgive those contrivances. The sound design is a huge part of the atmosphere in the game, and I really hope it doesn't get forgotten when people rave about the - admittedly fantastic - graphics.
 
One thing I forgot to mention in my mini-review above -
the scene where Joel and Tommy are taken in by Abbey and co, and the slow realisation by them that the people they’ve been looking for for years, suddenly landed in their lap, and the realisation by us the players, that something terrible was about to happen...that scene was just masterful and harrowing
 
Last edited:
An alternative version of
Joel's death
could have been
Abby throwing him to a horde of infected
. This way, either later in the game or for TLOU3 you could have had a moment where
Ellie comes across an infected version of Joel, and has to 'kill' him herself, both literally and as a way of destroying her obsession/emotional link/emotional reliance upon his memory. This would provide an end to her arc.
 
I need to get the game finished just so I can read these spoilers!!!!

I've just near
The Hospital
so reckon i've got a long way to go yet!
 
I need to get the game finished just so I can read these spoilers!!!!

I've just near
The Hospital
so reckon i've got a long way to go yet!

That’s what I was like...tip toeing around threads carefully. You have a long way to go yet!
 
That's literally the opposite of what I said, and shows you didn't listen to a single word. That's ok though.

I read your comment, and that’s how I read it. Perhaps you should rephrase it if that’s not what you meant.
 
I need to get the game finished just so I can read these spoilers!!!!

I've just near
The Hospital
so reckon i've got a long way to go yet!

If it's just after fighting the scars (Seraphites level) for the first time then you aren't even half way yet.
If you're going to go for Platinum I'd recommend maybe starting to use a guide now. I hadn't been until I got halfway and thought it was actually the end of the game then realised that I hadn't collected any coins yet and still had loads of cards to collect . From the halfway point I used this guide which isn't really too spoilery if you're reading it as you go along Collectibles Guide Introduction Guide for The Last of Us: Part II - PlaystationTrophies.org

Finished the game earlier so just have to figure out which way is best to mop up the stuff I missed before. New game + or chapter select. I only need a couple of hundred of each resource type to max out all skill and guns so was going to treat new game plus as a sort of speed run without doing too much exploration but still taking in the story
 
Last edited:
Been watching this spoilercast with Neil Druckman, Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker.

Really interesting watch, and good to see they don’t shrink away from talking about the reaction from a subset of “fans”. Of note, because because this is the society we have today, Druckman received death threats when the leaks happened and people found out what was going to happen in certain pets of the game. Death threats.

 
That 'listen mode item ping' thing really makes finding stuff a bit too easy. Sort of glad I didn't use it on my first play through
 
That 'listen mode item ping' thing really makes finding stuff a bit too easy. Sort of glad I didn't use it on my first play through
Ditto. There are settings in there that would make the game much, much easier but would eliminate any sense of challenge which, if we are honest, would make playing the game pretty pointless.
 
That 'listen mode item ping' thing really makes finding stuff a bit too easy. Sort of glad I didn't use it on my first play through
I tried to use it but it seems you cant use it on a save thats already created. Whenever I go into game those settings have gone and its back to my usual save.
 
Ditto. There are settings in there that would make the game much, much easier but would eliminate any sense of challenge which, if we are honest, would make playing the game pretty pointless.

I'm going through now on new game plus to clear the remaining things up for the Platinum trophy, so at this point I don't mind if it feels too easy and for me it's not pointless. Bit weird having all of the guns so early in the game though
 
I tried to use it but it seems you cant use it on a save thats already created. Whenever I go into game those settings have gone and its back to my usual save.

I'm not sure . I didn't use it at all first time but I've switched it on in Jackson at the part with Ellie on patrol on horseback. It did take me back to the start of the encounter though. Personally I'd leave it for your clean up playthrough because it just feels like cheating
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom