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.