The Last of Us Part II (PS4)

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.




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.
If by Hollywood you mean a
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.




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.
If only just being brave meant a better narrative.No it doesn't.TLOU 1 was amazing because it was simple and heartfelt.It mixed dark themes with moments of levity.It was Beautiful.
Going balls deep dark is such a lazy trope imo.
 
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.

So the story is completely worthless then - no one would be able to play through just for that?

I thought it dragged on towards the end but did not think it that bad...

I hope this has a grounded mode like the first cos I like a challenge but I wouldn't for a second say someone playing on easy is pointless - seems a very strange thing to say.
 
So the story is completely worthless then - no one would be able to play through just for that?
Do you think they would? If someone wanted a non-interactive experience surely they would just watch it on YouTube or similar?
 
I see Noah Caldwell-Gervais has a longform review/comparison of the sequel against the original up on YT. Thought I'd share it here for people who enjoy that sort of thing. Haven't listened myself yet as I'm only halfway through the game but his stuff tends to be thorough and well-thought-out.



I must be nearing the end of
Ellie's part of the story now. Can't wait to see what happens with Abby and if Druckmann can turn the tide of anger I feel towards her for brutally murdering Joel and making Tommy and Ellie suffer by forcing them to watch. First thing I'm going to do is allow her to get eaten by a clicker or something. Just to make myself feel a wee bit better!
 
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

Not ashamed to say that I've been quite happy to flick into high contrast mode to look for stuff, much easier than the ping mode :rotfl:
 
I see Noah Caldwell-Gervais has a longform review/comparison of the sequel against the original up on YT. Thought I'd share it here for people who enjoy that sort of thing. Haven't listened myself yet as I'm only halfway through the game but his stuff tends to be thorough and well-thought-out.



I must be nearing the end of
Ellie's part of the story now. Can't wait to see what happens with Abby and if Druckmann can turn the tide of anger I feel towards her for brutally murdering Joel and making Tommy and Ellie suffer by forcing them to watch. First thing I'm going to do is allow her to get eaten by a clicker or something. Just to make myself feel a wee bit better!


When you get to it, that's a very insightful video. I dont agree with everything, but for the most part he's pretty spot on. Cheers.

Looking forward to your take on the second half of the game.
 
Just played through a great wee action sequence with Ellie that really reminded me of a certain film:
Just chased Nora through the hospital and jumped into a spore-infested pit flooded in red light after finding myself cornered by the wolves. The red light, the wolves rappelling into the room and hunting Ellie by torchlight whilst trying to evade the clickers really reminded of the Alien films for some reason. Eventually tossed a brick into the middle of the room and watched the clickers chase the wolves around the room while I picked off the stragglers with the silenced pistol.

The sound design in this game ::chef's kiss::
 
Worth a watch, some details I missed.

I watched that this morning there were a few things I'd missed too.

I'm at about the halfway point on playthrough 2 and
realised on playthrough 1 when Abbey gets to the aquarium near the end that we'd unknowingly killed their dog 'Alice' as Ellie. Just done the hospital part looking for Nora as Ellie on playthrough 2 and we also unknowingly kill their other dog 'Bear'
 
I watched that this morning there were a few things I'd missed too.

I'm at about the halfway point on playthrough 2 and
realised on playthrough 1 when Abbey gets to the aquarium near the end that we'd unknowingly killed their dog 'Alice' as Ellie. Just done the hospital part looking for Nora as Ellie on playthrough 2 and we also unknowingly kill their other dog 'Bear'

I know, tragic isn't it!
 
I know, tragic isn't it!

Yeah :(

especially as they were both put across to us as 2 nice dogs and we got to throw toys for both of them. Was shocked when I realised I'd killed Alice without even knowing and was then watching out for Bear during Ellie playthrough 2....and there he was at the hospital
 
Yeah :(

especially as they were both put across to us as 2 nice dogs and we got to throw toys for both of them. Was shocked when I realised I'd killed Alice without even knowing and was then watching out for Bear during Ellie playthrough 2....and there he was at the hospital
Especially when
you then think back and remember killing Alice with Ellie just brushing it off saying "stupid dog"
:(
 
Well I just finished it, and have concluded it’s one of the most stupid stories I’ve ever had the misfortune to play through.

Did the writers and Neil Druckmann wake up one day and think, hmm how can we absolutely wreck Ellie in a game? What is the possible worst thing we can do to her? That’s this game full of hypocrisy and fails totally on its I presume aim that revenge is bad.. killing hundreds of people is fine, but the one who killed her father figure no can’t kill her, and as for the very end that’s rubbish too, I cannot see Ellie behaving like that. But to antagonise and humiliate the player so much by making you play the person you hate for what must be two thirds of the game is just a joke gone too far and the laziest writing I can think of to get a message across. Sorry but to me Naughty Dog are now a failed studio, maybe they can redeem themselves with another Uncharted but 4 wasn’t great. A lot of their talent has now left and think it shows.
the best bit was going down that skyscraper after walking along the sky bridge, and the nest fun in the game was the crossbow, all for the privilege to be played by the character you hate and really could not care less about..

The first game was a piece of art, this game is trash and is now in my digital bin... those are MY opinions of it. I think Uncharted The Lost Legacy is the best game this gen on PlayStation.
 
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Do you think they would? If someone wanted a non-interactive experience surely they would just watch it on YouTube or similar?

Round of applause for alienating people that play on Easy. Ever thought it may be the only way they can play the game. ND have gone above and beyond making this game as accessible as possible so that every type of gamer can enjoy and experience the game there own way. C'mon, be a little more inclusive.
 
Finally got the Platinum today. Didn't finish the second run as the trophy popped at the area where you get the strange artifact trophy. Might go back and finish it at some point. The Platinum took me 47hrs to get but I'd say at least 3 of those were the pause screen, so maybe 43/44hrs to Platinum. If you followed a guide and used item ping from the start it would take a lot less
 
Good evening all,

I hope you are all well. I just found this thread, hope all are enjoying the game. I think it is a masterpiece and cornerstone in gaming. In summary, for me The Last of Us Part II has been the most impactful and significant experience of any visual art form ever, emotionally and psychologically. And it has changed me as a human being and my life for the better. For me, this is its crowning achievement and why I hold it so high and valuable. I think it stands as an outstanding achievement amongst video games. Some of my thoughts on it are here,


Some of the photos I have taken from the game are here, where I will be posting more of,


I wanted to shout out the following: shout out to photo modes in games, especially Naughty Dog games - I have taken 3,419 photos from The Last of Us Part II so far, the glorious sound design and 7.1 mix - what a step up from the first game, the achievement of photo-real graphics the sight of which I have never before seen this good; the remarkable and courageous lighting work, which relies heavily on mostly indirect sources such as the sun and moon, the acting, which from the get-go I felt was an improvement over the original (I felt Ashely Johnson overacted at times in the original which drew me out sometimes), the animation being unrivalled for me and binding the visuals, gameplay feel and mechanics and beauty all together, and every single person at Naughty Dog that poured their blood, sweat and tears into making this game so that I could have the privilege of playing it.

Kind wishes,

fallinlight
 
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I feel like this game is really hard to rate. I think the story was great and i ended up caring more about the characters than i thought. The problem was how long it took and how dragged out some parts felt to the point i just wanted it to end but then the last 5 hours or so everything started to click again and i wanted it to keep going instead. Those last 5 hours had so many intense and emotional moments.

So in the end it was a fantastic game but maybe they could have done a better job with the pacing and handled the middle part of the game better or differently. I dont know but the first 15 hours and the last 5 hours were amazing.
 
So quick question, how far into second playthrough did people have to go to do all player and weapon upgrades?

I'm assuming fairly deep into Abby's section?
 
I've just finished what was shown as the original demo, enjoying the game, but cant believe I'm probably only half way through.
While its value for money, when you only get a chance to get on for 1-2 hrs per night, it can feel never-ending :)
 
I've just finished what was shown as the original demo, enjoying the game, but cant believe I'm probably only half way through.
While its value for money, when you only get a chance to get on for 1-2 hrs per night, it can feel never-ending :)

Yep, gonna take you the best part of a month that way.

By the original demo do you mean the gameplay demo where you're moving up and down levels between houses and gardens against the WLF and dogs? Or the original reveal where Abby is being hung by the Scars?
 
Yep, gonna take you the best part of a month that way.

By the original demo do you mean the gameplay demo where you're moving up and down levels between houses and gardens against the WLF and dogs? Or the original reveal where Abby is being hung by the Scars?
Yeah, the original reveal with the Scars when she was pulled out from under the van.
I’m just 30 mins beyond that.

Listening on headphones playing at night, have to say, a few times I jumped out of my skin, audio is also very impressive, those clickers really get under you skin and get the heart rate going. I’ve been very stealthy out of fear rather than cunning planning.

I think the cut scenes are truly amazing, the animation is simply fantastic. Looking forward to the tv series, I’d actually watch a film using these in game cut scenes.

It is one downside with limited time to play, likes of RDR2, while I know it would be brilliant, the thought of playing for many months just isn’t for me at the moment, but I couldn’t resist this game.
I know it’s like watching a movie over a few nights (sacrilegious!), but my days of spending hours each evening gaming are behind me (well, also in front when I retire in 15-20 years).

Bring back the old fashioned 10-15 hr game :)
Still buying a PS5/PSVR2 mind you !
 
So quick question, how far into second playthrough did people have to go to do all player and weapon upgrades?

I'm assuming fairly deep into Abby's section?

At the part where you would have got the strange artifact trophy (Ruby Dragon Chinese restaurant?) For the player upgrades (and Platinum trophy for me). The gun upgrades I got fairly early (think it was the first workbench in 2nd half of the game in the building with the boat in it).

Really just depends how much you missed first time. I've read people saying they didn't even have to do Abbeys part 2nd time round but I was still missing a few hundred of each of her upgrade materials. Didn't take long though
 

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