The Last of Us Part 2 and Why Video Game Violence Shouldn't Be Associated with Maturity

Gamerevolution: “I found the recent The Last of Us Part 2 trailer unsettling, and not in a good way. As I explained in a feature earlier this week, while I loved The Last of Us and found that its brutal violence served its desperate, ruthless world well, closing a press conference with a trailer featuring a kid's arm being turned into mulch felt like a misguided attempt to illicit shock out of viewers.”

[KillMePrettyPlease]

stop being a snowflake

[Lamboomington]

Why don't you actually counter the argument he made ? He's just saying he thought that such violence was too much shock value and nothing else, almost just for the sake of it, and I can understand what he's saying just taking the trailer in itself.

Pretty basic criticism of violence (just like any other aspect of a game) shown in the trailer.

I happen to disagree with the author here, but I'm cringing at these comments. "Snowflake, shitty journalist trying to cash in, n4g needs to ban...".

[staticall]

I'm sorry, but what to counter here? Do you read in kid's books/see in kid's TV shows about torture, people breaking others hands with a hammer, people being hanged and/or shot to death? No? Then it makes such topics mature. You can't associate such topics with kids, it's just stupid.

And aside from that, trailer is designed to show what you will see/feel in the game, which clearly is some sorts of fanatics trying to bend people to their will/believes. If they can't do it, they're disposing of such people. Basically, they're trying to show a downfall of humanity, which is a common theme among "zombie apocalypse" kind of games. Violence is a great way to show that. I mean, you don't expect people to be friendly/share food and/or cover to each other when some monstrosity is right around the corner.

And once again, such topics are a sign of mature game/themes.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

Um.. there's actually nothing to counter. I think the trap here is actually in trying to counter a completely made up argument, therefore lending it some sort of credibility. What's being shown here is NOT journalism, not even a little bit. It's quite lazy and the sole purpose is to feign a moral high ground and create a fake controversy.

Take one look at the website claiming this nonsense and you'll see countless of violent games that were scored quite favorably without any of this suddenly 'too violent' criticism ever brought up...

After a conference in which Sony covered all of its bases almost flawlessly, this feels like a coordinated attack aking to throwing everything (including the kitchen sink) and seeing if anything sticks.

Concerns about PSVR and if Sony would support it long-term? They knocked it out of the park.
Concerns about PS4 Pro being unable to compete with the newer XBox One X? Knocked it out of the park.
Concerns about the fate of single player games? Knocked it out of the park.
Concerns about indies? About quality? What about MTs? etc...

There are plenty of actual stuff to cover. But this sh!t right there IS NOT one of them... And this is NOT JOURNALISM, it's nothing more than a sad attempt at sensationalism. Hence why he is rightly called a SNOWFLAKE.

[Geeebeee]

i think snowflake is a perfectly valid arguement.
what? you mean you don't understand? hmmm i see ... that is quite interesting

[morganfell]

"Why don't you actually counter the argument he made ?"

I did. Its called site blocked. I am not talking with gamerevolution.com, I am talking at them the same way you talk to any idiot. And I mean blocked at the host file level on windows. No fake BS blockers from the chrome store that still give them a click. Permablocked. Violence? let's see how they feel when fans start strangling their site.

[Zabatsu]

Come on man. People have accepted this in the movie-industry for ages. It's about time they pushed mature gaming content forward.

[Many-hat5]

Just smile, and let it go!

[TheKingKratos]

What The fark did i just read ?
Part one was all about Brutal and violence
do you somehow forget the clickers when they rip off joel and ellie head in death scenes or how you make holes in your enemies head or blast half their face with a shutgun or slash them with axe or machete etc etc
or how you spell their guts

was i playing ""how to ride a Pony"" game or something in The last of us ?
Get the F over yourself already and go play a kiddy game or something if this is too much for you
I wonder how you guys were able to play any horror/survival or violent game before ?
and don't you ever go near God of war game or Dead Space 1/2

[jc12]

@Lamb - Welcome to the Trump revolution...its not pretty is it?

[UCForce]

You need to stop right there. I remembered Eurogamer interviewed with David Cage about "domestic violence" in Detroit Become Human new trailer. I couldn't stand with Eurogamer because David Cage got attacked by these "journalists".

Edit : @jc12 You are not helping.

[TRGMatt]

Translation: "I don't understand literary devices and their impact on the consumer of said content."

@Cupid_Viper_3 - In his defense, this is an editorial and shouldn't be read as reporting. Editorials are still journalism. And unfortunately, overreaction is modern human nature. The only problem with this piece is that it isn't very thoughtful. THAT makes it poor journalism.

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

Get lost, snowflake.

[EatCrow]

Well thats what he thought.
I personally thought it set the tone for the game. The world and environment and future struggles the characters will face.

[morganfell]

@TRGMatt,

These are the same people that think Bengt Ekerot's role in The Seventh Seal is, Man in Robe. Imperceptive dullards. They only see the violence for the action that occurs and are completely incapable of shifting their thought processes mere inches past surface appearances.

This just in from gamerevolution, the peeling wallpaper in Barton Fink was unnecessary because it made the scenes look depressing.

[subtenko]

The argument is BS. I agree, stfu watch the trailer and buy the game. Dont care if you dont own a ps4, buy the game or get out!

:P

[rainslacker]

I don't think they showed it to make it seem like the game was mature. The maturity thing was just a response to the criticism.

I think they showed what they did to show that the game would be darker, and have more going on than what we saw in the first game. It also left open lots of questions about who these characters were, and how it would relate to the story we know from the first game.

The trailer did what it was supposed to do. Give the game attention, and to get people talking. That's how hype is built.

it's the gaming press which is making it into something it isn't, and doing whatever they can to make it controversial. They don't say one word about the copious violence in other games which are shown routinely, but a high profile IP, which has everyone's attention, suddenly, it was too graphic.

Without fail, the gaming press makes themselves look more incompetent from one day to the next. The fact that they are so clueless about why something as simple as a trailer is shown only highlights just how out of tune they are with the industry which they supposedly report on.

remember when in heavy rain the guy had to cut off his finger? I do, and I recall how many websites said how it was an intense scene that actually made you feel fear from the sheer suspense of it all.

Remember when they first showed game play for TLOU, and Ellie comes in and stabs a guy in the neck to save Joel, and then the trailer closes off with Joel blowing a guys head off at close range with a shotgun? I do. I also remember how everyone in the crowd cheered at the awesomeness of the scenes in question.

Violence has it's place. Violence evokes emotion. Story based games have to evoke emotion. The violence is a backdrop to the overall story, and it's used to add more antagonism to the plot. It's not there to make it more mature. it becomes more mature because of the violence, but that's just incidental.

Effect follows cause, not the other way around.

[Many-hat5]

I'm pretty sure, the trailer didn't worry you in the slightest, did it?

[Aceman18]

Like I said in another article I winced but that's not going to stop me from buying this game or Detroit Being Human. Those scenes just made me want to play them more as I want to know more about characters and story.

Also I've seen more violent movies and shows and if I can stomach those I can handle this two games.

[OB1Biker]

From the article:
'Neil Druckmann discusses the upgrades made to the game's graphics engine while the trailer plays in the background. "This is the evolution of our Naughty Dog engine," he says, as the young woman is depicted being dragged on her knees along the wet floor with her hands tied behind her back. He goes on to discuss the improved musculature of the game's characters and their upgraded facial animations, as we see the two burly guards carrying the woman throwing her into the sodden dirt.'
The guy is clearly immature if he doesnt get none of that is real.

[Ceaser9857361]

I find it such hypocritical that people are fine with brutality violence in Movies and Books but since Its in a Game lets burn them... GTFO .. Enough is Enough.. If you dont like it Ignore it.. Simple...

[joab777]

Every podcast has an issue because of lack of context. What? Here’s some context for TLoU2, it a dark and violent world in which people are trying to survive. All of these ppl played TLoU, so why is there an issue with this trailer?

[rainslacker]

So many trailers for movies or games leave a good chunk of the context out of what they show. The trailers are supposed to give you an idea about the game/movie, but not actually tell the whole story. The point of a trailer is to get people to want to learn/see/experience more. If people want to know the full context, then buy the game. in the mean time, people will take the trailer for what it is, a brief taste of what to expect. They'll discuss what it may mean, or avoid any potential spoilers.

The last thing I want right now is context, because i'd rather have the experience when it comes. I might want to know who the characters are to be able to ponder deeper, but I can live without it, and historically, we have all had no problem doing so, unless we want to fuss about things we don't actually know.

All in all, it's the lack of context which most people base their arguments on, which typically, makes their arguments completely pointless.

[jc12]

@UCForce: I'll say whatever I want...thanks. Stop trying to be a MBJW - message board justice warrior.

[UCForce]

Sure, but you just make poorly statement.

[Segata]

Lamest version of an insult ever. Lamer than Cracker.

[faysal]

shitty journalist trying to cash in with irrelevant opinions... nothing to see here.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Or maybe it's the masses of video gamers being overly sensitive to a critique of a violent trailer? Author made a decent point about the shot of the hammer to the elbow. It is a strictly shock value scene. Probably would have been just as effective doing a reverse angle showing the man hammer down and not seeing the impact but hearing the scream of pain. We can depict brutality effectively without shoving the depiction in ones face. Suggesting ND could have done it differently doesn't mean the author is against the game. I think the author was pretty clear on being a fan of The Last of Us.

What amuses me is this knee jerk reaction from fans of the game rushing to defend it and calling the site/article irrelevant or asking like the poster below to ban the site... I don't think stifling any opinions that don't match our own is the right path. Constructive conversation is the far better route imo.

[faysal]

why would ND do it differently? if they did do it like the author suggest then clearly it wouldn't be as effective since no one would be talking about it! so yes ND got it right in the first place, since they got everyone talking about the game...

it's their game made for the mature audience. they can make the game as they see fit! if special snowflake feel bad then go make your own game. don't push your BS in to other people. why the fuck should a creator shy away from violence in a violent world, where everyone is trying to survive from crazy "zombies" who will tear you limb from limb, to people who are killing and eating other humans to survive. yet a few hammer blow to the hand is considered the most violent thing ever?! did these idiots even play last of us?

one thing for sure, if catastrophe happens in real life, i know exactly what will happen to these special snowflakes... they will be the fist to die.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@faysal Well first off you kind of prove the authors point by your first statement "they got everyone talking about the game..." meaning the shot was put in the trailer for the very specific reason of the "gore factor". I do agree ND can make the game they want to make and I am pretty sure the author echoes that statement in the article. The article is more a statement about what shots they chose for the trailer vs the game itself.

"one thing for sure, if catastrophe happens in real life, i know exactly what will happen to these special snowflakes... they will be the fist to die." No pretty sure the first to die will be the over zealous types that think real life will play out like a video game. The more cautious (snowflakes included) who band together and understand helping each other is the only real course will be the ones that ultimately survive.

[UCForce]

ND did said last year that The Last Of Us Part 2 Theme going to be about Hate. Meaning the game will be more brutal than first one. I thought people have expected this, but some people just got offended by it. Ugh.

[rainslacker]

Just because they could have done it differently doesn't mean that ND wanted to, nor that they should have. It's fine if someone wants to say they would have preferred that, but their opinion is just that, and they themselves aren't the creators of the game.

Having such an opinion or idea on how to approach such a thing doesn't mean that it's a good staging ground for discussing the whether mature games are mature because of violence, or if the violence just happens to make them mature....particularly when they don't explore which comes first.

[subtenko]

exactly, I can smell the next 'article' a mile away, probably another one by end of the day from somebody. I dont click them, I am well versed in knowing whats up

[Araragifeels]

N4G need to Blacklist gamerevolution or any others website who are offended for anything. GTA had a torture scene and go on a killing spree, Manhunt was completely violent, Black Ops 1 Bowman head was hit with a pipe or enemy body parts blow up, Black ops 2 you went on killing spree with a machete, God Of War brutality punch the crap of Hercules until there was no face, Witcher 3 had people hang on a tree or burning alive, The Walking Dead Season 2 Clementine cut a woman hand off, kill a dog, Season 3 MC niece was shot in the head, Hitman strangle people, more. Anyone who say that violence shouldn't be associated with mature game is delusional, snowflake, no common sense, and ignorant and they should just play Mario or Barbie if they want rainbow and stars.

[tontontam0]

I find war games more brutal, I find it disgusting that I'm shooting people who only wants to protect their families.

[ShadowWolf712]

lmao that's adorably naive.

[tontontam0]

That's a brutally mature comment.

[Lamboomington]

"Anyone who say that violence shouldn't be associated with mature game is delusional, snowflake, no common sense"

He's not saying that. He's saying that violence and brutality don't make something mature, and he's right in saying that. You can have a silly, immature title that just throws around violence as a cheap shock value tactic.

I don't think TLOU 2 will be like that, ofcourse, but that's not the point.

Also, most of the examples you gave weren't as disturbing as this in presentation. GTA 5's torture scene is very disturbing though, I think almost on par with this scene. The actual 'killing' part of most games is not disturbing at all. It's pulling a trigger and watching an enemy fall and that's it.

[OB1Biker]

I see more shocking scenes every day on tv, even on kid channels.
come on, its high time the gaming media caught up with any other media. Like I said elsewhere only informed gamers watch the show and most gamers and family watch later only the trailers they want to. Everyone knows this game is for mature audience. Violence of human beings is precisely the theme of the game

[The_Sage]

In God of War you pull Helios' head from his body while he's screaming. The girls arm being hit with a hammer doesn't come close to that, and it has a bunch of people upset?...

What makes the content mature is that you need to be mature enough to know this is make believe. No one actually got hurt. If you find this upsetting, you may not be mature enough to play it.

[ps360s]

Actually even Mario would be class as violence for them because jumping on top of enemies popping them off killing them!

some 'journalism' just have to bring something good down

[EatCrow]

Throwing fireballs and eating shrooms that give you magical abilities....yup ...thats not suspicious at all in terms of content for children. lol.

[rainslacker]

@Crow

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are extremely mature works of art. Not so much violence, but the themes that exist with the stories.

However, it's a much loved childrens story nowadays due to Disneyfication. Even though Disney's representation actually do keep a lot of the mature themes in place.

I think the people that say that just making something violent, or things that use adult themes, aren't mature, think that such actually are what make something mature, and just aren't into the representations themselves. They tend to discount the fact that the story or work of art set out to explore these themes, thus became a mature work in the process.

Of course, there are gratuitous representations of adult themes in many forms of media, which are probably done in a shallow attempt to seem more mature, but they're still made for a mature audience.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Sjw begone

[TheOttomatic91]

*rolls eyes so far they go to back of head*

[Why o why]

You a clicker now. . . . ☹

[TheOttomatic91]

PFFTHAHAHAHA (literally loled there)

[EatCrow]

Im wondering who does the clicking sounds...they sound funny.

[antikbaka]

sjw's always try not to help people who are uncomfortable (why not just tell anyone who doesn't like it - not to play?) but make everyone else suffer

[bluefox755]

Jesus, I thought we were past the whole video game violence nonsense? Man, game journalists are the absolute worst. Colin Moriarty was right, they really are all a bunch of virtue signalling progressive snowflakes.

[VerminSC]

Oh shut up

[TheVetOfGaming]

What a pile of garbage. So weak.

[UCForce]

Oh my god ! Are you seriously with this ?

[ElementX]

Lol people calling others snowflakes... Maybe people should be more empathic instead of thinking everybody should think the same and have the same opinions. Maybe some people think the trailer went too far, it doesn't mean they are against game violence. The point I seem to get from this is that the trailer, not the game, is the problem. A violent trailer that said may contain content unsuitable for children. It didn't give any warning of what was coming. Nobody is protesting game violence

[Lamboomington]

Finally, someone with some common sense. It's so simple to actually argue this point, but no one here seems to have a clue.

It's honestly that simple. Some people thought the trailer had too much violence for violence' sake (just for shock value), and that's a valid opinion on their part. Like you said, it's probably more an issue with the trailer for them. Ofcourse, when people then use that to make assumptions about 'Lazy Storytelling' in the game, they're making a bad argument based off insufficient information.

[Jimneous]

Did the trailer make me a little uncomfortable? Sure. Did I watch it again? Of course, not because it was violent, but because it was extremely well put together.
I feel like your main gripe with the trailer was that the person having their "wings clipped" was young and female. I don't know what kind of a person you are but I have to ask if you would have reacted the same if The character were an adult male.
The point of the trailer was to illicit these kind of reactions because violence can be disturbing and disgusting and socially speaking you're not supposed to enjoy it.
I've seen far more graphic content in films like Hostel, where this kind of violence is pointless and just happens so someone can watch.
While I appreciate your opinion of the trailer I also feel as though the site should use their position objectively rather than to push their own ideals. The fact of it is that their voice will reach more than most and the last thing we want is for content such as this to be made light of and have the seriousness time removed because it makes people uncomfortable.

[Trez1234]

Really like the trailer but there's no doubt some will find the violence a bit over the top and thats ok too.

[OB1Biker]

I disagree.
Gamers watching the whole show are informed and supposed to know some mature content will be shown. Was there any complaint for RE7 or the like? most casual gamers will watch later the trailers they want to. They know what they are watching.

[rainslacker]

So. To sum up the potentially uncomfortable things in the conference.

-Detroit Domestic violence being too uncomfortable.
-Kid being bullied finding solace in an imaginary world instead of from better sources which can help him with much better for the long term, implying it's OK to be introverted instead of seeking proper help.
-20-30 people being shot, burned, maimed, etc in COD
-Live action game trailer with a woman threatning another person with a knife
-God of War('nuff said)
-Ghosts showing people being killed with a sword.
-Far Cry 5 showing people getting together to go and cause trouble
-Blood and Truth showing god knows how many people being killed in quick fashion.

Sure, maybe none of those trailers went too far, but it seems very disingenuous to single out TLOU just because the developers decided to be more graphic about it. I understand if people don't approve because graphic depictions can be too much for some, but do they do the same thing for other forms of media, or do they just not partake in that media because they aren't interested in it? Most people do the latter.

All that being said, i'd say the 2 soilders being burned alive in COD was much more graphic. The screaming, the actual showing of them burning and writhing in pain before their bodies went into shock and they died was much more horrific than a woman having her arm broken with a hammer. Where are the articles for that? because I'd challenge anyone to go watch it and say it wasn't just as, if not more graphic than the few seconds of a hammer to one's arm.

[rainslacker]

This is the way I look at it.

When it comes to telling a story, violence can play a pivotal part of setting up what is to come.

Consider the movie "Saving Private Ryan". The storming of the beach was horrendously graphic in it's depiction of war. People were shot, maimed, burned alive, blown up, crying, in serious pain, and you could feel the same terror the characters and directors were trying to portray. But that overly long and graphic scene set up the much more important story of saving someone despite all the horror. The violence set up the back drop of what the characters may have to face, and caused more tension for the viewer.

Who's to say that it's any different here?

The people criticizing say there was no context to the violence. But it seems to me that they aren't even attempting to extrapolate what the violence was trying to do for the story. They're just looking at the violence, but not the overall justification for showing it. They are looking at the most cursory of things, and not even trying to ponder on the potential story elements that may stem from such violence. They then go on to make arguments which completely discount the reasons, and act like it was gratuitous because they don't have enough will power, or possibly intelligence to look at things beyond their surface.

The whole point of a trailer is to make people want to know and see more. It's not there to give full context to what people will experience. It is meant to give an idea, but not the full story. Could it have done that without being as violent? Absolutely. In fact, the asian woman wasn't even necessary at all to make one interested in the woman who started off the trailer. But those people obviously exist for some reason, even if cursory and only for narrative reasons, but likely the actual violence was there in the game, and thus the trailer, to represent something more about the game itself.

Was it shocking? yes. Is it being shocking and too graphic mean that it went to far? Not necessarily, because as most seem to be saying, they don't know the context. these people want the answers to what the context is, but they aren't likely to get that anytime soon...particularly when the scene actually got people talking about the game...which is exactly the point of a trailer. Was it's ND or Sony's intention to get people focused on such a thing? Who knows? Saying it is is pure assumption and speculation. All we know is that at least ND felt this was a good way to represent their game, and barring them explaining why, it's up to us to decide the meaning behind it all.

[Legendary-Status]

Huh GOW & MK games been gruesome tall trippin

[Silly gameAr]

How many of these articles are you guys going to write? Didn't you already write 2 articles that were failed? Trying to hard methinks.

[Krangs_Uncle]

The same guys who gave a 10/10 to:

Fallout 3 - where you can slow motion smash through a woman's skull for no apparent reason.

The Last of Us (the irony) - Which has worse bits in it than what has been shown already.. (you can't make this stuff up).

and lastly... GRAND THEFT AUTO 5 - Where mass killing can be casually done, while casually listening to the radio, while casually making your journey to a prostitute to view in 1st person mode. Beautiful.

BLACKLISTED.

[SirBradders]

You beat me to the punch bro. The irony of the games he has reviewed yet complained about a trailer which sets the tone for what is to come.

[Imalwaysright]

"The Last of Us (the irony) - Which has worse bits in it than what has been shown already"

Can't agree with that and all because of the facial animations in that trailer that made it much more "real" than anything in TloU part 1.

[G20WLY]

Can't agree with that.

The scene with Ellie and Davidson in the restaurant is just one example of a more unsettling scene, in my opinion.

[Imalwaysright]

What was behind it? Yes. The violence displayed in it? Nope. This trailer felt much more real. It made me flinch and not want to look at the screen and that never happened with TloU part 1 and I guess it has a lot to do with https://medicalxpress.com/n...

[Liqu1d]

Lmao, good job exposing this trash site.

[AntiZeal0t]

I can agree that the degree of violence doesn't equate to the maturity of the game, however, I believe it's too early to tell if this is simply "shock value" or if it's artistically necessary for the story that this part of the game is as brutal as it is, and with Naughty Dog being the storytellers they are, I can can see it being a case of the latter.

[Chexs1990]

Would you stop crying about it already! Your attitude is what turns potential great games into standardized open world checklists. Go play Mario if you can't handle this.
I'm with Sony on this one, it was a great way to wrap up the show.

As a side note: wasn't really hyped up on Detroit, but after seeing the newest trailer that all the special kids in class found to be too controversial (F*** Off btw), I'm actually really on board with this thing now. Holy crap, it looks awesome! And a million times more immersive, imo, than "Seaaaaan! Seeeeeeean!? Seeeeeeean!?" :P

[sprinterboy]

We may as well put a global ban on music, films, tv, gaming, smoking and drinking at this rate, whats this world coming too. I'm 42 and grew up eating mud ours, playing in the woods, starting fires with news papers, gaming, watching horror films like the burning, elm St, Friday the 13th, 80s moustache porn, gta and our generation have turned out just fine, we've become a right bunch of pussies as a species that's for sure

[forevercloud3000]

The Last of Us handles violence in a very different way than games like GTA , Mortal Kombat, Gear of War, or God of War.

For one, they don't do it for pure sadistic satisfaction nor do they treat it like a joke. The violence is immediately relatable. When they depict it it elicits our empathy for pain and desperation to evade it. When playing as Ellie in the first game, was horrified when she got caught. All i wanted to do was keep her safe. So i was ruthless with stabbing people with her pocket knife. This survival instinct is what the developers r after from players.

[mainman665]

I am currently playing Super Mario Odyssey, I love it, it's cute and fun and takes me back to my childhood. But, The last of us tells a story about a world where most of the human population has been taken over by a mind fucking fungus and what few are left behind (get it) are no better. They are infected with fear and life is tough women get there arm broken and men have there skull bashed in and children have picked up weapons and joined the fight for survival. So it gets violent. My question is, why aren't you complaining about terrorist committing real acts violence but instead attack a video-game for telling a story as brutal as it may be?

[corroios]

Dude, the game is for 18+, there is a market for games for mature players and not for kids. Videogaming is not only for 9 years olds. Not everybody wants cartony, colourfull games with rainbows.

You have that choice! just buy the switch, where you will find all the rainbows in the world.

[bunt-custardly]

Man up or just play Nintendo games. At least you have a choice.

[mogwaii]

The only thing that sucked about that trailer was the believability of the voice acting: woman has humerus smashed against concrete with a hammer and cries a little.
Woman is being hung in a slipknot for a good amount of time and is clearly not having that hard a time breathing and recovers meraculously from said strangulation.

I hope theyre place holders cause it needs mor work in that department, this is a game that is meant to be brutal and gut wrenching and if the voice acting isnt on point its all for naught.

[TKCMuzzer]

Surely that would be character based. I cant imagine these women are out shopping buying shoes etc, there has been an apocalypse, people would become hardened to pain, hardened to emotion and so on.
People need to stop looking at the trailer on its own and understand what it represents........Its supposed to be shocking,its supposed to represent peoples desperation when its dog eat dog so to speak, its supposed to represent lack emotion for each other in the dark times.

[mogwaii]

What having bones smashed just doesnt hurt anymore in your version of the apocalypse? Our wind pipes are made of steel in your version of the apocalypse?

Its unbelievable in a game that is meant to be everything but.

[rainslacker]

A person can survive several minutes without oxygen, and likely wouldn't be able to expel any sounds. Many hangings actually end with a snapped neck, but since she didn't fall suddenly in the noose that wouldn't likely happen to her.

The little bit of crying from the asian women would be from the tension causing an extreme amount of adrenaline to be pumping through someone's body from the expectation of pain and fear, which would cause a lot of pain to be removed. She was in pain after she was "safe".

I recall breaking my leg when slipping from a ladder. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would before having it happen. It wasn't a sudden fall, but enough time for my body to react to knowing I was about to fall from about 20' up. I winced when it happened, but the pain didn't come until after I realized I wasn't in mortal danger. I don't recall crying profusely, but I'm sure there were tears from the pain of it.

As far as recovering miraculously, again, they were about to be swarmed by clickers and they knew it, hence more adrenaline. The woman being strangled did spend time grasping for breath, but unlike most representations of strangulation, it doesn't take that long to recover once air makes it back into the lungs. It takes less than a minute for the body to recover from lack of oxygen. Also, unlike most representations of strangulation, you aren't likely to die from it in a minute or two. You are likely to thrash in pain as your body reacts....which was shown in the trailer.

On top of that, there is a time limit on trailers. For all we know it was edited to fit within a schedule. It wouldn't be the first time that happens in trailers, and ND has at times shown more detailed scenes in game compared to the trailers. The scene with Joel and Ellie being attacked in the car differed between the trailer and actual game.

[Fernface]

The knee-jerk reaction by commenters on here is a pretty depressing showing for the gaming community

[TKCMuzzer]

I'm not quite sure who you are referring to.

[Father__Merrin]

It's "unsettling" because it's not on your system...

[G20WLY]

Lmao yup

[Aenea]

Wow, where is all this nonsense suddenly coming from? Don't they have anything else to complain about?

[StormSailor]

I'm fucking tired of all this crying, these SJW really want to destroy the gaming industry, as this guy says here https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Zorkaz]

For people criticizing getting offended, you're sure getting pretty offended by this guy being offended. Just saying.

[andron]

It's sad this issue comes up every few years.

Especially since those raising it are so inconsistent and often misses the mark completely.

Sure discuss the impact of violence in games and what you think about it. But it's misguided criticizing TLOU on this issue. The world is a post apocalyptic survival story and the events in the trailer shows that. It's not just for shock, but an integral part of the story.

Also the level of violence here isn't exactly something new in games, watch any COD from the last years and they have similar scenes throughout, often much more deserving of such criticism..

[andrewsquall]

But mature themes should certainly be associated with maturity. Another gaming journalist going off the wrong end of something yet again.

[Many-hat5]

Reporter has a valid point. It's sensible journalism. Thing is, some of you guys quote other games as being more violent or explicit. This to me, shows you don't get it. It's the separation between fantasy violence and the closeness to real violence. That's what is being registered, even if that's not always understood. Maiming and exploding aliens is fantasy. When developers try to make it too 'real', that can be a problem. The fact that many on N4G don't see that distinction is concerning, to me. Maybe this is a storm in a tea cup, but at least consider what he is saying, before you insult him.

[rainslacker]

This trailer showed fantasy violence. Just because it was graphic doesn't make it real. It may evoke a more visceral emotion because it's graphic, but it is still fantasy, and any intelligent person watching would realize that.

Surely if this was a real life video of violence, people would be much more disturbed by it.

For instance, we've watched building blow up countless times in movies for years. We had a reaction, but we knew it was fantasy. During 9/11, people were much more affected, because it wasn't fantasy, and we understood just how horrific it was.

That being said, what about the COD trailer. Were the two soilders being burned alive somehow not violent or explicit also? More so considering the fact they were screaming and writing in pain? Wasn't that scene actually longer and much more graphic?

What's the real difference between that and what was in TLOU?

Better yet, lets look at the original TLOU game play showing and talk about what happened in that game.

1. Joel smashed the head of an enemy into a wall.
2. Ellie brutally stabs an enemy repeatedly in the neck to save Joel, something made much more shocking by the fact it was a cute 14 year old girl performing the action.
3. Joel blows a heads guy off at close range with a shotgun...although it cut away right before showing that, but all the stuff leading up to that was quite violent.

All three things were much more than the standard video game violence, and the gaming press in attendance cheered and applauded at every instance of violence shown, going on to become one of the most talked about games of the show.

But now lets look at the difference between the trailer, the COD trailer of people being burned alive, and the original TLOU game play showing I cite.

What is the difference? it's that in the TLOU2 trailer, it's not game play, and people don't have control. When they have control though, or realize they will in those cases, they seem OK with it, because they get to do those things. Seems people have more problem with being out of control, rather than the actual violence. I'm sure when the actual game play trailers come out and show plenty of violent actions, people are going to applaud again, and not think twice about it.

Granted, I can't explain the Detroit criticism based on this theory, but I'd mark that, and even this, up to trying to generate ad revenue over any actual concern or displeasure in the representation of violence in a single trailer.

[opinionated]

Oh this must be the copy paste topic of the week. Can every other site please weigh in on this? I’m curious to know what you think as well.

[jc12]

I don't want to agree with this article...but I can't help it. TLOU is my favorite game of all time - I love everything about it - including its grim and violent setting.

Despite any trailer, I'm absolutely stoked for TLOU 2. The game will be a day one purchase for me. That said, the trailer seemed a bit over the top. I mean, within a span of 5 minutes you have someone getting hanged, potentially gutted, smashed to hamburger meat with a hammer, shot in the face and then hammered in the face.

I know its a game for adults and all, but it just seemed a bit gratuitous.

[OB1Biker]

The violence is not gratuitous. You know the game is about humanity and how low it can get. Actually it could have been much more graphic. I can imagine people would have no problem seeing someone gutted in the Viking tv show for instance.

[jc12]

Oh cut the shit with the "it could have been much more graphic." That's BS and you know it. The only way it could have been more graphic is if there was rape scene.

I'd hate to hear your definition of gratuitous.

[OB1Biker]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[jc12]

Respectfully, killing cartoonish demons and mutilating/slaughtering realistic human beings are completely different.

[rainslacker]

Definition of gratuitous

"uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted."

Saying it's gratuitous assumes that there is no reason to show it for the sake of the story.

As of right now, without the admitted lack of context from those complaining, it's impossible to say if it's gratuitous or not.

It may seem gratuitous at surface level, but I'm sure there was reason for it to exist in the game, and likely there was purpose for picking this scene to really show off the game beyond a simple teaser. The reasons I can think for showing this particular scene would be to show it's going to be darker than the original. That there is a broader story at play. That there are more characters which you will have some feelings for. To show that that the game will also be violent like the first.

[CrimsonWing69]

So you’re ok with it in movies but not in a video game?

I’m confused what was completely out of place from what we’ve seen in the original?

The walking dead is more graphic and violent yet a video game shows a cutscene and all of a sudden it’s controversial?

You make me sick.

[jc12]

I make you sick? Lol, dude, calm down, it's just a video game message board. This what's wrong with the world today, people go all internet warrior because they know there are no ramifications. News flash, your opinion is not the only one that matters in this world. Healthy disagreement is ok.

To be honest, horror movies don't even show this much violence in their trailers - typically anyway. The TLOU 2 trailer was much more gratuitous than any horror movie trailer I can ever recall.

Though, it doesn't matter much what I say on this site anyway; if my words aren't steeped in glowing affection for everything Sony, people lose the friggin minds. I could say 2+2=4 and people on this site would freak out. Get over yourselves.

[G20WLY]

Wow. I'm pretty sure he was commenting on the article, mate, not in response to you..

I bet you think we all say you're paranoid behind your back 😏

[jc12]

Clearly, based on my track record, I dont care what any of you think...otherwise I'd sit here and crush on everything Sony.

[Good-Smurf]

What!? It just a way for ND to show off one of the new features of their game engine and muscle deformation are one of those features.
Chill the fuck out or close your eyes when it happens people if you don't like or better don't play it.

[The_Sage]

Here's a thought... If you find something upsetting... Don't expose yourself to it. The state of the world today causes me to shake my head.

[cliveo32]

This game needs Violence to make it the game it is raw and on the edge ..It will be a 18 rated anyway so whats the problem If people dont like it stick with nintendo which is good just not for me i hope sony never change the violence in games theres nothing wrong with a powerful story and Violence to match..

[LiamKreptic]

Then don’t play...is it that hard? Why am I being required to bend to YOUR ways? I like my games mature...go play MARIO you dumb f***.

[drunkenspy007]

This is very ironic that they are not mature enough to accept ND's direction in regards to this game. Life is not based on movies, real horrible stuff happens to real people, every day. In a post-apocalyptic world, this horror escalates even more. It's not just for shock, it's to show you the cruelty and insanity you face in the game's world.

[Harkins1721]

No one complained about GoW3 and Kratos fing things up. It was glorious. It’s rated M for a reason.

[firelogic]

Of course video game violence should be associated with maturity. It's a mature topic. I find it weird when people say, "Violence isn't needed to be mature. In fact it's immature to show violence." Really? When someone gets stabbed, sliced, shot, burned, etc...in the real world, awful things happen as a result. Showing those awful things is reality. "But this is a game" you say. Yeah it's a game grounded in reality as much as a game can be.

That scene completely established the tone and state of the world we'll be seeing in the game. It was a great trailer.

[goldwyncq]

Depends on how the violence is handled. Deadpool is chock full of violence, but I wouldn't exactly label it "mature". TLOU is one of the few examples in gaming where the violence is handled maturely though.

[EatCrow]

A Mature person doesnt let himself get offended by real world issues and situations.
If you believe this type of violence doesnt occur in real life then you are delusional.

[ecchiless]

Thats the problem, theres no mature ppl in this "game media", theres worst scenes in other games, but they just attack sony games? thats weird.
Check how they are saying that sony defend domestic abuse, c'mon, enough is enough, this sites need to die or we need to find other news site were we dont have to see this shitty sites, we need to stop this bs.

[AnubisG]

This is why I say that 99.999999% of gaming journalists are shit. The bottom of the barrel. All they do is cry and try to start things. Making up crap and getting offended and writing about it.

How I wish that gaming jourbalists wete sane people who write about games and not their personal opinions and feelings.

[Imalwaysright]

"Violence Shouldn't Be Associated with Maturity"

Couldn't agree more with this statement. That's why when I see people saying that Mario or Ratchet games are for kids, I call them kids. Having said that I fully support ND vision for TLoU part 2.

[bigmalky]

Clint Eastwood just called. He says to tell you that you're pretty much a clickbait pussy and to go and play Peggle.

[Vizigoth04]

Well if anything they got your attention. But most of us gamers are watching this trailer and we're actually more focused on the hints of what is being said, the key words. The characters and the setting. The graphical realism. The violence is a non issue for most of us because we get it there are bad guys. But what this article does and others like it is broaden and stretch out the scene longer that what is intended. Repeating over and over of what happened and how it offended you. Meanwhile most of us have moved on to reflect on the entire show and know full well that we'll get out vengeance and even in the trailer that vengeance was being made. We'll play as our heroes in the game to eliminate the bad guys that cause the violence and the harm on top of surviving from the infected.

[OCEANGROWNKUSH]

What a joke... In a world where people play shooters mowing down hundreds if not thousands of people with little to no remorse, people are actually getting up in arms about a trailer that approaches violence with a sense of humanity and emotion? If you watched the trailer you know what i mean, its designed to make you feel uncomfortable, and for most people it did... yet again COD will release in a week and its back to the emotionless cycle of killing. Weird.

[DialgaMarine]

It’s not associated with maturity; it’s the simple fact that Sony knows that the game catered to more mature audiences, and logically expects that said audiences can see violence and not be a bunch of crybaby little snowflakes about it. In other words, stop getting butthurt because not every game is a blinder for you to a reality that can sometimes be shitty.

[NotAfanBoyy]

Was that trailer unsettling? Yes. Could they have made it less unsettling? Sure. Do I want govt censoring everything in my life because of people whining about such things? Absolutely not! Don't play the game if it bothers you - that's your choice! Don't try to decide what's best for everyone else. If you want to affect something meaningful, there are many unsettling "real life" problems around the world.

[frostypants]

If you wouldn't make this same complaint about TV or film, you're being ignorant as hell, full stop and no excuse. Also, that wasn't "a kid" whose arm got broken. It was an adult.

[G20WLY]

Journalists sensationalise, it's their job lol

The very fact he chose to use the word 'kid' undermines his suggestion that this scene was 'too violent'; if that were really the case, he could have described it accurately and that would have been shocking enough!

Bloody hacks, peddling their PC agenda in order to play off people of opposing views in order to line their pockets. It's a sad state of affairs.

[FernDiggidy]

Pussies...

[D3athc3ll]

This author should stick to Disney movies. Lemme say this, Game of Thrones is great and the best because why, not just because i said so, but also that it's mature and violent and you are scared one of your fav characters gets beaten to death with a teaspoon. So the trailer of Last of Us Part 2 was epic in every possible way. Please ND make your game and don't listen to scrubs like this author. They love Disney movies with happy endings and flowers everywhere

[KryptonKronos]

Violence has been a part of video games since the arcades, nothing will change because it doesn't need to. And those affected by it should go sit down and have a nice calm game of pong. This crap has been covered by journalists for years, only difference is it stopped becoming a formal interest on TV's news media years ago. Now all you get are people in backwater boards sharing an opinion not even the catholic church gives two shits about.

[Dfooster]

During a zombie apocalypse everyone just shakes hand and dances around a fire with flowers in their hair.

[leemo19]

I wonder whats your take on MK, Doom, FO, Wolfenstein, GTA etc... when they show off violence in their game trailers.
At Ieast one positive came out of this article, I can add another site to my blocklist of sites.

[ecchiless]

Not by Sony developer/exclusives so those are "OK".

Yea, we need to block this stupid sites, better yet N4G should ban this kind of sites.

[DaigotheKing]

Did the person writing this not play TLOU1? Theres some scenes in that game that will straight up make me wince, like the supermarket scene, or all the times Joel curbstomps people. Hell ive blown quite a few people to pieces in that game with bombs.

Now all of a sudden people have a problem with the violence?

[-shoryuken-]

Mostly agree. FYI - I played the 1st on PS4 and it is at the top of my all time favorite games.

[Segata]

I'd say Journey or Flower is far more mature than Call of Duty God of War's head rip off. I like my gore..like a lot but I don't need it to enjoy a game. I enjoy it in the context of a game it makes sense.Ninja Gaiden..hell yeah rip em apart. Undertale it would feel out of place. Some series are just trying to be edgy and appeal to the most mainstream average bro and to them blood = mature and hardcore. Blood can be mature mature..RE7 while loaded with it...it makes the story even more sad about what happened that lead to that.

[MajorLazer]

SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP!

[lellkay]

Trailer was awesome. Set the scene, showed me Naughty Dog wont be pulling any punches in their depiction of the world of the TLOU. I want t know who these characters are, i want to know their story an struggles. Yes the violence was "shocking" but that's the point. This is the vision of the the game.