There have been a lot of hot takes on The Last of Us II. There are so many people calling it a crap game, and yet it’s the best-selling Sony exclusive of all time. What’s the deal?
playing for 10 slow hours after reaching a climax point destroyed the narrative. it was just bad storytelling. people who rate this game high don't care about the story and that's fine graphics are phenomenal and gameplay is decent. but this franchise is based on story and that was an epic fail.
The first ellie and Abby encounter was not the climax though. At first it looked like it was going to the the final fight or climax, but it wasn’t. It was better that way rather than switching back and forth between characters every chapter
Please don’t assume what people think. You know it is possible people liked the story, just because you didn’t doesn’t mean your opinion is gospel. Overall, it’s a better game than the first.
I don't know about the mindless zealots but there are many YouTubers and other people that have presented suggestions on how the story could have been different or told. I don't know how good those ideas are since I'm sure their Chuck full of spoilers and I want to beat the game first.
20 hours in. The game is nothing short of amazing. I'm constantly being blown away every hour or so at all the tiny details and the amount of effort that was put into this thing. Definitely in my top 20, maybe even top 10 best games ever made so far. It just feels so damn good to play, and I can't wait for my next playthrough on Survivor! So far, I've not heard one decent argument as to why people hate this game. Still hearing the whole 'Joel going back with Abby is out of character for him' line being thrown around as the main complaint. Which is completely in line with his character, unless people hate the first game for him going with Henry and Sam as well.
It's one thing to not personally like the game. That's fine, no game is going to please everyone. To act like it's anything less than a 7-8 out of 10 is insane. Naughty Dog clearly poured their all into making this game. And I'm so glad they told the story that they wanted to tell. Rather than playing it safe and making an unoriginal sequel.
I feel like it’s a 6/10 after playing through it. Not insane, just didn’t personally enjoy the story at all. There are other issues but they aren’t too bad compared to the story.
You either liked the story arc, or you didn't. There's nothing to be overblown there. There are people enjoying the game, and people hating on the game for a disagreeable progression of the original's story.
Abby’s gender, killing dogs, and the violence are way overblown. That’s the irreparable damage that the leaks and youtubers have done. The sex scene was hated because people thought abby was trans, not it was confirmed that she is still a female and the scene is still getting overblown. As if game haven’t had sex scenes before
That's your take. Sure, people made jokes about the trans thing. They did make sure she was the biggest, baddest female of the post apacolypse, outsizing virtually every character the series has featured. People made assumptions there, but that was debunked quickly and just stayed a meme. We'll just gloss over legitimate criticism from people who simply didn't think the writing held up, or didn't like the narrative they went with. Many legitimate fans feel this way, and it shows in the comments and ratings of videos regarding the game, whether it purely be reviews, or topical. That's not to address the public lies made by staff of Naughty Dog, altering trailers to lead people to believe characters played larger roles than they did, takedowns on videos that didn't even list the spoilers themselves, attacking the people behind less than stellar reviews on social media. Demonizing the user meta score while never bringing up the thousands of 5 star reviews had on PSN, by people who never yet had a chance to play the game. The list could probably go on, but I'll stop there. But no, the issue here was a meme.
No offence but why should we take the opinions of people who create accounts, go on meta critic and give a game zero seriously? These are not gamers, their opinion is invalid a soon as they strike zero. It’s like stamping your feet, not being disagreeable. Don’t talk to me about Youtubers, they have eaten this opportunity for breakfast, they are riding the wave, chasing the views. The amount of nonsense videos made by people just to ride the wave has been embarrassing in regards to gaming. We want the industry to make adult games, be treated as a serious aren’t form, unfortunately what the internet has proven, the maturity levels are way to low for this to happen.
I love the game and enjoyed every bit of its gameplay and world, but the ending...
That last ellie and joel flashback really hit me, and made me very sad for Joel. He died without his arc being finished which is absurd. He didn’t have to die so soon. I understand Ellie being upset at him but the writers did him dirty by not giving him time to get her forgiveness. Honestly this story would have been better if it was Part 3 or Joel was killed off much later in the game. And even better? He never dies. There was no reason for him to die, or at least not yet.
** Spoilers** Also I understand what some people mean when they say the game disrespect past characters: first it Was the way Joel was killed ( at first I was over it and gave the game a chance, but after the ending I am upset again), Tommy is suddenly crippled and can’t go with ellie (will probably still be crippled for the sequel ugh) and Ellie loses two fingers? So much loss to let Abby GO in the end? And in the ending she is all alone and loses even more? What was the point of Ellie to go again to kill her? And how letting abby live would cure her PTSD, the thing that made her go back and finish the job? Also How did that Joel’s flashback made her not do it when Joel Himself would have killed anyone who messed up with Ellie? The flashback should been Joel saying “DO IT.” I like dark stories and endings but this one was just shock value over quality. ** end of spoilers**
I also didn’t have a problem with Abby. At times I sympathizes with her, and at times I didn’t. Nothing that ruins the game for me.
I think thats the whole point, its pretty common for people not to say goodbye or forgive someone before they pass. Ellies story is not about revenge, it’s about regret. The regret of not telling Joel how she really feels about him is what really drives her on. That’s why the end is the way it is, she realised what she is doing is to ease her own conscious and not because she wants revenge, killing Abbey would not resolve this and seeing Joels face just made here realise that. She has to learn to forgive herself for not telling Joel. Anger is easily brought on from your own regret, revenge is just a cover for anger towards yourself.
This game is nothing short of a masterpiece. The vast majority of people who don't like it either didn't play it or already had their mind made up before the game was even released. I say the majority and not everyone because I'm sure there are people who for whatever reason couldn't get into it, which is fine.
Have you seen the user metacritic score ? It was getting zeros the minute people were allowed to post reviews. Like I said, there are people who have played the game and just didn't like it, which is fine, but review bombing something the way "gamers" are doing with this is nothing short of childish.
The foundation of most people's disagreement is Abby's existence and having to play as Abby after she kills a beloved character.
Now that I've played the game twice over I was ready to see why Angry Joe and others like him disagreed with it. The Joe Team's disagreement boiled down to mainly two things; Joel's death, and Neil "failing to make Abby likable" as a character, though that didn't preclude them from enjoying playing as Abby.
Joe openly acknowledges the juxtaposition of Joel's gruesome death and his tenderness for Ellie, but where he and I diverge are what that juxtaposition evokes. For me, it elevated Joel's character and Joel and Ellie's relationship. For him it, it intensified his love for Joel and his hatred for Abby and by extension any associates, which unfortunately wouldn't leave much left for him to favor.
After watching the entire review, I've come to the assumption (yes assumption) that Joel dying in any way would have been an automatic deal-breaker for these three. Perhaps, if written differently, Joel's death would have been palatable but I don't think so given their hostility. I think Joel was 'too dear to die' for them, and I think he was too dear to die for many. No story absent Joel could possibly be compelling or have any value no matter how it was told, or the order of occurrences, or the nature of occurrences, or anything. It wouldn't have mattered how he died, when he died, who killed him, etc. Beloved Joel is dead, and Joel and Ellie team is fundamental for these guys.
Joe is utterly intolerant of any narrative that doesn't go his way, which is why I don't put much stock into his reviews. I don't particularly 'like' what much of what happens either; it's unsettling and it sucks, but I still appreciate all of it, and I still enjoyed the story, and I'd personally give it a '9' as well.
Just finished my digital and man what a ride and I know I will get some hate but this is the best Naughty Dog game ever a 10/10 for me. My most favorite section are in Abby story as well. That boss you know big one are the highlight that fight alone are better than RE2 Remake it was nightmare terror and fun. The guitar minigames alone worth the full asking price. Controversy be damned they just salty they don't like surprises.
I'm close to 20 hours in, and I haven't seen anything that comes close to justifying the divisiveness, although obviously I haven't seen the ending yet. Gameplay wise it's clearly a pretty significant step up from the first one.
Ah the ending was so intense, if you have been enjoying the game up to now im sure you will find it interesting! that last stretch was the best part of the game for me.
Disclaimer: The Last of Us is my favourite video game of all time ... Joel Miller is my favourite character of all time ... The ending is by far my favourite ending in any piece of media ever ... ...so take a guess how I feel when they kill off Joel at the start, destroy the ambiguity of the original ending, and force you to play 10 hours as the person who killed Joel!!!
That's right. I Loved it! Every second of it! Masterful strokes of storytelling with sound, music, gameplay, visuals, animation, combat, exploration, contextual puzzles, crafting & upgrading all enhanced to the levels of what a true sequel should be.
Granted the ending could never have the same impact as the first, but it was never trying to. It was trying to make people reflect on what violence is, what the cycle of hate and revenge does to a person, and give players the choice to reflect on how one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
Personally, I was hoping for more variety in the fighting/kill/execution animations as seeing the same choke/throat slash/stab a 100 times did get a bit repetitive but not even a 10/10 game is perfect. Other than that this is a serious contender for GOTY and GOTG.
I also wished they added a few more execution animations.
But has anyone paused it then went into photo mode when grabbing someone and shooting them in the head?
Its insane the detail. The brains flying out the top of the head. The blood splatter on ellies face. Ellie reacting to the splatter. Ellie looking around realistically. The bullet hole in the chin.
Its insane!!! I was impressed to see actual brains flying out. And all the blood mist and spatter
I think the story took the unpopular route that what joel did came with a heavy consequence. Someone came back and had their revenge, in this world of absolute violence and destruction. With Abby building a relationship with those scar children that she was so quick to abandon even when one was severely injured, she came back and went on a journey to save them, sound familiar?
We've got the "get woke, go broke" camp vs "identity politicians". It's kind of like the Saraphites vs WLF, insofar as, the fighting between the two has drowned out any semblance of rational thought.
Druckman is a talented writer. He used a non-linear storytelling device, which we can see in the likes of Pulp Fiction, Momento and countless other films and books, and he executed it unlike any other writer in the video-game industry. The story is objectively sound, no matter the opinion.
I still need to count the story beats, but after my first play through, I felt the story beats were at a good rhythm and the actual pacing didn't slow. Though I must admit playing as Abby was just as jarring to me as when I had to play Ellie in the first one. On a side note, I do wish there would have been more dialogue between Abby and Lev. Their silence, while understandable, left me with a flat feeling at the beginning.
Additionally, I would have liked to experience a couple of random story encounters. I feel even one of these would have been enough to really flesh out the experience. I wanted to run into someone living in one of those abandoned structures instead of reading a letter every time.
The game-play is more of the same, in a good way, but the jump animation is kind of ridiculous. Other than that it is a polished version of the original.
As far as overall polish and graphics, the only other game that I have played with this amount of polish combined with graphical fidelity is HZD.
It may not be the masterpiece the first game was (imo) but it's still a friggin good game. All these "issues" are exaggerated and blown out of proportion.That is, of course, only my opinion.
The first one was my favorite game of all time but part 2 blows it out of the water.
I get people are sad because they essentially just wanted a part 1 remake...they just wanted Joel and Ellie running around again. So glad they didn't do that. They would have been really dumb.
I agree; they wanted Joel and Ellie dream team, ice cream and high fives. Didn't get it. Didn't happen. Now they're mad because the story didn't comport with their safe ideals.
They didn't get their feel-good narrative and they're mad. Boo-hoo.
The story is far from bad, the reason some are calling it bad it didn’t go the way they wanted it to go.
You realize all of the naysayers are saying the story dies down during the second half of the game because you play as Abby.
It’s cool but I would like to see one these mindless zealots come up with a better story?
20 hours in. The game is nothing short of amazing. I'm constantly being blown away every hour or so at all the tiny details and the amount of effort that was put into this thing. Definitely in my top 20, maybe even top 10 best games ever made so far. It just feels so damn good to play, and I can't wait for my next playthrough on Survivor! So far, I've not heard one decent argument as to why people hate this game. Still hearing the whole 'Joel going back with Abby is out of character for him' line being thrown around as the main complaint. Which is completely in line with his character, unless people hate the first game for him going with Henry and Sam as well.
It's one thing to not personally like the game. That's fine, no game is going to please everyone. To act like it's anything less than a 7-8 out of 10 is insane. Naughty Dog clearly poured their all into making this game. And I'm so glad they told the story that they wanted to tell. Rather than playing it safe and making an unoriginal sequel.
You either liked the story arc, or you didn't. There's nothing to be overblown there. There are people enjoying the game, and people hating on the game for a disagreeable progression of the original's story.
I finished the game yesterday
I love the game and enjoyed every bit of its gameplay and world, but the ending...
That last ellie and joel flashback really hit me, and made me very sad for Joel. He died without his arc being finished which is absurd. He didn’t have to die so soon. I understand Ellie being upset at him but the writers did him dirty by not giving him time to get her forgiveness. Honestly this story would have been better if it was Part 3 or Joel was killed off much later in the game. And even better? He never dies. There was no reason for him to die, or at least not yet.
** Spoilers**
Also I understand what some people mean when they say the game disrespect past characters: first it Was the way Joel was killed ( at first I was over it and gave the game a chance, but after the ending I am upset again), Tommy is suddenly crippled and can’t go with ellie (will probably still be crippled for the sequel ugh) and Ellie loses two fingers? So much loss to let Abby GO in the end? And in the ending she is all alone and loses even more? What was the point of Ellie to go again to kill her? And how letting abby live would cure her PTSD, the thing that made her go back and finish the job? Also How did that Joel’s flashback made her not do it when Joel Himself would have killed anyone who messed up with Ellie? The flashback should been Joel saying “DO IT.” I like dark stories and endings but this one was just shock value over quality.
** end of spoilers**
I also didn’t have a problem with Abby. At times I sympathizes with her, and at times I didn’t. Nothing that ruins the game for me.
I give this game a solid 9/10.
Would play again
This game is nothing short of a masterpiece. The vast majority of people who don't like it either didn't play it or already had their mind made up before the game was even released. I say the majority and not everyone because I'm sure there are people who for whatever reason couldn't get into it, which is fine.