It's painfully obvious that people who are giving this game a low rating, didn't play/finish the game and are simply going off of the leaks or some nasty word of mouth.
The Last of Us 1 introduced us to some amazing characters and gave them character and depth. This phenomenal sequel has done that same thing, in a different light. Ellie, is still Ellie (and she has always been gay, I don't see how people think this is new news), but now she has grown up and continues to grow through this story, just without Joel. This game isn't supposed to be light-hearted or even fun to watch. It's supposed to make you angry, sad and confused. Joels death is sudden and heartbreaking, which is the brutal truth of what life is like, especially in a post apocalytpic setting. Joel killed lots of innocent people in his quest to protect Ellie, and the consequence of doing do eventually caught up with him. Now Ellie is following down that same dark path, as well as Abby, and in the end? Ellie loses everything. Her family, even her goddamn fingers which were used to play the guitar (one of the most important things Joel ever taught her). Her quest for vengeance, costed her her humanity. As for Abby, she was forunate enough to pull through in the end with Lev, only because Lev showed her that she didnt have to kill or get revenge to be happy. Sure, Abby's story was obviously a retcon, but Naughty Dog clearly didn't account for The Last of Us 1 to gain such a cult following that they had an opportunity to make a sequel.
The Last of Us 2 showed us that even our most beloved characters are only human, and can become the monsters of their own stories. I mean take a look at Tommy at the end. Ellie BECAME him. He lost his sight in one eye and will never walk properly again, yet is STILL out for revenge and in the end? He lost it all. Maria, his community, his self respect.
Self destruction is the biggest killer in this game.
Its an extremely mature story for an immature audience who dont want to take the time of day to really THINK about why these things happen. Why did Ellie let Abby live? Because she finally realised that no matter what she does to Abby, Joel will still be dead. No matter how many people she kills, Joel will not come back. So she lets her go, and moves on, but at what cost?
Give the game a chance. Grow with it. Learn from it.
Its a masterpiece.
985 Reviews
There Is No Other Choice
TerribleKatherine18 March 2023
This game has gotten way too much critisism for the decisions that the creators made. Even when this came out, I strongly disagreed with some of the critisism, because I felt people misunderstood the plot and the motives of the characters. Now that I'm playing the game for the second time and I can kind of relax, knowing how the story goes, I can focus more on how the story and the characters proceed, and the game is still amazing. It looks amazing and I love the characters because they seem like real people. Real people do things wrong, they are not perfect.
I feel like haters just concentrated on what happens to Joel. But the game shows that everything has consequences, even for the characters that everybody adores. If you cannot handle that, you should never watch movies, read books or play games, because it happens in every form of media. People that are loved, suffer or die. That is just life.
I have no other choice but to give this a 10/10. I'm having so much fun and I'm excited to see pt III.
I feel like haters just concentrated on what happens to Joel. But the game shows that everything has consequences, even for the characters that everybody adores. If you cannot handle that, you should never watch movies, read books or play games, because it happens in every form of media. People that are loved, suffer or die. That is just life.
I have no other choice but to give this a 10/10. I'm having so much fun and I'm excited to see pt III.
Masterpiece
angela-cannal7 February 2023
I was skeptical. I actually put off the game because of all of the outrage. I was wrong to do that. This game is an experience unlike any other game you will ever play. The reason people hate it is also the same reason it is amazing. Give it a chance. Just like people hated Empire Strikes Back when it first released, I believe in 10 years this game will remembered for its greatness.
The writing is amazing, the characters engaging, the way violence is depicted is unlike any game I've played, and last but not least the story is memorable. If you were on the fence about this game, give it a shot with an open mind. You might just be like me and absolutely love it.
The writing is amazing, the characters engaging, the way violence is depicted is unlike any game I've played, and last but not least the story is memorable. If you were on the fence about this game, give it a shot with an open mind. You might just be like me and absolutely love it.
Great game, just misunderstood
goat-0405422 March 2022
Yes this game has flawes. I think the game is too long and because of that the pacing suffers sometimes. I also disagree with some minor decisions that were made.
But you cannot deny how beautiful and engaging this game actually is. This game did something most games before have never actually touched upon and used its medium in a clever way. Trust me when I say in 5 to 10 years time, people will look back and say this game was severely misunderstood.
Most people get what this game was going for, they just don't want to except it (yet)....
But you cannot deny how beautiful and engaging this game actually is. This game did something most games before have never actually touched upon and used its medium in a clever way. Trust me when I say in 5 to 10 years time, people will look back and say this game was severely misunderstood.
Most people get what this game was going for, they just don't want to except it (yet)....
Masterpiece at so many levels
c_macia30 January 2023
I simply can't understand all the disappointed low reviews. I imagine it's people who don't like to think and simply want to point and shoot.
This game is a master class of storytelling, character creation, paradigm shifting... all wrapped in a beautiful shell. No other game had ever made me throw the control away because I simply couldn't decide which character to hurt. And that's the whole point: this game makes us question violence in games and the futility of violence in general as a response to conflict. If nothing else, just for that, it deserves every recognition in the world.
The way it introduces the different characters and makes you realise that your antagonist may be someone else's protagonist, is flawless.
The characters are full of life and truth. They're believable and 3D, not flat archetypes.
I could go on and on. And I genuinely feel sorry for those who feel disappointed by this game. I honestly believe they missed the whole point of it.
10/10.
This game is a master class of storytelling, character creation, paradigm shifting... all wrapped in a beautiful shell. No other game had ever made me throw the control away because I simply couldn't decide which character to hurt. And that's the whole point: this game makes us question violence in games and the futility of violence in general as a response to conflict. If nothing else, just for that, it deserves every recognition in the world.
The way it introduces the different characters and makes you realise that your antagonist may be someone else's protagonist, is flawless.
The characters are full of life and truth. They're believable and 3D, not flat archetypes.
I could go on and on. And I genuinely feel sorry for those who feel disappointed by this game. I honestly believe they missed the whole point of it.
10/10.
Absolutely brutal in almost every conceivable way.
fletcherw92810 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This truly was a great game, the overall design and gameplay was a major step up from the original with improved controls, better weapon interface and aiming controls, the archery interface was greatly improved over the original. The game is also perfect in its presentation. The graphical fidelity is off the charts and is the absolute best that the PS4 has to offer, Ghost of Tsushima and Uncharted 4 are the only two that come close. I liked how the game took a break from its linear design every now and then and let you wander around in larger and more open environments. Overall the combat and enemy placement strategy is very well done in this game and what is even more well done is the boss design. The Rat King might just be the greatest boss ever put in a horror game and even rivals the greatest and most memorable bosses from Dead Space, Resident Evil and even the first Last of Us game.
So yes the gameplay has improved, just as it has improved over every singly Naughty Dog Third Person Shooter all the way from Uncharted 1 in 2007, but all the infamy of this game that is still rather new all lies in the narrative. This will obviously be a spoiler heavy review since I am going to discuss major details right ahead.
The Last of Us: Part II is a revenge story at its core and is very different thematically from the previous. What made the original game so popular and beloved was that it was a perfect mixture of light and darkness shown in extreme polar opposites. Showing the full spectrum of the best and worst of humanity and how genuine glimmers of hope and joy can outweigh the odds of the heaviest forms of darkness and despair. Last of Us 1 is highly regarded as the perfect video game narrative and not just the best in gaming history but even rivals some of the greatest in all of fictional media. Everyone loves a good story of hope and genuine humanity, and is exactly why Part II has become so polarised and hated by a lot of people. Those two elements are almost completley missing from it.
I do have to hand it to Naughty Dog for doing something different, you don't just want a carbon copy of the original and it hard to top that particular hope driven story anyway, so what do you do differently next time around. Well the revenge driven plot is a popular route to take movies with films like John Wick being very popular and raking in a lot of money. There is something very satisfying about revenge and definitely can satisfy your darker primal and more primitive emotions when you see a movie character lay carnage on the ones that made them suffer. So why not do that in a video game, I don't really see many video games that have taken this plot choice this extremley before, and you think it would be a satisfying experience. Well yes and no.
The main shocker of this game is the choice of killing of Joel only about 2 hours into the games story which becomes the inciting incident for the entire story. The cruelty of the scene is so brutally raw, that it's no wonder why so many fans were upset. I don't really get upset when I see a fictional character get killed off, because that's all they really are. A fictional character in a fictional story. I do agree that it was pretty distasteful though to have him thrown away to the side like that so quickly. As the same time though, it is a pretty brave choice to do this and I also have to applaud them. This isn't some happy feel good tale, this is The Last of Us, it's of course going to be a dark story and yes you will probably feel upset by what happens in it.
So the murder of Joel starts Ellie's journey of tracking down the killer, who is Abby. I kind of feel that the second reason why people were upset by this game is what this leads up to. As I said before, revenge is an extremely primal emotion and can be extremely satisfying and addictive. Many people were probably feeling a bit of a high in the games leadup to the encounter with Abby hoping that it would the moment the player gets to kill her and deliver some form of hard hitting and satisfying justice. But this does not happen. The game then subverts your expectations and makes you play Abby herself in her shoes instead. Taking you back a few days to the exact same time when Ellie began her vengeance driven hunt.
I for one was confused at first. But I actually grew to like this part of the game, as it shows the player to not be so quick to judge people you know nothing about. Even if what they've done is evil or horrific. Sure, what Abby did was evil, but you begin to see why the life she led and the type of people she was associated with drove her to make that choice.
I think I should talk about the factions that are in this game. It's focused around 3 different groups. The Boston Outpost where Joel, Ellie and her freinds are from which I will call "Team Ellie". They are mainly presented as the "good guys" and the people that the game defaults you to root for. Then there is the "WLF" which is a military based faction that Abby is assigned with that are against what Joel did in St Mary's Hospital in the finale of the first game. These are presented as the villains at first but then leaves it up to you of just how good or evil they really are after you understand their motivations.
That leaves you to the third and final faction in the game. The Seraphites. These guys are just completely and utterly insane. They are a primal extremist and religious cult who will simply destroy anyone who gets in their way or doesn't believe their views. They are basically nothing more than ruthless animals that are brainwashed beyond any hope of reason by their dogma. The scariest thing about them is that you never learn exactly what it is that they believe in, you are only given hints of just the extent of how intensive and the dogma really is based around.
You will be fighting a lot of these in Abby's portion of the game, and the moral narrative can become very confusing but also very interesting as you start to wonder which faction is more evil. How evil Abby is as a person truly, and whether anyone can find redemption for what they've done.
You also see how Ellie's humanity and goodness becomes slowly destroyed as she just cannot let go of her fixation of exacting vengeance on Abby, and it's hard to watch such a likeable character in the first game start to go so horribly dark and evil aswell.
So basically the underlying message of The Last of Us 2 is that seeking revenge or vengeance is ultimately not worth it, no matter what it may be about, because it will ruin you and you will not feel a sense of satisfaction or reduction if you try and sort things out this way. I think however one way this game could have been improved is that if it was choice driven like Mass Effect, BioShock or Undertale, where the story could have gone in different directions if you attempted to practice mercy or forgiveness on Abby instead of trying to kill her. Instead what you get it a 25 hour long linear one tracked slaughterfest as you watch the most likeable and light driven character of the first game become broken by her own evil and warped sense of justice and how vengeance and revenge destroys all.
I myself enjoyed the ride, but I can see why many will find this a journey that they will loathe start to finish. Maybe Naughty Dog can make Part III a choice driven game, how hard that might be. It would be very interesting if they concluded the story in this way, because from the way this game ended, it looks like there is a bit more to tell.
So yes the gameplay has improved, just as it has improved over every singly Naughty Dog Third Person Shooter all the way from Uncharted 1 in 2007, but all the infamy of this game that is still rather new all lies in the narrative. This will obviously be a spoiler heavy review since I am going to discuss major details right ahead.
The Last of Us: Part II is a revenge story at its core and is very different thematically from the previous. What made the original game so popular and beloved was that it was a perfect mixture of light and darkness shown in extreme polar opposites. Showing the full spectrum of the best and worst of humanity and how genuine glimmers of hope and joy can outweigh the odds of the heaviest forms of darkness and despair. Last of Us 1 is highly regarded as the perfect video game narrative and not just the best in gaming history but even rivals some of the greatest in all of fictional media. Everyone loves a good story of hope and genuine humanity, and is exactly why Part II has become so polarised and hated by a lot of people. Those two elements are almost completley missing from it.
I do have to hand it to Naughty Dog for doing something different, you don't just want a carbon copy of the original and it hard to top that particular hope driven story anyway, so what do you do differently next time around. Well the revenge driven plot is a popular route to take movies with films like John Wick being very popular and raking in a lot of money. There is something very satisfying about revenge and definitely can satisfy your darker primal and more primitive emotions when you see a movie character lay carnage on the ones that made them suffer. So why not do that in a video game, I don't really see many video games that have taken this plot choice this extremley before, and you think it would be a satisfying experience. Well yes and no.
The main shocker of this game is the choice of killing of Joel only about 2 hours into the games story which becomes the inciting incident for the entire story. The cruelty of the scene is so brutally raw, that it's no wonder why so many fans were upset. I don't really get upset when I see a fictional character get killed off, because that's all they really are. A fictional character in a fictional story. I do agree that it was pretty distasteful though to have him thrown away to the side like that so quickly. As the same time though, it is a pretty brave choice to do this and I also have to applaud them. This isn't some happy feel good tale, this is The Last of Us, it's of course going to be a dark story and yes you will probably feel upset by what happens in it.
So the murder of Joel starts Ellie's journey of tracking down the killer, who is Abby. I kind of feel that the second reason why people were upset by this game is what this leads up to. As I said before, revenge is an extremely primal emotion and can be extremely satisfying and addictive. Many people were probably feeling a bit of a high in the games leadup to the encounter with Abby hoping that it would the moment the player gets to kill her and deliver some form of hard hitting and satisfying justice. But this does not happen. The game then subverts your expectations and makes you play Abby herself in her shoes instead. Taking you back a few days to the exact same time when Ellie began her vengeance driven hunt.
I for one was confused at first. But I actually grew to like this part of the game, as it shows the player to not be so quick to judge people you know nothing about. Even if what they've done is evil or horrific. Sure, what Abby did was evil, but you begin to see why the life she led and the type of people she was associated with drove her to make that choice.
I think I should talk about the factions that are in this game. It's focused around 3 different groups. The Boston Outpost where Joel, Ellie and her freinds are from which I will call "Team Ellie". They are mainly presented as the "good guys" and the people that the game defaults you to root for. Then there is the "WLF" which is a military based faction that Abby is assigned with that are against what Joel did in St Mary's Hospital in the finale of the first game. These are presented as the villains at first but then leaves it up to you of just how good or evil they really are after you understand their motivations.
That leaves you to the third and final faction in the game. The Seraphites. These guys are just completely and utterly insane. They are a primal extremist and religious cult who will simply destroy anyone who gets in their way or doesn't believe their views. They are basically nothing more than ruthless animals that are brainwashed beyond any hope of reason by their dogma. The scariest thing about them is that you never learn exactly what it is that they believe in, you are only given hints of just the extent of how intensive and the dogma really is based around.
You will be fighting a lot of these in Abby's portion of the game, and the moral narrative can become very confusing but also very interesting as you start to wonder which faction is more evil. How evil Abby is as a person truly, and whether anyone can find redemption for what they've done.
You also see how Ellie's humanity and goodness becomes slowly destroyed as she just cannot let go of her fixation of exacting vengeance on Abby, and it's hard to watch such a likeable character in the first game start to go so horribly dark and evil aswell.
So basically the underlying message of The Last of Us 2 is that seeking revenge or vengeance is ultimately not worth it, no matter what it may be about, because it will ruin you and you will not feel a sense of satisfaction or reduction if you try and sort things out this way. I think however one way this game could have been improved is that if it was choice driven like Mass Effect, BioShock or Undertale, where the story could have gone in different directions if you attempted to practice mercy or forgiveness on Abby instead of trying to kill her. Instead what you get it a 25 hour long linear one tracked slaughterfest as you watch the most likeable and light driven character of the first game become broken by her own evil and warped sense of justice and how vengeance and revenge destroys all.
I myself enjoyed the ride, but I can see why many will find this a journey that they will loathe start to finish. Maybe Naughty Dog can make Part III a choice driven game, how hard that might be. It would be very interesting if they concluded the story in this way, because from the way this game ended, it looks like there is a bit more to tell.
Flawed but definitely had it's moments
P9722 June 2020
Now i do understand what most of you think about this game because of what druckman did, that he ruined the original characters and he prefers that you hate his game rather than feeling nothing about it and tbh me too was really upset and disappointed after you know 2 hours into the game "the thing" happened but if you actually continue to play the game it all make sense and it's not like you are not getting any Joel and Ellie moment, you should know that Joel in the first game did a lot of messed up things with no mercy even if it was out of love and his past is coming to hunt him in this game which was always the case, he's not a hero guys even if you want him to be.
The graphics and environments are breathtaking, some of the best world design i've ever seen and the gameplay while similar to the original, it's even more violent, horrifying and gruesome as it can get.
In terms of story i still think the original is told better because literally every character in the original last of us was likeable even the villains and that's not the case here, Abby is incredibly unlikable and she had no redeeming qualities to me if Lev didn't exist, Dina and Jessie are alright but they should have been way better and the pacing is all over the place but even so, this is a quality game and it's nowhere near as bad as some would make you believe and most of them didn't even gave the game a chance and made up their minds based on the leaks which works for a movie i guess but this is different and you have to experience it for yourself and even if you still don't like it, it's understandable like i said the game is flawed and it's not for everyone like the first game.
The graphics and environments are breathtaking, some of the best world design i've ever seen and the gameplay while similar to the original, it's even more violent, horrifying and gruesome as it can get.
In terms of story i still think the original is told better because literally every character in the original last of us was likeable even the villains and that's not the case here, Abby is incredibly unlikable and she had no redeeming qualities to me if Lev didn't exist, Dina and Jessie are alright but they should have been way better and the pacing is all over the place but even so, this is a quality game and it's nowhere near as bad as some would make you believe and most of them didn't even gave the game a chance and made up their minds based on the leaks which works for a movie i guess but this is different and you have to experience it for yourself and even if you still don't like it, it's understandable like i said the game is flawed and it's not for everyone like the first game.
Exceptionally well written game
chrisglazzard22 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
People need to stop saying this game is badly written just because they didn't write the game the way you wanted & the characters didn't get the story lines you wanted.
The game is exceptional & on par with the first one, the story repercussions are even more meaningful like I've never felt so guilty for decisions I've made in game as badly as I did with this game.
The combat is so improved from the first game but at the same time so similar & more importantly the bow is finally the weapon it deserves to be, The puzzles are intriguing & complicated at times they make you think.
The graphics are exceptional especially when you in the overgrown wilderness & the open areas are well designed with plenty to explore & the smaller areas are complicated & built for combat or stealth naturally without feeling like there designed.
Abby is disliked by many for the brutal murder of Joel but I feel if you look back at what Joel & Ellie did you her family & friends it's a justified murder & for Ellie's revenge she is fully entitled to get revenge but In the process she kills more of abby's friends & family with far more collateral damage but yet Abby repeatedly lets her live, sure Abby isn't a hero as I feel nobody in this game is but sad to say it but if we want to point fingers Joel & Ellie are the bad guys of these games but in a world like the last of us is anybody good or bad? Aren't they all just surviving
The game is exceptional & on par with the first one, the story repercussions are even more meaningful like I've never felt so guilty for decisions I've made in game as badly as I did with this game.
The combat is so improved from the first game but at the same time so similar & more importantly the bow is finally the weapon it deserves to be, The puzzles are intriguing & complicated at times they make you think.
The graphics are exceptional especially when you in the overgrown wilderness & the open areas are well designed with plenty to explore & the smaller areas are complicated & built for combat or stealth naturally without feeling like there designed.
Abby is disliked by many for the brutal murder of Joel but I feel if you look back at what Joel & Ellie did you her family & friends it's a justified murder & for Ellie's revenge she is fully entitled to get revenge but In the process she kills more of abby's friends & family with far more collateral damage but yet Abby repeatedly lets her live, sure Abby isn't a hero as I feel nobody in this game is but sad to say it but if we want to point fingers Joel & Ellie are the bad guys of these games but in a world like the last of us is anybody good or bad? Aren't they all just surviving
Weird writing
Chewbaccaccino22 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I find it pretty interesting how anyone who is giving this a positive review is leaving a 10/10. Not a 7, not an 8, or a 9. Always a 10, claiming that it is a masterpiece or one of the best games ever made, which is actually ridiculous. This game has certain good aspects from a technological standpoint, but just because a game has good graphics, does not mean it is anything special. Any competent AAA developer will make a great looking game. The gameplay is rather uninteresting, it's very similar to the original and does not accomplish anything special. These factors are not bad by any means; they are good, but they don't accomplish anything in the gaming industry.
One more positive I would like to add is the voice acting. If you haven't played, expect good things from this. Very good performances.
The plot one the other hand, is just laughable. As most of you know, a beloved character is murdered randomly by people that were introduced just minutes before his death scene. This is a very disrespectful thing to do towards fans. There is no buildup to this, it kind of just happens. On top of that, he is out of character in this scene and says things that he would not normally say, including admitting his identity to strangers in a post apocalyptic world. When Ellie walks in, she kinda just looks but doesn't even bother to shoot her gun, just gets knocked to the ground like cattle. The writers did not even bother to make sense of the situation. They really wanted to have some shock value but with no substance. Unfortunately, a lot of players have fallen for this rather lazy and underwhelming trick, also used in things like The Last Jedi. To add to this, the writers have the audacity to make you play as the killer shortly after the scene. It's like an insult to the player.
The second criticism for the plot, is Ellie's character. For the majority of the game, the player (Ellie) seeks revenge, killing several, maybe hundreds of men and women. The player has no limits, and doesn't even stop at killing a pregnant woman. All of this is done in order to take revenge on Abby (the killer), which in the end, Ellie finally encounters Abby in a vulnerable state. This time around, Ellie makes an impulsive decision that bloodshed is wrong and revenge is the big bad. Ellie lets the killer go. (keep in mind this is what the game has been building up to for the last 20 some hours) Guess all those people died for nothing. Sorry pregnant lady, plot just used you for shock value.
There is even more to complain about in the plot, but here I have summarized the major issues. If you want to play this game, you can, but maybe rent it or something. Also keep very low expectations. It's not worth your $60 or $30.
My final rating - 3/10.
One more positive I would like to add is the voice acting. If you haven't played, expect good things from this. Very good performances.
The plot one the other hand, is just laughable. As most of you know, a beloved character is murdered randomly by people that were introduced just minutes before his death scene. This is a very disrespectful thing to do towards fans. There is no buildup to this, it kind of just happens. On top of that, he is out of character in this scene and says things that he would not normally say, including admitting his identity to strangers in a post apocalyptic world. When Ellie walks in, she kinda just looks but doesn't even bother to shoot her gun, just gets knocked to the ground like cattle. The writers did not even bother to make sense of the situation. They really wanted to have some shock value but with no substance. Unfortunately, a lot of players have fallen for this rather lazy and underwhelming trick, also used in things like The Last Jedi. To add to this, the writers have the audacity to make you play as the killer shortly after the scene. It's like an insult to the player.
The second criticism for the plot, is Ellie's character. For the majority of the game, the player (Ellie) seeks revenge, killing several, maybe hundreds of men and women. The player has no limits, and doesn't even stop at killing a pregnant woman. All of this is done in order to take revenge on Abby (the killer), which in the end, Ellie finally encounters Abby in a vulnerable state. This time around, Ellie makes an impulsive decision that bloodshed is wrong and revenge is the big bad. Ellie lets the killer go. (keep in mind this is what the game has been building up to for the last 20 some hours) Guess all those people died for nothing. Sorry pregnant lady, plot just used you for shock value.
There is even more to complain about in the plot, but here I have summarized the major issues. If you want to play this game, you can, but maybe rent it or something. Also keep very low expectations. It's not worth your $60 or $30.
My final rating - 3/10.
Sometimes brilliance is misunderstood.
caweatherby9 July 2020
Finished The Last of Us Part II and started Survival+. Blew me away! The editing in this game is beyond impressive. It reminds me of the editing in Pulp Fiction, which took some people time to get used to. Now, this kind of editing is common in cinema, but to have it in a game is really impressive. I gotta say, I was expecting a bad ending, too but was pleasantly surprised. Technically and gameplay wise it is the best 3rd person shooter I've ever played and best stealth game, too. Better than the first and my new all time favourite game tied with God of War.
This game and the first have been given different themes. The first was, 'The journey, companionship, fate and destiny', while Part 2's themes are, 'vengeance and the cycle of violence'. Makes so much sense now, after playing the game in full and seeing how it ends. I'm happy. I definitely would not have had the same experience if I hadn't played the whole game myself and just watched the cut scenes, or watched someone else stream a play through. You slowly grow to feel empathy for Abbey by playing the entire game. This is why I believe some of the haters did not play through the whole game themselves.
The people who aren't happy with the story wanted to hate Abbey, but instead were forced to feel empathy for her. Funny, cause if the first part of Abbey's story never happened these haters would have really liked her and not disliked the story.
You do not have to like Abbey (I eventually did), but you are meant to feel empathy for her. This is the part some people struggled with. The whole point of the script is to feel empathy for every single human in the game, even the lesser enemies as you kill them. I commend Naughty Dog and Neil Druckmann for taking such risks. If they never did what they did with the story we would more than likely have had just another game instead of this masterpiece.
This game and the first have been given different themes. The first was, 'The journey, companionship, fate and destiny', while Part 2's themes are, 'vengeance and the cycle of violence'. Makes so much sense now, after playing the game in full and seeing how it ends. I'm happy. I definitely would not have had the same experience if I hadn't played the whole game myself and just watched the cut scenes, or watched someone else stream a play through. You slowly grow to feel empathy for Abbey by playing the entire game. This is why I believe some of the haters did not play through the whole game themselves.
The people who aren't happy with the story wanted to hate Abbey, but instead were forced to feel empathy for her. Funny, cause if the first part of Abbey's story never happened these haters would have really liked her and not disliked the story.
You do not have to like Abbey (I eventually did), but you are meant to feel empathy for her. This is the part some people struggled with. The whole point of the script is to feel empathy for every single human in the game, even the lesser enemies as you kill them. I commend Naughty Dog and Neil Druckmann for taking such risks. If they never did what they did with the story we would more than likely have had just another game instead of this masterpiece.
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE BAD REVIEWS!!!
aidenvanbeek19 June 2020
This game is absolutely stunning! So many people have gone into this game believing that they already hate it before even playing.
I REFUSED TO LOOK AT ANY LEAKS BEFORE PLAYING AND I LOVED IT!!
The story makes sense! Its true, its dark, realistic and its explores so many gritty and real themes. Like it says on the game case, it's a REVENGE story, not another cash-grab sequel. Everything that happens in the story happens for a REASON.
This game looks INCREDIBLE! I played this on the original PS4 and it shocked me how polished and beautiful it was. Definitely one of the best looking games out there.
The gameplay is very similar to the first game but feels quite a lot more polished. And the game is just so much more brutal than the last.
This game is already in the top 5 games on PS4 for me and I will always stand by that.
I REFUSED TO LOOK AT ANY LEAKS BEFORE PLAYING AND I LOVED IT!!
The story makes sense! Its true, its dark, realistic and its explores so many gritty and real themes. Like it says on the game case, it's a REVENGE story, not another cash-grab sequel. Everything that happens in the story happens for a REASON.
This game looks INCREDIBLE! I played this on the original PS4 and it shocked me how polished and beautiful it was. Definitely one of the best looking games out there.
The gameplay is very similar to the first game but feels quite a lot more polished. And the game is just so much more brutal than the last.
This game is already in the top 5 games on PS4 for me and I will always stand by that.
Far From Perfect, Far From Garbage. A Flawed Masterpiece.
Sausage_Dog5 July 2020
First thing's first, play the game for yourself.
Buy the game, turn the lights off, and get cracking. In the end, this is a video game, and the only thing that matters is your own personal experience. You might hate it, you might love it, but it's your opinion, and nobody should be able to change that. I have played all the way through the game, and I took my sweet time. What follows are my honest opinions:
The Gameplay: Putting everything from the story to one side, this is stellar, top class gameplay. Combat is fluid, tense, and really exhausting in the best possible of ways. It takes everything we loved from the first game and only builds on it. You're able to approach encounters however you please, but playing smart (using stealth and your tools) feels immensely rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed scavenging for materials and planning ahead to decide how I could be the most effective predator in combat while utilising as little resources as possible. Whether you're up against human foes, or the infected (Including the absolutely terrifying new infected types!) it's up to you as the player to determine how you can be the most effective against each very different enemy type. This is a true post-apocalypse experience.
The Story: It's extremely difficult to talk about the narrative, for many reasons. First and foremost, spoilers. (I won't be spoiling anything!) Reading the leaks and not playing the game will not give you the faintest idea of the direction this story takes. It's a video game, and it must therefore be played in full, by you. In my opinion, the story is truly complex and multi layered. Sometimes you want to cry, sometimes you want to laugh, sometimes you want to throw your controller through the TV. There's a lot at work here, and my understanding is that most of these emotions you feel are intentional. There are points in the game where you will NOT be satisfied with the outcomes of events, and this is the way it's designed. This is a story about the cost of revenge, sins of the father, and the near impossible ability to swallow hatred. The game is a message, and only by playing through the entire story could I piece together -and comprehend- the message I was being taught.
But given this, I believed the story was far too long, with some really odd and dissatisfying decisions mixed in. There's a particular sequence of the game that has you go back in time to relive events from a new perspective. There are moments here that are crucial to the overall narrative arc and your understanding of the plot, but it turns into a 10+ hour deviation. I found myself wanting to get back to "the game" as if I was playing something completely different. The game lost it's flow for me here, and I began to feel disconnected from all of the characters on-screen. There are moments (that I can't go into) Where the game wanted me to perform actions that I simply did not want to perform. This did not feel intentional to me, all I was feeling in these particular moments was confusion and disappointment. But, the final hour brings it all back together, and finally concludes what the game is setting out to say in a really intelligent and hard hitting way. I am likely to carry these feelings for years to come!
In conclusion, I saw this as a heavily flawed masterpiece. It added upon things I loved about the first game, and it took away things I loved about the first game. It was an exhausting journey through just about every emotion a person can feel. It was incredibly intelligent, well constructed, and beautifully rendered. I often found myself admiring random, totally unimportant spots in the game world, considering just how much work had gone into creating such gorgeous environments. But it's far from perfect, the concept of "If you don't like it, you don't get it" is preposterous, nobody can tell you how to feel. You are perfectly in your right to dislike this game, but only once you have played it for yourself.
The Gameplay: Putting everything from the story to one side, this is stellar, top class gameplay. Combat is fluid, tense, and really exhausting in the best possible of ways. It takes everything we loved from the first game and only builds on it. You're able to approach encounters however you please, but playing smart (using stealth and your tools) feels immensely rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed scavenging for materials and planning ahead to decide how I could be the most effective predator in combat while utilising as little resources as possible. Whether you're up against human foes, or the infected (Including the absolutely terrifying new infected types!) it's up to you as the player to determine how you can be the most effective against each very different enemy type. This is a true post-apocalypse experience.
The Story: It's extremely difficult to talk about the narrative, for many reasons. First and foremost, spoilers. (I won't be spoiling anything!) Reading the leaks and not playing the game will not give you the faintest idea of the direction this story takes. It's a video game, and it must therefore be played in full, by you. In my opinion, the story is truly complex and multi layered. Sometimes you want to cry, sometimes you want to laugh, sometimes you want to throw your controller through the TV. There's a lot at work here, and my understanding is that most of these emotions you feel are intentional. There are points in the game where you will NOT be satisfied with the outcomes of events, and this is the way it's designed. This is a story about the cost of revenge, sins of the father, and the near impossible ability to swallow hatred. The game is a message, and only by playing through the entire story could I piece together -and comprehend- the message I was being taught.
But given this, I believed the story was far too long, with some really odd and dissatisfying decisions mixed in. There's a particular sequence of the game that has you go back in time to relive events from a new perspective. There are moments here that are crucial to the overall narrative arc and your understanding of the plot, but it turns into a 10+ hour deviation. I found myself wanting to get back to "the game" as if I was playing something completely different. The game lost it's flow for me here, and I began to feel disconnected from all of the characters on-screen. There are moments (that I can't go into) Where the game wanted me to perform actions that I simply did not want to perform. This did not feel intentional to me, all I was feeling in these particular moments was confusion and disappointment. But, the final hour brings it all back together, and finally concludes what the game is setting out to say in a really intelligent and hard hitting way. I am likely to carry these feelings for years to come!
In conclusion, I saw this as a heavily flawed masterpiece. It added upon things I loved about the first game, and it took away things I loved about the first game. It was an exhausting journey through just about every emotion a person can feel. It was incredibly intelligent, well constructed, and beautifully rendered. I often found myself admiring random, totally unimportant spots in the game world, considering just how much work had gone into creating such gorgeous environments. But it's far from perfect, the concept of "If you don't like it, you don't get it" is preposterous, nobody can tell you how to feel. You are perfectly in your right to dislike this game, but only once you have played it for yourself.
Good gameplay ruined by awful writing!
stevenmore24 November 2021
I was a huge fan of the original game. It was one of the best stories I've ever experienced so you can imagine my disappointment when hopping into this game. First of all, the main characters of the first game are completely butchered by stupid writing. Everything from, trying to avoid spoilers, traditionally careful and experienced characters who've shown in the first game that they know how dangerous strangers can be and to not trust anyone but in this game they're now automatically trusting of people they've never met to go as far as to even tell them they're names and where their settlement is within 4 minutes of meeting them.
That's just one example of the poor writing in this game and trust me when I say there's plenty more to complain about but to avoid spoiling anything I'll just say the game makes bold decisions in its story. The problem is the execution was done so poorly as it obviously was trying to be bold for the sake of being bold and ignoring good story telling. I recommend you pass on this. If you're a fan of the first game, just pretend this game never came out. You'll be far happier with the bittersweet ending of the first game and believing that to be the definitive ending to Joel and Ellie's story.
That's just one example of the poor writing in this game and trust me when I say there's plenty more to complain about but to avoid spoiling anything I'll just say the game makes bold decisions in its story. The problem is the execution was done so poorly as it obviously was trying to be bold for the sake of being bold and ignoring good story telling. I recommend you pass on this. If you're a fan of the first game, just pretend this game never came out. You'll be far happier with the bittersweet ending of the first game and believing that to be the definitive ending to Joel and Ellie's story.
People are being way to critical about this game!
trulskarlsen-0127219 June 2020
I honestly do not think this game is bad in any way, people are just mad because it wasn't made the way they wanted, and by now it just seems like people love to hate it, which I think is stupid.
I gotta admit, this game isn't quite like the first one, and makes you feel a little bit different, which I think is okay since the first game is about love and this is about hate. I can admit that a few things (not many) was indeed a little bit dumb, but overall this game has great graphics, great gameplay and a good story, and I do think people should try to play it themselves, cause you do get invested in the story, and it's a great journey.
I think the characters are likeable also, which is good. I even startet to like some of the "bad" ones too, which I didn't like that I did, but is a good thing.
I personally think it's worth your money, give the game a shot.
I gotta admit, this game isn't quite like the first one, and makes you feel a little bit different, which I think is okay since the first game is about love and this is about hate. I can admit that a few things (not many) was indeed a little bit dumb, but overall this game has great graphics, great gameplay and a good story, and I do think people should try to play it themselves, cause you do get invested in the story, and it's a great journey.
I think the characters are likeable also, which is good. I even startet to like some of the "bad" ones too, which I didn't like that I did, but is a good thing.
I personally think it's worth your money, give the game a shot.
Masterpiece
mathieudufault26 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Great game with plenty of unwarranted hate. Never has a game come out with this many gamers missing the mark of the story. It's very to sad to see how many people didn't actually even realize what this story was trying to ultimately convey about the cycle of violence. The game shows the impact one act of violence can have and the domino effect it creates. Not some generic revenge story with a perfect good guy wins resolution. Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey both deliver excellent performances alongside a great script and story. Gameplay is brutal and crunchy making the player feel every gun shot and every swing of Ellie's knife. Gameplay is mixed up with the player taking on the game from a Abbys perspective showing a different perspective of the story. With the game originally creating a strong hate for Abby, over your time with her you start to understand and sympathize her as a character understanding that her motivations and experiences aren't that different than Ellie's. This proved to be a great addition showing how non black and white the story is. Makes you rethink everything you thought you knew and makes you question between what's right and what's wrong and more importantly who's in the right and wrong in this situation, Ellie or Abby? That is the question that many gamers will be asking themselves well playing, and it's not a easy one to answer, even though at first it may seem to be. The Last of Us Part 2 is not a game that many will understand or appreciate. It's not a story everyone will enjoy not necessarily because it is bad, but because it requires the player to look into the story critically, being open minded, sometimes putting emotion to the side to better understand the actions of the characters and their motivations, and even trying to put yourself in the shoes of both Abby and Ellie to better grasp their thinking/headspace. Overall The Last of Us Part 2 is a masterfully crafted game with a incredibly in depth and mind provoking story. I beg anyone to try the game for themselves before making up their mind as I'm sure it will be worth your while.
Amazing game
dbsboy20 June 2020
The graphics are amazing in this game and the gameplay is Definitely a step up from its predecessor. Many are review bombing a game the haven't played over choices the game itself makes. But if you actually play the game like I have it all makes sense and it gives the the sense of rage to immerse you in this intense story about revenge.
Painful but worth it.
Riley231311316 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It took me a while to get around to experiencing the game because of all of the controversy surrounding it. I didn't want to lose Joel and it hurt when the perspective changed to focus on Abby. That being said I think it made of a much better game than what it would have been otherwise. Joel's story was finished there wasn't really anywhere for him to go after making his choice in the previous game. I would have liked to see Joel and Ellie's relationship progress and then fall apart before his death only an hour into the game but that is my only major complaint. There were still parts in Abby's storyline where I didn't agree with her but this forced perspective of seeing the damage both sides caused to each other has paid off. This is by no means a happy story which is probably why so many disapprove of it but I think the gut wrenching nature of the last of us is why the first game was so popular in the first place. That being said I would hope that if there ever is a third game it ends things nicely.
Don't believe the negativity
PJK24 June 2020
Epic, complex, technically outstanding and not "by the a book" sequel
85122224 June 2020
Greetings from Lithuania.
I was really looking forward for "The Last of Us: Part II" (2020) because I've completed first game three times and it is one of my favorite, if not my favorite game of all time. I watched main trailer many times, avoided all leaks on internet and even did not watched demo of Part II - i wanted to come to this game as "empty" as possible, so all the twists were truly unexpected for me - did not see that coming. And after ~34 hours that took me to complete the story (because i took a time to explore this world little by little) i can safely say - this is a great game to say the least despite its flaws.
By flaws i mean that it was a bit to long in my opinion - some of the stuff later in the game could have been cut out - playing it felt more like a "directors cut" were they put all scenes possible to enrich this world. Also this game had some pacing issues later in the game, were it dragged a bit here and there. And those were my only complains. Other than that this is hand down one of the very best if not the best PS4 title ever made.
If you liked exploration of this bleak world in the first game - you will more then like this. Graphics, sound, music. controls - all were first rate. Acting was very good as well. There were a lot of very intense action set pieces, were i was fighting bunch of enemies using all possible "tools" that game gave me - i can't even describe it - it has to be played to truly be experienced it. I also like how brutal and bleak this world is, were many of good characters that i encountered died suddenly and without any warning - it felt like a real world. And the story took me to places i surely did not be seeing in this game - there were many surprises along the way.
Overall, creators of this game surely took a risk with plot, and as it can be seen now, many did not like it. I liked it because it felt fresh and took a different direction then one can expect from a sequel. "The Last of Us: Part II" is epic, bold, unique and technically amazingly game which despite its flaws ranks among the best games on PS4, and i think one of the more unique sequels ever made on any media.
I was really looking forward for "The Last of Us: Part II" (2020) because I've completed first game three times and it is one of my favorite, if not my favorite game of all time. I watched main trailer many times, avoided all leaks on internet and even did not watched demo of Part II - i wanted to come to this game as "empty" as possible, so all the twists were truly unexpected for me - did not see that coming. And after ~34 hours that took me to complete the story (because i took a time to explore this world little by little) i can safely say - this is a great game to say the least despite its flaws.
By flaws i mean that it was a bit to long in my opinion - some of the stuff later in the game could have been cut out - playing it felt more like a "directors cut" were they put all scenes possible to enrich this world. Also this game had some pacing issues later in the game, were it dragged a bit here and there. And those were my only complains. Other than that this is hand down one of the very best if not the best PS4 title ever made.
If you liked exploration of this bleak world in the first game - you will more then like this. Graphics, sound, music. controls - all were first rate. Acting was very good as well. There were a lot of very intense action set pieces, were i was fighting bunch of enemies using all possible "tools" that game gave me - i can't even describe it - it has to be played to truly be experienced it. I also like how brutal and bleak this world is, were many of good characters that i encountered died suddenly and without any warning - it felt like a real world. And the story took me to places i surely did not be seeing in this game - there were many surprises along the way.
Overall, creators of this game surely took a risk with plot, and as it can be seen now, many did not like it. I liked it because it felt fresh and took a different direction then one can expect from a sequel. "The Last of Us: Part II" is epic, bold, unique and technically amazingly game which despite its flaws ranks among the best games on PS4, and i think one of the more unique sequels ever made on any media.
The detractors are stupid. This game is a masterpiece.
duwanni15 May 2022
This is one of the best stories of any medium. It is reductionist to say this is a story about revenge, because it is only that in the most surface of ways. The subtext is rich with questions of moral relativity, perspective, growth vs deterioration, obsession, trauma, autonomy, choice, tribalism, etc...
It is not shock value if the shocking things hold meaning and builds character. The game takes place in a post apocalypse and the decisions the characters make are totally sensical given the confines of their world.
The game is better written than 98% of shows and films, and 100% better than any other game out there. Only the best filmmakers like bergman, kieslowski, haneke can write above this level and I doubt this games detractors even know these artists.
The game is relentlessly bleak, but it is purposeful. That being said, I understand how someone wouldn't enjoy this, but bleak plotting isn't automatically bad writing.
It is not shock value if the shocking things hold meaning and builds character. The game takes place in a post apocalypse and the decisions the characters make are totally sensical given the confines of their world.
The game is better written than 98% of shows and films, and 100% better than any other game out there. Only the best filmmakers like bergman, kieslowski, haneke can write above this level and I doubt this games detractors even know these artists.
The game is relentlessly bleak, but it is purposeful. That being said, I understand how someone wouldn't enjoy this, but bleak plotting isn't automatically bad writing.
Great
davidtannehill24 June 2020
I just finished it yesterday, and holy cow. What a game it truly is. The story. The gameplay. The characters. The graphics. Everything about it is just flawless. For me, this game is a true genuine treasure of a sequel, and those that're hating on it need a hard slap across the face.
Annoyingly subversive, but technically well done.
lyzaard4 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I finally got around to playing this game, two years after its release. I think the overall arch of the story is interesting and intense, and the action set-pieces and level design are 11/10, flawless. The pacing of the actual gameplay was excellent also. Music was cool, subtle and moody. Joel's murder was unsettling and a brilliant (if not ultra mean) way to force the story in a new direction. I was eagerly anticipating Ellie's moment of vengeance. Sadly, the game COMPLETELY derails when we get to play as Abby -- one of the least likable characters ever rendered. Omigosh. She is so repulsive, and as hard as Naughty Dog tried to humanize her... the only moment it KIND OF worked was when she was emaciated and near death, being held underwater by Ellie towards the very end of the game. It was an epic fail to introduce Abby as the "main character" of the game, about 50% of the way through. Ugh. I kept waiting to get back to the true hero, Ellie. Tromping through Seattle was sooo fun, fighting the WLF and the "scars." Loved that. There is an amazing game buried here. 6 was as high as I could go, score-wise. Was a huge fan of Last of Us part one, and I adore the Uncharted series. I found the pacing to be good, during gameplay, but the pacing during the cutscenes was UNBEARABLE. Ultra plodding, slow as molasses in January. I was yelling at my TV a lot during the cutscenes. I would love to play Last of Us part one again (for a third time), but i will NEVER play part two again. It was sooo depressing. A technical achievement for sure, but ugh... empty vibes, ultimately. A good effort, overall, by Naughty Dog, but ultimately a big disappointment. A little heavy on the woke angle too. I've heard this game compared to SW Episode 8, and I get that, but this game at least has competent story-telling! The Last Jedi was an ABOMINATION. This is hardly that. But still, yeah, i can def see why many fans loathed Last of Us part two.
As a fan, I'm just sad.
themeganlh19 June 2020
As a fan of the first game, I was absolutely HYPED for this game. When The Last of Us 2 opens up, you get a beautiful world, familiar soundtrack, and the return of both of the characters we all grew to love in the first game, Joel and Ellie. For the first 2 hours of gameplay, you feel right at home in the world. But it soon begins to fall apart. It is hard for someone who has replayed the first game multiple times to realize that the sequel is not up to par. TLOU is about characters and story. Many people, myself included, did not play the game for the gameplay, which is just like a lot of other games. It was the story and the chemistry between Joel and Ellie as a father-daughter duo that drew us all in. Part two feels like it completely disregards the relationship established in the first and the characters seem to change personality and consistency just to further the plot along. There are times where the characters feel like a different character entirely and I was left thinking, "(insert character name) wouldn't have done that. They were smarter than that."
After about 7 hours of gameplay, it begins to feel flat. In a world full of undead, even the living lose life. The story becomes cliche and predictable, and there is a section that is about 10 hours long that focuses on things that have nothing to do with the main story except that it is trying to establish a backstory for a new character. In the first game you learned about the characters as they pushed through the story, a 10 hour flashback was not needed to establish the characters. A lot of the times, things were just unnecessary and by the halfway point I was just wanting it to be over because I was just bored.
Boring is not a word I would like to use to describe The Last of Us 2, but it is what it is.
The ending is anticlimactic and it feels as if the game was trying too hard to be artsy and deep instead of just telling a good story. I felt so much emotion for these characters in the first game, and to this day I can't get through the prologue without crying, but I felt nothing in part 2. The characters feel so different and inconsistent that if it weren't for the fact that clickers were present, you could easily forget that this is even a TLOU game.
All that said, the graphics, soundtrack, and acting are phenomenal. The story, is flat and feels more dead than the undead themselves.
This game is definitely getting bombed by negative reviews on purpose, but don't just ignore the audience score because of that because there are some valid reasons for disliking this game.
After about 7 hours of gameplay, it begins to feel flat. In a world full of undead, even the living lose life. The story becomes cliche and predictable, and there is a section that is about 10 hours long that focuses on things that have nothing to do with the main story except that it is trying to establish a backstory for a new character. In the first game you learned about the characters as they pushed through the story, a 10 hour flashback was not needed to establish the characters. A lot of the times, things were just unnecessary and by the halfway point I was just wanting it to be over because I was just bored.
Boring is not a word I would like to use to describe The Last of Us 2, but it is what it is.
The ending is anticlimactic and it feels as if the game was trying too hard to be artsy and deep instead of just telling a good story. I felt so much emotion for these characters in the first game, and to this day I can't get through the prologue without crying, but I felt nothing in part 2. The characters feel so different and inconsistent that if it weren't for the fact that clickers were present, you could easily forget that this is even a TLOU game.
All that said, the graphics, soundtrack, and acting are phenomenal. The story, is flat and feels more dead than the undead themselves.
This game is definitely getting bombed by negative reviews on purpose, but don't just ignore the audience score because of that because there are some valid reasons for disliking this game.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
