The Last of Us Part II (PS4, June 19, 2020) Video Game • Page 20

Starting new game plus! Joel’s “Future Days” hit harder this time

 

Finished it. I thought it was incredible. I’m glad the small piece of the leak that I read was wrong about the ending. It was nice not having that spoiled for me. What a ride. I’ve been avoiding any social media about the game until I was done. No video game has made me stay up until 3 am in recent years because I didn’t want to put it down. Sad that I’m finished after waiting so many years. Time to replay Uncharted 4

 

Can someone explain to me why all the buildings and streets are torn to shit in this series? Did the government drop a bomb on all the big cities causing them to structurally collapse? Maybe they mentioned it in part 1, but it’s been awhile since I’ve played it.

 

yes

 

Some of the places were bombed, some were riots and just destroyed from fighting and such

 

maybe not all cities but yeah ellie and dina talk about it while you're wandering around seattle. they lost control of the city to both the infected and the wlf so they bombed it.

 

Some cities were bombed, but I think it's fair to assume your cities infrastructure isn't as sound as you'd hope. I live in Pittsburgh, a city bus fell into a sinkhole out of nowhere last year.

also, just convenient video game level design.

 

yeah the giant river running through seattle is kinda weird and im not really sure how that would form but it looks really cool so whatever

 

Anyone read The World Without Us? It’s a dude speculating on how infrastructure would deteriorate and fail and how ecosystems would evolve if humans disappeared from earth. Could be total bullshit but I was into it.

 

Finally finished this today. The first one is one of my all time favorite games so I obviously went into this with astronomical expectations, and for the most part, it definitely met them.

- Graphics are probably the best I've ever seen, gameplay takes everything that was great about the first one and improves it (the fights feel genuinely visceral and real), and the atmosphere is incredible. Going through rainy Seattle with Ellie was one of my favorite gaming experiences in years just because of the aesthetic and level design. This game felt noticeably scarier than the first one too, I never really thought the first one felt like a "horror game" despite the premise but this one really got me a few times

- Story wise, I don't have an issue with any of the actual events that occurred outside of something I'll get into after this. In theory I don't mind that we play from the perspective of both Ellie and Abby, but I think they should have either reversed the order that it happens (having you play as Abby after Joel's death maybe) or interspersed their parts more. During Abby's section we get to know characters that we already know are going to die and exactly how, but we weren't attached to them or given any reason to care about them at all until we already saw them die hours ago. I get that it's meant to show Ellie's disregard for their lives on her path to revenge but if we at least jumped between Ellie and Abby some more, maybe after each in-game day, those characters' deaths would have had a lot more impact. That's just my opinion though, and it's really more of an issue with the pacing/presentation than with the actual story.

- About the ending, it honestly felt needlessly cruel to Ellie, I really don't think it was necessary for her to lose her fingers so she can't even play guitar anymore lol. It felt like the game was almost trying to villainize her by the end, but it seemed like she had been totally fundamentally broken as a person (judging from her journal entries and her actions) due to circumstances entirely out of her control. I don't mind that she ended up letting Abby go because to me it seemed like she realized that she would be doing the same thing to Lev that Abby had done to her by killing Joel, but having her lose absolutely everything, even her guitar playing which seemed like the one thing to bring her solace/relaxation, was just a bit much for me. After the first game I didn't really think a sequel was necessary, and I don't think one necessarily is after this one either, but I honestly want one now just to give Ellie some semblance of a happy ending. Until we get one though I'm just going to make it my head canon that she's going back to Jackson after leaving the farm lol

Overall this game was an absolutely amazing experience that I'm bummed I'll never get to experience for the first time again. Again, I don't think it really needed to exist because the first one told such a complete and amazing story, but I'm glad it does.


In short,

Story: 1>2
Gameplay: 2>1

 

agreed on Ellie just having a happy ending. the inability to play the guitar is really, really rough.
additionally, highly recommend the Girlfriend Reviews video that they put out yesterday. obviously huge spoilers in it, but they do a truly fantastic job.

 

Ellie got everything she deserved.

 

Ellie literally and figuratively lost herself after losing Joel. It was foretold by Pearl Jam.

 

LOSE YOURSELF in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime

 

They couldn’t get Eminem, Pearl Jam was their fallback

 

Spoilers in this video. I agreed with this completely. The girlfriend review was great.

 

This has been my favourite video commentary on the game so far, thanks for sharing!

I just finished it, and eternally grateful I avoided all spoilers prior. It definitely impacted me, challenged me. I really appreciated the complexity of it compared to the first game.

Don't worry, not a spoiler, but I just uploaded this as a small tribute. I'll be thinking about this game for awhile yet.

 

I’m glad people actually giving it a chance seem to be very positive about the game. I’m sure not everyone agrees but I think it’s the best thing to ever come out of the medium, at least in terms of storytelling and production. Letting my buddy borrow it now but I think I’ll play it again as soon as he finishes.

 

Just got to Seattle on my NG+. Couple thoughts with full knowledge of the game ahead.


On Patrol, Ellie telling Dina about her plans to watch a movie with Joel that night were so low-key heavy on me when you know she was moved to mending their relationship the night before. Would have been the first step towards a new Ellie/Joel.

In exploring Joel’s house I came across things I missed the first time, like the program from the Dino museum and his coffee mug that had his last ever cup of coffee. That shit broke me.

When Abby, Tommy, and Joel lock the door at the ski lodge and exchanged names quickly, Abby’s physical response said so much to that without her even saying a word. Brilliant.

 

Fuck gamers

 

Still on my first run through, but I’ve loved this first Abby/Lev section so much so far that I wanna fight every bad faith transphobe gamer asshole on the internet who gave/is giving this game shit

 

he also had a "idiots guide to space" on his nightstand, trying to relate to/impress Ellie

 

Seriously fuck this. This is why nobody takes gamers seriously, and why we’ll never have another game like this.....

 

Laura Bailey tweets/DMs and Joel having idiots guide to space are both very upsetting to me.

 

Not trying to lurk in here due to me working full time still/being a dad so I’m not having a whole lot of time to play this. Just wanna say everyone in here has been very respectful with spoilers, and it makes me so happy.


On Seattle day 2. Just encountered my first group of Stalkers. That flashback with Joel, and Tommy showing you where to shoot at groups of runners was great. The bloater fight with Joel was crazy.

After the flashback there’s the area you have Dina patch you up, And now I’m on my way to the hospital. That moment when I find a workbench in a apartment that’s just a side area. Just for exploring, and not tied to story at all. Start looking at my guns on the bench, and AM GRABBED FROM BEHIND BY A WLF/Ex WLF....man. Those kind of moments in Story driven games where the game jumps out at you I love it. Adoring this game.