The Last of Us Part II (PS4, June 19, 2020) Video Game • Page 26

Is there a full version of Troy Baker covering future days as Joel?

 

I used the explosive arrows on the first group of Rattlers after you get the SMG. I took out all three of them in one shot. I stood there for like five seconds taking in what I had done lol

 

I did the exact same thing! I forgot I had them up until then. Used it on a guy w/ a guard dog and there was just a pair of legs left after lol

 

The game's been out for well over a month now, and I'd say we're way out of spoiler territory. I had some good fun with photo mode in this game.

 

Amazing

 

I took a similar pic as your last one in that shrine. Major Midsommar vibes.

 

The baby looked so creepily realistic lol

 

There's a part on the skybridge where you've gone over the first one and, before you go over the second one, there is a platform you can walk right out on and you can get some unreal photos (the sunlight coming through the clouds is bright white and reminds me of the white light thing in Outlast 2 if anyone remembers that?)

 

Those screenshots. Game is a damn technical marvel. The farm especially looked amazing with the sunset

 

Now I want to go back in to play around with photo mode

 

Nearly done with my second play-through. I've used photo mode a lot.

The game is incredible and I think about it a lot when I'm not playing it. I'm especially thankful to ND for adding the motion sickness accessibility options. They've allowed me to play for longer stretches of time than I can usually stand. I hope more games follow their lead going forward.

 

The fact that she can't play guitar at the end was really sad for me. Also do you guys find it believable how they allowed Ellie to live twice (once at the beginning and then again in the theater)?

 

I do. both times made sense.

 

My other half finished this and she was a massive advocate for the first. Said she loved it and continued up to 6am playing it. I have only gotten to the Seraphites first but from what she's said I need to get on that (but I'm doing Ghost of Tsushima and don't know what to continue with, both look amazing)

 

This is one of the mirrored moments between Ellie and Abby I really liked. Both of them let the other go twice. The inability for any of these characters to learn from their mistakes or let it go is made so much more impactful when you learn just how similar Abby and Ellie are to one another.

 

Finished this last night. Couldn't stop thinking about it all night. What an amazing experience.

It was such a struggle to actually hit the square button during the final fight in the water. But man, that was such a great ending.

 

did this bot just have sex

 

Wow, talk about a segue.

 

just finished. technically an astonishing achievement and it looking gorgeous throughout, but man that was depressing as fuck. not sure if I can do new game+ for the plat. Did find parts of it too be dragged out, and it felt like it had 5 end points, but the story was well told for the most part.

Def prefer the first game, and still not sure there was a need to make a sequel.

 

this story needed to be told imo. Joel’s actions going unexamined, in hindsight, would seem kind of.... irresponsible (for lack of better wording), and I am personally so glad I got to spend time with a more mature and developed and complicated Ellie, as she was always my favorite part of the first. I also greatly value the representation in this game and think it’s heads and shoulders above the first in importance in that regard. among other things, I really just think this is the better game — though they’re both my 2 favorite games and I couldn’t have one without the other now, so it’s barely a contest for me.

also, playing through it again really upped my appreciation for a lot of things I couldn’t have possibly caught onto the first time around (foreshadowing, symbolism, certain character shifts, etc). the game also was more fun (albeit way more frustrating) for me on survivor+, but growing up a huge MGS fan, I am very into the stealth/sneaking aspect of this game and that’s way more vital in survivor. would recommend anyone who even mildly enjoyed it to play through it a second time at some point.

 

I’m trying to remember, but if you didn’t play Left Behind would we have known Ellie was gay? I’m wondering if some of these dweebs who hated the representation in the game thought they just made her gay for this game? Either way like imagine being upset cuz of LGBTQ representation in a game in 2020.

 

Ashley Johnson didn’t even know Ellie was gay until Left Behind

 

They hate representation because they’re bigoted.

 

I don't think the story needed to be told. I'm not saying I'm not glad they did tell this story, I'm just saying that they didn't need to have an epilogue or an analysation of Joel's actions because that was the point of the ending of the first game. It was supposed to make you think and determine for yourself "was saving this girl and your relationship with her as basically a surrogate daughter worth all the bloodshed and perhaps dooming the world?" And I think it was really well done.

I believe that leaving that open for people to decide made for a more powerful ending. The absolute love he developed and the struggle of opening up to loving/caring for someone after his daughters death vs having to choose between that and watching them get killed to save faceless (and countless) others. It's very interesting to have a game leave people with such an open ended question. It also lead to a bunch of "what ifs". It was very cool and I don't think this story needed to be told because I feel like it takes away from the impact of the last game. But I'm glad they did this game.

That "irresponsibility" of not showing the consequences of Joel's actions was exactly what made the last game so strong. Leaving it up to the players to decide and question their own morals. I don't think it was/would have been irresponsible at all.

 

I don’t really understand your point that this game takes away the moral question the last games ending presents. You can still ask and answer the question regardless of Part 2.

While I enjoy the question of “what would you have done, save your (surrogate) daughter or save the world?”, I don’t find it to be nearly as challenging or interesting as what’s laid out in Part 2. Because if this game, I’ve been trying to figure out that even though my day-to-day actions may be “justified” by my point of view, are they really doing any good or are they just continuing a cycle of more “justified” actions that devolve into ultimately more negative outcomes?

I love both games. I think I prefer TLOU2, but they’re both great. They both present incredible stories and have interesting takeaways. You can argue that neither were “needed”, but personally I think I need what TLOU2 has to offer a bit more.

I’ll also add though not my direct experience, after having a student of mine express joy and relief to find out there were “other people like me (him)” through representation in video games, this game and hopefully many more to come like it are 100% needed.