ironhorse_iv Review of The Last of Us: Part II

The Last of Us: Part II (2020 Video Game)

Finally, at last! It's time to talk about 'The Last of Us Part 2', a disappointing sequel that really divided its audience.

[8/10 · 14 February 2021]

Written and directed for the most part by Neil Druckman, the survival horror game tells the story of Ellie (Voiced & Motion Capture by Ashley Johnson) trying to seek revenge on those for the death of a colleague in a post-apocalyptic world. Produced and developed by Naughty Dog, the sequel has nearly the same third-person perspective violence and bloody gory graphic gameplay mechanics as the first one. Seeing players use short & long ranged firearms & bows, improvised limited use melee weapons for stealth or last stand assaults and throwing objects like bottles to distract and move past hostile humans and cannibalistic Cordyceps fungus inflected creatures was still a blast to watch. Although scavenging ammo and raw materials continue to be a tiresome chore as well, this time, crafting equipment such as health kits, Molotov cocktails, shivs and makeshift silencer doesn't matter as much due to the fact that the gamer lose whatever they stored up on in later missions. The same can be said with any collected items used to upgrade weapons at workbenches. It's not fun having to start over. However, it's not all bad, collecting supplements & looking up training manuals found throughout the environment does continue to help the health meter, crafting speed and skill set, regardless of what character is being played in the current moment. Also, the 'listen mode', the visual representation of locating enemies is still very useful; especially when crouching or crawling behind obstacles to gain advantages or evade combat. So that's kinda cool. The game also introduces guard dogs that track the player's scent, which can be visualized in listen mode. However, a lot of fans dislike this added feature as killing innocent animals kinda makes Ellie look bad if the in-game story doesn't do that already. Nevertheless, being impaled by an arrow by people can be a challenge as it can progressively decrease your health meter and disables listen mode until removed. Enemies AI are improved as well. They don't run into a burning fire or off high cliffs as much as they use to, and could heard certain noises. Human hostiles do take better covered, call for assistance and use flanking advantages when the player is distracted, out of ammunition, or in a fistfight. While AI escort were designed never to get spotted during gameplay. They're not ridiculous getting close to threats in the open like the previous version without alarming them. The escorts also assist more in assaults, platforming and scouting missions rather than standing around. It kinda make the stealth elements more believable. Sadly, this game has no multiplayer, but riding horses and boats with the escorts are nearly seamless with very little glitches. They get what you're going for. Their warping to where you are is not really that jarring. Along with that, the animation transitions between gameplay and cutscenes intercut so well with very little loading. It's absolutely flawless. The graphic is very breath taking beautiful and everything looks like it's really happening in real time. However, the over switching between Ellie and a new character Abby Anderson (Voiced and motion captured by Laura Bailey) can be a bit annoying; especially with all the out of place jumbled flashbacks cut scenes. The difference in gameplay between them is highly one-sided as well. Not only is Abby given the most amount of time between them all with Joel Miller (Voiced and motion captured by Troy Baker) around 5 minutes, but also most of the best perks with weapons and unique missions. It can also be polarizing as well for diehard fans to play as somebody that brutally shock value murder one of the original protagonists in the opening few minutes of the game. I also have mixed feelings about turning the first game likeable characters into horrible broken down miserable individuals. Don't get me wrong, I get the point of us playing Abby is to show that there are always two sides to every story that people are neither necessarily good or bad, but the heavy-handed manipulating ways that they force empathy on us for her and demonize Elle through deux ex machina plot armor is downright clumsy and over the top, especially the whole pregnancy angle. Also subvert our expectation is just misleading marketing. Honestly playing as Abby would had been better if they market the game as a stand-alone spin off with Ellie and Joel as AI escorts companions that met up with her as she struggles to survive in the harsh world; with the idea of them adding to lore for the cure while she slowly finding out the dark truth that the new two friends might have a connection with her past that would lead to a dilemma to murder them or not. Instead, we got just a basic petty revenge story with unlikeable characters with no pay off. Regardless the actress Laura Bailey shouldn't have been a target of online death threats nor should people hate the sequel due to LGBT themes that the story brings. Having supporting characters like Lev (Voiced and motion captured by Ian Alexander) and Dina (Voiced and motion captured by Shannon Woodward) around has been one of the few things delightful about this game; along with playing the guitar. Nevertheless, I kinda wish the music score by composer Gustavo Santaolalla could had been used more throughout the sequel. In the end, while some people will give this game last place or a last hurrah. For me, right down the middle, the lasting impact of this sequel is how unpleasing depressing it is. I'm on my last leg by the end. So overall: it's not really fun to play. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic era when high spirits are really needed. Hopefully if Naughty Dogs make a third game and fixed all the wrongs. Until then, just stick to the original one and avoid this, at all cost. Can't recommended playing at all. It's more like a last resort.