Darashiva said:#31
YoY: NEW! My Rating: 9.2/10Seemingly one of the most divisive games of the last several years, The Last of Us Part II had people saying that the game sucks months before it was even released because the leaks revealed that something they didn't like would happen in the story. At that point I basically decided that I wasn't going to put any weight on anybody else's opinion regarding this game, as it was clear that a lot of people were never going to like it no matter what. I also did everything I could to avoid spoilers beforehand, though I did get spoiled about the big early game twist that sets the story in motion. To put it simply, The Last of Us Part II is an excellent game, but not one without a few shortcomings.
I found The Last of us Part II to be a great continuation of Ellie's story, making sure to develop the familiar characters further from where they left off at the end of the first game, while also introducing some very intriguing new ones. At the start of the game you get to see what life for Ellie and Joel could have been like if they had just been left alone, both having grow kinder and softer in the years between the two games. Unfortunately, in the end their actions in the first game come back to haunt them, forcing Ellie back into the world she had effectively left behind, and steering her towards some very dark places in the process. In many ways, this game is a cautionary tale of what happens when a person lets revenge consume their life. Almost none of the main characters come off this one unscathed, everyone losing something important over the course of the story. In general, The Last of Us Part II is tonally an extremely dark game, with no characters getting a truly happy conclusion to their story.
The gameplay received some great additions as well, giving the player more variety in how to approach each combat encounter, the visuals are, as would be expected, absolutely beautiful, and the somber music is a perfect fit for the game as well. However, as mentioned, it's not a perfect game. Perhaps the biggest issue for me is the length. This is a very long game, especially for something that is so emotionally draining on an almost constant basis. As a result, the story can drag a bit in certain parts, and the weight of the story can become too much at times simply because there's so little true levity to any of it. Even the first game, despite obviously taking some dark turns as well, had moments where the characters got a chance to just spend time together and even laugh. Here, those moments are few and far between. That's also partially why this game doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessor, but it is still unquestionably a great game as far as I'm concerned. Just not one I want to go back and play very often. |
Probably one of the most impressive games ever made in a lot of respects, but there are other games that I think are more fun to play.
