Developer: Naughty Dog
Available on: Playstation 4
Last year, leading up to the release of The Last of Us Part II, things got rough. Already reports of the developers facing heavy crunch were on people’s minds. Then the plot of the game was leaked revealing that Joel, the beloved protagonist of the first Last of Us, is killed in the early hours of the sequel. This (combined with people remembering that Ellie was revealed to be gay) lead to a firestorm of criticism and toxicity from the gaming community. I avoided the spoilers, but I remember being told that if I was a fan of the first game (and I very much so am), then I would dislike the sequel.
I didn’t play it when it came out cause, well, given the state of the world then I was really not in the mood for a horribly dark and violent game. Now that I have played it though, I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea what these so-called fans were mad about. The game is fantastic. Anytime I played it I had a hard time putting it down.
The gameplay of course was great, with combat, exploration and stealth that’s just as fun as the first game. Gunplay feels good, stealth rarely feels unfair and the constant hunt for supplies is endlessly entertaining.
What really kept me engaged though was the game’s story.
The game introduces to us a character named Abby, and one of the first things we see her do is torture and kill Joel in front of Ellie. Ellie was understandably quite upset with this Abby person and vowed revenge. She and her new girlfriend Dina go to Seattle where Abby is located in an effort to kill her. Turns out, she’s part of an organization called the WLF (or “wolf” as they pronounce it) that rose against their oppressive government-controlled quarantine zone and established their own oppressive government and are now fighting a war with the Seraphites, a religious organization full of crazy people.
After a period of time in Seattle though, the game shifts point of view. We’re sent back to when Ellie first arrived in Seattle but this time from Abby’s perspective. Playing as Abby now, we get to know her and many of the characters that Ellie will kill in the near future. We become invested in Abbey’s story as her loyalty to the WLF erodes and she becomes the caretaker of a young Seraphite. We begin to like her as much as we liked Joel and Ellie.
Meanwhile, Ellie’s hunt for Abby turns into an obsession. She begins to prioritize it over the well being of her friends, and we witness the consequences of it in real time.
Both Ellie and Abby’s story are already good on their own, but seeing them intersect and interact with the other is what makes The Last of Us Part II’s writing extraordinary. We see the prejudices and misconceptions that characters develop against one another. We get an overview of how one’s actions affects the other. We see how one bad act can lead to an endless cycle of revenge against one another. Most of all, we see how our anger and hatred towards one another regardless of who started it ultimately hurts everyone in the end.
Everyone, even the random NPCs, feel genuine and human thanks both to the animators and the wonderful performances given by the actors. Like in real life, no one is a hero or a villain in The Last of Us; there’s just good and bad in everyone.
The overall pacing of the game isn’t perfect, feeling a little sluggish at times, but at almost every moment I was dying to know what happens next.
Summary
As it turns out, all of the complains from angry fans from last year were nothing but nonsense. The Last of Us Part II is an excellent game with gameplay just as fun as its predecessor and with an excellent story that kept me engaged to the end. It wasn’t a flawless experience, but it’s still one that deserves the critical acclaim that it received.