EDITOR'S NOTE: This review contains spoilers.
Since being released on 19th June, almost exactly 7 years to the day after its predecessor, The Last of Us Part II has been met with mixed reviews. Teaser trailers and advertisements boasted nothing but perfect scores of 10/10 and displayed the superlative rating of 5 stars out of 5. One would imagine there would be people challenging the crowning of this game due solely to the incredible ratings, and you would be correct. Outliers, connoisseurs, hipsters; whatever you want to call them, they seem to have appeared in droves to attempt to bring it kicking and screaming to its knees. To those people I say this. You are clutching at straws.
TLOU2 has it all; emotion, excitement, theatricality, intuitive gameplay, and everything in between. The time and effort spent crafting this game is noticed at every turn. The stunning landscapes, the facial expressions, everything down to the correct amount of ammo visible on each playable character’s backpack all coalesce to form an astounding true-to-life experience that Naughty Dog’s eye for detail has managed to build from the ground up. The cinematic aesthetic runs through the gameplay even beyond the masterful cutscenes, the use of that classic grainy filmstock-look acting as the glue that holds all the various aspects together.
Despite the sizeable gap between The Last of Us titles, the sequel’s story picks up relatively soon after the original, which ends with our protagonist Joel making the morally grey decision to rescue Ellie from the Fireflies. We open with Joel revealing to his brother about said group’s intention to harvest his surrogate daughter’s brain in order to cash in on her naturally immunity to the undead pandemic. It’s a musing that both lead characters from the original title dwell on at length during various points in the story.
Since being released on 19th June, almost exactly 7 years to the day after its predecessor, The Last of Us Part II has been met with mixed reviews. Teaser trailers and advertisements boasted nothing but perfect scores of 10/10 and displayed the superlative rating of 5 stars out of 5. One would imagine there would be people challenging the crowning of this game due solely to the incredible ratings, and you would be correct. Outliers, connoisseurs, hipsters; whatever you want to call them, they seem to have appeared in droves to attempt to bring it kicking and screaming to its knees. To those people I say this. You are clutching at straws.
TLOU2 has it all; emotion, excitement, theatricality, intuitive gameplay, and everything in between. The time and effort spent crafting this game is noticed at every turn. The stunning landscapes, the facial expressions, everything down to the correct amount of ammo visible on each playable character’s backpack all coalesce to form an astounding true-to-life experience that Naughty Dog’s eye for detail has managed to build from the ground up. The cinematic aesthetic runs through the gameplay even beyond the masterful cutscenes, the use of that classic grainy filmstock-look acting as the glue that holds all the various aspects together.
Despite the sizeable gap between The Last of Us titles, the sequel’s story picks up relatively soon after the original, which ends with our protagonist Joel making the morally grey decision to rescue Ellie from the Fireflies. We open with Joel revealing to his brother about said group’s intention to harvest his surrogate daughter’s brain in order to cash in on her naturally immunity to the undead pandemic. It’s a musing that both lead characters from the original title dwell on at length during various points in the story.
The gameplay kicks in as we guide Joel back to the settlement which we reach at the conclusion of the original. The western-inspired town inspires an uncharacteristically warm feeling for the franchise and serves as a fitting backdrop for Joel’s heartfelt delivery of Pearl Jam’s, “Future Days” to Ellie. The eerily situational lyrics make the song feel almost written for that exact moment, as Joel seems to be justifying his decision to rescue Ellie not only to himself, but also to Ellie, in a subtle attempt to resolve the dissonance that seems to be growing between them. “If I ever were to lose you, I’d surely lose myself”. The opening line a strange form of foreshadowing of the events to follow. They stick with you throughout the story, as Joel gifts the guitar to the recipient of his touching serenade with the promise to teach her how to play.
The 4-year time jump that immediately follows the scene brings us into the main window of time in which the bulk of the game takes place. Not only does it mark the first playable-character switch, it also means we wave goodbye to ever playing as Joel again. In a bold move by Naughty Dog, the game’s writers have Joel suffer a slow, gruesome death at the business end of a golf club barely an hour into the game. Ellie’s failed rescue attempt has the player racked with guilt as they’re forced to watch the main character who they’ve waited 7 years to see again beaten to death by a new face, the musclebound Abby.
It’s at this point that the game’s theme takes a completely different direction to the original. Whilst The Last of Us was largely based around hope, the hope of a cure and safety, Part II becomes solely about vengeance.
Whilst Joel still does feature prominently in the game from this point, it is exclusively through flashbacks. It was an unexpected yet obviously welcome opportunity to be able to witness his and Ellie’s largely wholesome jaunts that occurred between the two games, the space shuttle sequence being a heart-warming highlight.
Ellie’s quest for blood takes her to Seattle, with girlfriend Dina in tow. Wandering around the abandoned, broken city being slowly reclaimed by nature is very surreal, but not unwelcome as the game has found some way to make it seem genuinely beautiful in its own way.
The optional exploration of the city for supplies reveals a dilapidated music shop, where the player has the option to once more pick up a guitar and play chord-for-chord a cover of Aha’s, “Take On Me”. If this scene is avoided, whilst the story is not affected, it does rob the player of the experience of one of the main uses of the musical ability Joel has bestowed upon on Ellie. The perfect in-game depiction of the guitars in the game is also not to be dismissed. Everything from Ellie tuning up before she plays, to the authentic chord shapes is a very impressive feat to have pulled off. The strumming of the strings is also one the few times that game developers have legitimately managed to integrate the PS4 controller’s swipe pad into the gameplay.
The improved crafting mechanic which becomes much more vital at this stage, makes you choose which components to craft from the limited supplies you manage to locate. With some crossover of ingredients in the recipes, you better make sure you have enough med packs before you stock up on Molotov cocktails. The introduction of the trip mines is very effective, especially when up against stronger Infected such as the newly discovered, “Shambler”.
The 4-year time jump that immediately follows the scene brings us into the main window of time in which the bulk of the game takes place. Not only does it mark the first playable-character switch, it also means we wave goodbye to ever playing as Joel again. In a bold move by Naughty Dog, the game’s writers have Joel suffer a slow, gruesome death at the business end of a golf club barely an hour into the game. Ellie’s failed rescue attempt has the player racked with guilt as they’re forced to watch the main character who they’ve waited 7 years to see again beaten to death by a new face, the musclebound Abby.
It’s at this point that the game’s theme takes a completely different direction to the original. Whilst The Last of Us was largely based around hope, the hope of a cure and safety, Part II becomes solely about vengeance.
Whilst Joel still does feature prominently in the game from this point, it is exclusively through flashbacks. It was an unexpected yet obviously welcome opportunity to be able to witness his and Ellie’s largely wholesome jaunts that occurred between the two games, the space shuttle sequence being a heart-warming highlight.
Ellie’s quest for blood takes her to Seattle, with girlfriend Dina in tow. Wandering around the abandoned, broken city being slowly reclaimed by nature is very surreal, but not unwelcome as the game has found some way to make it seem genuinely beautiful in its own way.
The optional exploration of the city for supplies reveals a dilapidated music shop, where the player has the option to once more pick up a guitar and play chord-for-chord a cover of Aha’s, “Take On Me”. If this scene is avoided, whilst the story is not affected, it does rob the player of the experience of one of the main uses of the musical ability Joel has bestowed upon on Ellie. The perfect in-game depiction of the guitars in the game is also not to be dismissed. Everything from Ellie tuning up before she plays, to the authentic chord shapes is a very impressive feat to have pulled off. The strumming of the strings is also one the few times that game developers have legitimately managed to integrate the PS4 controller’s swipe pad into the gameplay.
The improved crafting mechanic which becomes much more vital at this stage, makes you choose which components to craft from the limited supplies you manage to locate. With some crossover of ingredients in the recipes, you better make sure you have enough med packs before you stock up on Molotov cocktails. The introduction of the trip mines is very effective, especially when up against stronger Infected such as the newly discovered, “Shambler”.
Dina’s pregnancy reveal overlapping with Ellie telling her about her immunity is also very well executed. It comes at a time in the story when a big twist is needed to avoid the gameplay becoming stale, and also brings into question the future of Ellie and Dina’s relationship. Dealing with such human issues during a zombie apocalypse may not have been introduced by this franchise, but they can do it just as well as anyone and with great balance.
The real-time experience of the game is demonstrated by on-screen graphics updating the player how long they’ve currently spent in Seattle at the conclusion of each day, with Ellie’s main arc taking 3 days. It seems only functionally relevant until later in the game.
Ellie’s arc continues solo for a long while, tracking down Abby to trade an eye for an eye. When Jesse, the unbeknownst father of Dina’s child, arrives from Jackson to lend a hand, real progress is made and the location of Abby’s hideout is revealed. Ellie infiltrates a dilapidated aquarium and the player is forced to slaughter a dog, and two of Abby’s affiliates, one of whom is with child. The latter fact when unveiled, almost makes the room spin and serves as a dark revelation that maybe the story isn’t quite as black and white with regards to morality as previously thought. The interactive cutscenes make the guilt feel much more first-hand than if it were a traditional cinematic and is extremely immersive. Jesse and Tommy enter the room to witness the aftermath and all three make an unimpeded escape.
When Abby tracks them back to their theatre hideout, the whole game is turned on its head. After the almost throwaway death of Jesse via a bullet to the head, Ellie is held at gunpoint before the scene cuts to black and is adorned with a familiar graphic. “Seattle, Day 1”.
The game has changed perspective. TLOU2 now forces the player to begrudgingly take control of both Joel and Jesse’s killer as we see what occupied her time whilst Ellie is out there tracking her down. Whilst at first it feels superfluous and possibly short-lived, the amount of supplies you are able to gather hints that you are in this for the long hall. The result is fantastic. To play this section isolated from the rest of the game, it truly makes you question if this is really the villain. She’s out for vengeance, her father was brutally take from her, the love of her life has a baby on the way with somebody else. Does any of this sound familiar?
Astonishingly, witnessing the 3 days Ellie is in Seattle through Abby’s eyes would soften the hatred towards her of even the most stubborn individual. Did she kill Joel? Yes. Did Joel kill her father? Also yes. If anything, Ellie could be argued to be the one perpetuating this cycle of murderous revenge, . The moral back and forth that the game makes you engage in after playing both sides of the argument is the heart of the narrative. If it has been done before, it has never been this masterfully executed.
Abby’s loadout has notable differences to Ellie’s, most usefully the ability to craft incendiary rounds for her shotgun. Her breakable shiv is also a throwback to the original game, whilst Ellie seems to have mastered the art of keeping hers intact, a blessing for those Clicker stealth-kills.
The crossover in locations whilst controlling the two characters makes the settings so familiar that if you weren’t constantly reminded of the timeline, you’d be convinced the two characters were always just about to bump into one other.
When Abby’s Seattle timeline concludes and Jesse’s murder is witnessed from the other side, there begins a cat and mouse altercation between the two playable characters whilst still being in control of Abby. The realisation that the game may be leading you down the path of killing the franchise-spanning character is not a pleasant one.
Fortunately, Ellie survives the encounter and Abby begrudgingly spares the life of the intervening Dina after discovering her pregnancy. She departs with a blood-curdling warning to stay out of her way.
The traditional sun-washed epilogue of Ellie & Dina raising the baby on an idyllic ranch jarringly changes course as Ellie is offered a second chance at revenge by being given Abby’s current location. At the risk of having no family to return to due to Dina’s ultimatum, Ellie is still driven by her need to make Abby pay the price and heads to California.
The loose end of Abby’s survival remains just that. Locating her severely weakened adversary, Ellie engages her in a one-sided fight and manages to gain the advantage, all but choking the life from her, but not before having two fingers torn from her hand by a panicking Abby’s flailing jaw. A flash of Joel playing his guitar wrenches at the heartstrings of both Ellie and the player simultaneously. Ellie releasing Abby results in the loss of her final shot of revenge, to along with her other immeasurable losses.
Ellie’s return to a stark house confirms Dina has followed through on her ultimatum and departed. The final scene of Ellie hoisting her guitar and attempting to play, results in her failing miserably. Her missing fingers result in nothing more than muffled strings and scratchy tones. Ellie’s one tangible connection to Joel , and the seemingly omnipresent guitar now also leave the story. Ellie forlornly places it back and she disappears into the horizon, to we know not where.
The real-time experience of the game is demonstrated by on-screen graphics updating the player how long they’ve currently spent in Seattle at the conclusion of each day, with Ellie’s main arc taking 3 days. It seems only functionally relevant until later in the game.
Ellie’s arc continues solo for a long while, tracking down Abby to trade an eye for an eye. When Jesse, the unbeknownst father of Dina’s child, arrives from Jackson to lend a hand, real progress is made and the location of Abby’s hideout is revealed. Ellie infiltrates a dilapidated aquarium and the player is forced to slaughter a dog, and two of Abby’s affiliates, one of whom is with child. The latter fact when unveiled, almost makes the room spin and serves as a dark revelation that maybe the story isn’t quite as black and white with regards to morality as previously thought. The interactive cutscenes make the guilt feel much more first-hand than if it were a traditional cinematic and is extremely immersive. Jesse and Tommy enter the room to witness the aftermath and all three make an unimpeded escape.
When Abby tracks them back to their theatre hideout, the whole game is turned on its head. After the almost throwaway death of Jesse via a bullet to the head, Ellie is held at gunpoint before the scene cuts to black and is adorned with a familiar graphic. “Seattle, Day 1”.
The game has changed perspective. TLOU2 now forces the player to begrudgingly take control of both Joel and Jesse’s killer as we see what occupied her time whilst Ellie is out there tracking her down. Whilst at first it feels superfluous and possibly short-lived, the amount of supplies you are able to gather hints that you are in this for the long hall. The result is fantastic. To play this section isolated from the rest of the game, it truly makes you question if this is really the villain. She’s out for vengeance, her father was brutally take from her, the love of her life has a baby on the way with somebody else. Does any of this sound familiar?
Astonishingly, witnessing the 3 days Ellie is in Seattle through Abby’s eyes would soften the hatred towards her of even the most stubborn individual. Did she kill Joel? Yes. Did Joel kill her father? Also yes. If anything, Ellie could be argued to be the one perpetuating this cycle of murderous revenge, . The moral back and forth that the game makes you engage in after playing both sides of the argument is the heart of the narrative. If it has been done before, it has never been this masterfully executed.
Abby’s loadout has notable differences to Ellie’s, most usefully the ability to craft incendiary rounds for her shotgun. Her breakable shiv is also a throwback to the original game, whilst Ellie seems to have mastered the art of keeping hers intact, a blessing for those Clicker stealth-kills.
The crossover in locations whilst controlling the two characters makes the settings so familiar that if you weren’t constantly reminded of the timeline, you’d be convinced the two characters were always just about to bump into one other.
When Abby’s Seattle timeline concludes and Jesse’s murder is witnessed from the other side, there begins a cat and mouse altercation between the two playable characters whilst still being in control of Abby. The realisation that the game may be leading you down the path of killing the franchise-spanning character is not a pleasant one.
Fortunately, Ellie survives the encounter and Abby begrudgingly spares the life of the intervening Dina after discovering her pregnancy. She departs with a blood-curdling warning to stay out of her way.
The traditional sun-washed epilogue of Ellie & Dina raising the baby on an idyllic ranch jarringly changes course as Ellie is offered a second chance at revenge by being given Abby’s current location. At the risk of having no family to return to due to Dina’s ultimatum, Ellie is still driven by her need to make Abby pay the price and heads to California.
The loose end of Abby’s survival remains just that. Locating her severely weakened adversary, Ellie engages her in a one-sided fight and manages to gain the advantage, all but choking the life from her, but not before having two fingers torn from her hand by a panicking Abby’s flailing jaw. A flash of Joel playing his guitar wrenches at the heartstrings of both Ellie and the player simultaneously. Ellie releasing Abby results in the loss of her final shot of revenge, to along with her other immeasurable losses.
Ellie’s return to a stark house confirms Dina has followed through on her ultimatum and departed. The final scene of Ellie hoisting her guitar and attempting to play, results in her failing miserably. Her missing fingers result in nothing more than muffled strings and scratchy tones. Ellie’s one tangible connection to Joel , and the seemingly omnipresent guitar now also leave the story. Ellie forlornly places it back and she disappears into the horizon, to we know not where.
A masterclass in storytelling and a terrific blend of action, stealth, cinematics, and tasteful additions to the arsenal of weapons and combat make this game difficult to disparage. If I were forced to nit-pick, I would say that the huge real-time expeditions between locations can drag a little, at times. However, this is a necessary evil to make sure the player has more than enough time to organically find supplies along the way. Without this, the realism which Naughty Dog have championed above all else would suffer as a result. The variety of both human and infect assailants is also very well balanced, and the overwhelming need to stay hidden is not constant. The jumping around in the timeline can leave you feeling a little lost also, but this is again only a minor criticism. The only question left to answer is, will there be a part III? If there is, hopefully we won’t be waiting another 7 years.
Rating 10/10 |
Review by Dan Bibby