![]() ![]() What was loved about The Last of Us is systematically deconstructed and burned. And ultimately The Last of Us 2 sacrifices its characters on the alter of theme. It’s a slog to get through, but sadly not in the right way. This is a bleak with even fewer moments of light than the original. The Last of Us 2 shifts its focus away from its characters in order to focus on its themes of love, revenge, violence, depression, obsession and PTSD. It was about its two main characters, the tale of Ellie and Joel. The Last of Us wasn’t about its gameplay or its story. And the story structure constantly brings the pace to a screeching halt. There’s more action and more gameplay, but honestly as I was coming up to 20-hours I was beginning to want the whole thing to stop. The tight pacing and scripting of the fifteen hours it took to complete the original game are gone as The Last of Us 2 attempts to stretch itself into a 25-hour epic that includes a huge 7-hour chunk that feels more like a side-quest that someone got carried away with. It has some excellent moments, such as the flashback with Joel and Ellie at a museum, but it also has some serious issues which mean that it doesn’t surpass the original game, at least in my eyes. That isn’t to say that The Last of Us 2’s story is as bad as the Internet might have you believe. Like a big blockbuster film its so easy to get caught up in the eye-melting visuals and the strong performances that you don’t notice the story problems, until after you’ve seen the credits roll and start to think about it all. ![]() Part of me can’t help but wonder if The Last of Us 2’s astounding production values have been part of the reason the game has got so many glowing reviews which ignore some hefty plot problems. Were all those animations at the crafting bench really worth the hours and hours of extra time it took to make them? Unfortunately, it’s hard to see all the incredible work without also considering the numerous allegations of crunching at Naughty Dog, of workers putting in absurd hours to make The Last of Us 2 a reality. It’s complete useless and only really only wastes time and yet it’s oddly satisfying to watch her tinker with her gear. When you select an upgrade she’ll launch into a bespoke animation for that specific upgrade which might include using a rag to clean parts up, grabbing tools and lots more. Ellie will pop down her current weapon and dismantle it, and if you swap weapons she’ll put the current one back together and then dismantle the new one. Maybe the best example of how much sheer detail Naughty Dog have added to the game is when you reach a crafting table. Of course Ashley Johnston reprises her role as Ellie and she does an incredible job alongside a fantastic cast. Not only are the facial movements of the actors incredible to watch, but you’ll also see every little piece of body language, like how Ellie will play with her fingers when she’s nervous. The game transitions so smoothly between actual gameplay and in-game cutscenes that I often got caught out completely. There are barely any reused assets despite the 25-hour runtime.Īnd then there’s the mocapping, animation and acting, all of which are nothing short of top-tier. Naughty Dog have outdone themselves when it comes to environments, textures and details. ![]() In fact, my PS4 Pro frequently sounded like it was planning on launching itself into the atmosphere and I wound up having to use headphones more than normal just so I wouldn’t have to crank the speakers up so loud. Let’s start with the things about The Last of Us 2 that we can all easily agree on: this is a technical masterpiece on just about every level that pushes the PS4 to its limits. I decided quickly that I couldn’t try to explain how I felt about The Last of Us Part 2 without breaking down its story and characters. The other that I need to say is that this is a spoiler review. Their relationship was so absorbing to watch, so expertly executed that it completely over-rode the fact that I don’t think the actual gameplay in The Last of Us was very good. I don’t have 7-years of extra attachment to Joel and Ellie colouring my experience with The Last of Us Part 2. Let me preface this review by reminding you that I literally only played the original The Last of Us days before the sequel arrived.
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