The Last of Us: Part II

Part 2

  1. What is my secret?
    It seems to be talking nonsense with utmost authority and confidence

  2. Multiple timelines not being the problem
    Wow first thing I agree with. I don't think however that the timelines could've been handled in sequence, after Ellie Day 1 Abby day 1, etc. It wouldn't work because without the confrontation at the end of day3 there is no connecting tissue between the two timelines.

  3. The rising tension is a straight line while playing as Abby
    This is not true either. This is the part of the game I enjoyed most gameplay wise, and it's not flat, you are playing out what you already heard hints of while controlling Ellie, so in a way it is a relic hunt, going to places and doing things that you only heard of before. And most importantly you are excited to get back to day 3 where you left off, while in the meantime you find out a lot of the backstory, the factions motivations and structure, which was actually my main gripe with the first game, that the gangs of bad guys seemed to exist for no reason nor rhyme. So having Part II show how the bad guys operate, was as if they were reading my mind on what I wanted from the game. And of course the so called side missions actually engaged me enough to don't mind biding my time before we get back to day 3.

  4. What you're seeing on screen is an abomination of story structure
    Well that's just your opinion as a dogmatist. Not all stories have to perfectly adhere to tradition.

  5. Tirade on the story not conforming to his expectations as a traditionalist
    He continues to try and fit the square peg into the round hole. As Rick Sanchez put it: "scientifically traditions are an idiot thing" Diverging from some traditions doesn't automatically make the story bad.

  6. Do you get what I'm saying that Abby has no plot
    What I guess you are trying to say is that Abby doesn't have an overarching goal overwriting and defining her every action. But that's not an issue, we already have the connecting material we know how she fits into the story. Having one big mission instead of multiple smaller tasks would change absolutely nothing at this point. You talked about having tunnel vision, well here you have it, complaining about something that would be ganz egal. The same people who think playing as Abby is a drag would not stop complaining if they got one big task instead. The driving force in the Abby sequence is not the tasks she has, it is the destination that has already been revealed to us. Which is why the game wouldn't work at all in sequence.

  7. Abby's part could be cut down from 10 hours to 4.
    The parts he describing as the worst part of the game are actually my favorite levels, this is getting farcical at this point. This is not a movie, you don't just play it to learn about the story, if the only goal was to learn the plot every game could be cut down to a few hours. No, the goal of a videogame is to enjoy the gameplay, the plot is only there to serve as underlying connecting tissue. This is as if I complained that L.A. Noire has too many cases that don't pertain to the main plot. A game is not just about getting to the end of the main story as fast as possible. It's the journey that matters the most.

  8. There is no urgency to the story
    Yeah, for the most part there isn't. I despise games with meaningless time pressures, that are ultimately fake, because you can bide your time all you want and still not suffer consequences in them. Here at least finally I was able to explore without the narrative breathing down my neck urging me to stop wasting time (ie stop enjoying the game for plot's sake). So to me the lack of time pressure was actually a positive thing.

  9. Too many flashbacks that do not serve the plot
    The flashbacks in the game are not supposed to move the plot forward, they are character building and backstory nothing else, little pauses, changes of pace between action sequences, and I absolutely loved them. I feel like he is trying to criticize the game is if it was a movie, completely ignoring that it is a videogame, with very different requirements from the narrative.

  10. Now he is just recycling what he already talked about, namely that the game should be about Joel and Elly's relationship, but repeating it doesn't make it a better argument.

  11. If Joel would live to the end of the game
    You wouldn't have a story at that point, what would be the plot then? You just complained that Abby's sequence is bad because she has no overarching goal, this would make Ellie lack an overarching goal too, unless you come up with an entirely different story.

  12. Abby is an unlikable character
    Then under this segment he goes on to talk about how Ellie is an unlikeable character without saying one word about Abby. IDK if this is an editing error or what, but there isn't even one point brought up that I could respond to regarding this topic.

  13. Equating Abby with the killers of John Wick's dog
    I don't remember John Wick's dog killing almost everyone Josef Tarasof grew up around, including his father forcing him to find a new home among strangers, so this is one of the worst false equivalences ever conceived.

  14. Ellie has no character arc
    He literally ignores her character arc, and claims there is none, what can I add to that? Did he just miss parts of the story or is this just disingenuous gaslighting?

  15. He seems to be missing some of the finer points of the story that were absolutely obvious to me. Like the fact that Abby was never a true believer in the WLF, it was just an alliance of convenience. And it wasn't even her who turned on them, they turned on her first. This was blatantly obvious to me, yet our guy here acts as if Abby just randomly started killing her friends. Her only friends were Manny and Owen, even Mel hated her.

I don't know if he has extreme confirmation bias not seeing the nuances only focusing on things what he concieves as problems or just being disingenuous at times to prop up his arguments. I really can't tell.
 
ultimately, i think it really boils down to this: tlou2 has, imho, the most maturely written and told story for a videogame to date, and i honestly think a lot of people weren't/aren't prepared for that. i'm not just talking about 'omg joel dies' but every aspect of the story 'asks' a lot from the player
db047f7bee83e069d6b13e13dc07fa50.30.jpg
 
I am replaying this and just got to the island full of scars.

The gameplay is great, and the story at it's core is a revenge plot...

First playthrough I rushed to avoid spoilers, this playthrough I am taking my time, paying attention to everything, and really analyzing the story as I go.

I fucking hate Abby, I hate playing as her, and I hate her decision making... But this game is a great example of why episodic gaming needs to be a thing, like Valve tried, to flesh out the story.
They did not build up the relationship between her and her dad to enough to build the empathy needed for me to agree with her festering hatred for Joel and be okay with his death. I understand his death was needed to drive the storyline, Ellie wouldn't go on a killing spree if Joel lived... But just a short level where they save a zebra then, the final events of part 1 happen...

Whereas with Ellie, we got to know her over the ENTIRE first game, and, in this one, a few chapters that built on her and Joel's relationship, so her seeking of vengeance is more justified.

Also Abby saving the scars is out of character, all game she talks bad about them, kills quite a few, gets captured and because two save her, she turns on her own people that raised her and she's known for years?

She would have saved them and sent them on their way, or, more likely killed them first chance she got.

They both even ask why she's helping, and she can't give them a straight answer, she just is, she said it's more for her, but, why?

The only thing I can think of is she wants to be with Owen so bad that she wants to show Mel that she is capable of being good, after brutally killing Joel, to go with them to Santa Barbara.

Now... Let's talk about The scars she saved. My take on Lev is that Lev is just a confused kid that idolized his sister, and is not truly trans.

The sister said that Lev wanted to be a soldier just like her, and only shaved her head after finding out that she was to be an elder's wife and fully became Lev.

The sister pulls an Abby and joins her sibling on the run, and willingly turns on the cult/family, AND her beliefs that she's had for years, and even supports Lev after her mother is killed... By Lev... Because the mother is devout and sees what Lev did as a sin and attacked Lev.
If my sibling killed my mom, I would NOT say "oh it's okay."

So the sister, and Abby, both make rash decisions and willingly turn on their entire former life for Lev.

That is very unrealistic. Who in their right mind would turn their backs on their friends and willingly kill them over someone they just met,

This plot would have been just as bad if lev was not "trans" and just questioned the religion and got banished.

So, the ONLY person who has a reason for doing what they're doing is Ellie. I do not question her intentions, she has a goal and a valid reason.

Abby maybe, if they made a separate game that built our relationship with her, but Her goal was accomplished in the beginning of the game, but they did not set up her story very good for the second half of the game.
If they built upon her story more, than maybe what she does later would have purpose, but it doesn't.

I get it, they were trying to humanize her, but they did a piss poor job and her actions are not that of someone with a sound mind.

Tl;Dr - Gameplay is fun, and Ellie has purpose, the rest of the game plot makes no sense.
 
Nice. I know the game is better in every way so I'm fine with not watching the show, I just hope their next game makes more sense
I love zombie movies and this is the closest thing to one lol. Ya, I'm hoping for a 3rd installment of the game.
 
The Last of Us Part II Remastered Launching January 2024

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered will launch on January 19, 2024

Native PS5 enhancements
Built for the PS5 console, The Last of Us Part II Remastered enhances the original PS4 game in ways not possible before, including:
• A host of graphical improvements bring the beautiful-yet-dangerous world to life
• Visual performance now outputs at 4K in Fidelity Mode
• Improved loading times more quickly let you jump into action
• Full DualSense™ wireless controller integration

No Return – A Roguelike Survival Mode

New ways to play
Delve deeper into this beloved adventure and learn how the original game was created
• Lost Levels lets you explore early-development versions of three new levels not seen in the original
• Enjoy hours of new developer commentary to hear insights into Part II’s development as you experience the game

https://insider-gaming.com/th-last-of-us-part-2-remastered/
 
The Last of Us Part II Remastered- Announce Trailer | PS5 Games


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3st9z6jQY

It leaked earlier, so wonder if they just said f-it and announced it, lol. Or prolly just leaked because they were about to announce anyways.

https://blog.playstation.com/2023/1...coming-to-ps5-on-january-19-2024/?smcid=psapp

$10 upgrade for existing owners, and maybe worth it just for the new survival mode. Otherwise this is already 4k60 on PS5, and I don't see them improving visuals much over the PS4 version given Part 1 looked pretty similar as well.

I'm really torn on the story of this one, but the gameplay is great and immersive enough that I've been wanting to replay it again at some point. I've only got two playthroughs now, which were back to back when it first launched.

Edit: you posted the same info as I was posting.
 
At least the timing is good, with all the Black Friday deals going on for PS5.

or just wait for it to hit PC in a few months...Part 1 Remastered was released on PC 6 months after the PS5 release

I'll see what Black Friday has to offer. If it's coming to PC I may wait, but my PC isn't top of the line anymore, one thing that bothered me was how long the rendering took.

Been kind of wanting a PS5 anyways
 
I appreciate the $10 upgrade for existing owners. I'm definitely in. I've played through TLoU2 5-6 times and am down for a few more passes. It can be a hair slow at times (the game is huge after all), but I think I'd still put it in my all-time top 10.
 
I'm 100% onboard with this decision, although I have to imagine they have already wasted a lot of time and resources on it. I want more story-driven TLoU and Uncharted games.
I want a plot that makes sense though, TLoU2 just wasn't a great plot. Gameplay, 10/10, plot though was 4/10.
 
  • Like
Reactions: T4rd
like this
I'm 100% onboard with this decision, although I have to imagine they have already wasted a lot of time and resources on it. I want more story-driven TLoU and Uncharted games.
I agree, but it's also kinda jacked that they sold Part 2 with the "promise" (for lack of better word) that there would be multiplayer coming at some point.

I very rarely play any multiplayer games (online at least), but the first games's multiplayer was actually pretty good, so I was kinda looking forward to this one. So I think they should do something to make up for this now to owners of the game. Like a free upgrade to the new remaster or something, esp. considering they're only charging $10 for it anyways.
 
It sucks that they killed it. I started playing the first one later in the lifespan of factions but it was so much fun. Clutching a 1v4 or 5 for the win with the shotgun, mollies, and grenades was epic. There was a guy I’d occasionally run into, he always had the football helmet and ran only smokes and shivs.
 
Interesting. Seems like they're taking this in an odd direction seeing how she's attractive and talented...but not particularly buff/powerful looking. Still, I really liked season 1 so I'll trust 'em.

I was thinking the same thing...she has the right look while not going overboard with the overtly muscular version from the game...I'm thinking they wanted a more traditionally attractive version for the TV series
 
the HBO series has announced their choice for a key role in Season 2...

Kaitlyn Dever has been cast as Abby in Season 2 of the HBO drama

https://tvline.com/news/kaitlyn-dever-the-last-of-us-cast-season-2-abby-1235097834/

it's funny how the TV series is hiring all these hotties where in the video game the female characters were more masculine looking...

‘Last of Us’ Season 2 Casts Isabela Merced as Dina

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/last-of-us-season-2-cast-isabela-merced-dina-1235868899/
 
Back
Top