An awkward adventure

I have never been as happy for a game to be over as I was with the Last of Us 2. It is a raw and gruesome journey through a world filled with bad people doing bad things to other bad people. This is not a story about hope, it is about revenge. Sure, there are some genuinely tender moments sprinkled throughout the game, but for the majority of it I felt uncomfortable. Not only with the level of gore, but also with the attention paid to suffering. Most games don’t phase me when it comes to violence. Last of Us 2 is a game that I was only able to handle in two hour chunks at best, and not always just because of the extreme violence.

This is a story of revenge. It is nearly impossible to discuss this game’s story without spoiling a piece of it here and there, so I apologize for being vague in some instances. Naughty Dog has always been known for weaving an interesting story. Last of Us 2 is well acted and shot beautifully, but I felt like the new characters introduced did not resonate as much as the first game. Ellie and Joel are iconic. I am connected to them. These new faces never grabbed me in the same way, so what becomes of certain characters doesn’t hit as hard.

MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: PS4
Price I’d Pay: $59.99

Some of it has to do with writing, some to do with how events play out. By the end of the game I did not feel satisfied with its conclusion. There is a lot to process here. The game uses time to bounce back and forth developing characters and relaying their motives. There are some truly great pieces here, but equal amounts of fluff and padding. The story could have shaved off 5-8 hours of the play time and been more effective. Again this is vague, but due to avoiding spoilers, I do not want to go into more detail.

That brings me to the game play. Last of Us 2 feels a lot like the first game. That is not necessarily a compliment. One area Naughty Dog games have always felt lacking is the actual game play itself. Shooting feels awkward and the hand-to-hand portions are sloppy. I would get into skirmishes and end up swinging at air sometimes. Enemies seem adept at combat and block and never miss attacks. I died more being blindsided by attacks than anything else in the game. It is always amazing that every new Naughty Dog game ups the ante on visual fidelity, yet somehow continues to just not feel great to play.

The stealth fares better and is easily the preferred method to play. Lurking around areas feels good even when the immersion is broken by the NPC with you walking right in front of an enemy and they don’t even react. Dogs are now part of the equation and can track your scent, making it harder to remain in the shadows.

Crafting returns allowing players to build medkits and eventually even ammo for their guns. While I understand that the lack of ammo is designed to make it feel more bleak, it is weird that characters are limited by how much they can carry. I can put a gas can in my backpack, but not more than 10 bullets at a time? There are also skill trees to unlock with supplements. It feels weird collecting pills to upgrade my abilities. To unlock new skill trees there are magazines scattered around the world that will open up new abilities. This leads to a reason to explore the world, which is super interesting, but also drags down the pacing of an already long experience.

An area I cannot commend Naughty Dog enough are the accessibility options. This game offers unique sliders and tick boxes to allow gamers of any skill to progress through the game. In addition to difficulty there are also things such as unlimited breath for underwater sections, simplified combat, the ability to skip puzzles, and so much more. None of these affect Trophies or progression and they allow players to customize their experience. There is even an option to be completely invisible when prone. I tested this out and I could literally crawl through any encounter without anyone noticing. It is an incredible feature set and one I hope more games adopt in the future.

Naughty Dog continues to set the bar for visuals in games. Playing Last of Us 2 I kept thinking to myself, what do I need new consoles for? The environments are painstakingly detailed. This world feels lived in. Each building is hand-crafted with details that most people will never see. While it may be subconscious, it lends itself to believability. The details are stunning. Mud deforms, water ripples, and clothing moves realistically. Sometimes it is almost too real. Animations are stellar, thus creating an uncomfortable setting when murdering people.

Seeing the facial animation as you strangle someone is disturbing. This game is the first time where I felt uncomfortable with violence. NPCs have names and when killed others will call those names and react. Dealing with the infected was hard enough, but when you see the life drain from the eyes of another human, no other game does it as effectively as Last of Us 2. It disturbed me to my core. I was only able to play the game for two hours at most, and it led to my sense of relief when it was all over.

The music continues to be effective and incredible. Setting the mood at every junction. Equally the voice actors once again nailed their performances. So much emotion is poured into every role. Even the characters I did not resonate with, it was more due to their writing than their performance.

Last of Us 2 is a hard game to critique. On one hand it sets new bars for performance capture and visual fidelity. Naughty Dog is truly head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to these areas. The world is impeccably detailed and the game is a true showpiece for visual fidelity. On the other hand it is just not fun to play at times. Whether it is the uncomfortable nature of what is happening or the fact that the game play feels like an afterthought to everything else included in the package. Combine that with a story that is sure to disappoint fans of the series and we have a mixed bag of emotions. There is no doubting the quality of this game, but I am not sure I needed or even wanted this sequel upon completing it.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Visuals are absolutely stunning
  • World and environments incredibly detailed
  • Great acting and voice work
Bad
  • Combat feels awkward
  • Violence goes too far
  • Story and characters just don't hit
7.5
Good
Written by
Ken is the Editor-in-Chief of this hole in the wall and he loves to troll for the fun of it. He also enjoys long walks through Arkham Asylum and the cool air of Shadow Moses Island. His turn-ons include Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft.