Thats nice and all, but this is just a fictional video game, its not that serious...
I disagree. He makes mistakes in part 1, he makes mistakes in part 2. Bill even warns Joel that his actions will get him killed on day, he himself states you can't out run your past...the game ends with you killing a doctor in a scene you can't skip and killing Marlene. I think many of us already knew he would die based on those actions, for years I though Marlene's family would come to kill him lol
So buddy, the fucking man makes mistakes, he is human, he literally makes several in the first game, do you not understand that the fucking person that made the story, might have already written is death BEFORE any of us ever heard of The Last Of Us?
I myself have written things where the ending is already planned, so I doubt that he wrote him to live and then was like "no bro, lets kill him now", too many things occur in the first game that show you he is flawed, makes mistakes and his death will come from something like that.
Fuck, you could argue he is "fool" for trusting the 2 bothers in the very first game or even trusting BILL in the very first game. It is in his nature to do this to really be making it sound like in part 2 its this brand new shit.
Incorrect bud. The person that literally wrote the series is the same person you are talking about that wrote part 1 and 2 and any of the things you are talking about exist in part 1.
Ummmm suuuuuuuure. Don't watch films rated R and don't play games rated M, those are for adults bud, many games exist with happy go lucky family friendly furry things rated PG, G, E etc.
Sounds like zero adult situations are allowed, thus maybe don't play or watch content created for adults. Things like this happen in real life.... anyone getting triggered by this doesn't need to play such things then if they get so upset over it.
Edit. Once again, this is why the medium for some is too young for shit like this. Gamers can't handle something like American History X if it was a game, if they are crying over this.
Play something else and stop trying to force developers to make static, comic, happy go lucky junk. Go play Call Of Duty or comic book game etc if you want that. Its clear from the beginning The Last Us was NEVER a series about folks NEVER DYING and everyone living and no one getting hurt etc.
I think this post and the reply gets to the heart of the problem with this game, at least for me.
LOU2 wants to have it's cake and eat it as well. The game clearly relishes realism, with multiple amazing touches to the animation and a 'mature' story.
But I don't think it's much of the sort. It has a standard videogame story (revenge, you are the monster you fight)
It's not realistic and relies heavily on the defense something along the lines of "people are complicated, they do weird things sometimes".
And whilst this is true it negates one of the prime reasons for fiction -- That it is supposed to boil down life's complications into a form that is digestible to it's target audience.
Now I would argue that the key audience for this game is teenage girls -- And given the hyperbolic overexagerattion of emotions at play, that fits right into that line of fiction
-- But to an adult audience that sort of thing isn't that much different to the hyperbole we find in almost all videogames, unless you want to dig into the details.
It's the reason Twilight did so well. It entrances teenagers, but to adults reliving that part of their lives is not something that they're interested in because it's so embarrassing.
To someone who's young, and deeply invested in the characters, I believe LOU2 would seem real and it definitely connects, but to a more jaded audience it doesn't appear to -- And for me seeing a lead character acting through folly, does not make an interesting story.
Ellie's arc is very basic. Less of an arc, more a ramping up of an emotion followed by a nervous breakdown.
Whilst this is psychologically accurate, it's not enough to sustain a story of 30 hours, especially when the other lead is basically going through almost exactly the same arc. Drawing comparisons between the two is intellectually interesting but it ruins the pace of the story and feels heavy handed. Like it's making a point -- but really can't decide on what that point is. That's left up to you.
And given that. I came to the conclusion that the story shouldn't be taken at face value, simply because it's so ridiculous and ends on an ironic joke. There is lots of satire in the game, and I think Neil Druckman was satirising his fight with Amy Henning here -- Amy (Abby) being the one who leaves for the island, where Neil (Ellie) is stuck without his nemesis and the right tools for the job, no energy left, playing a sad song.
I think it's deeply personal, but that's my own conclusion and I am unable to back that up with anything really substantial, except that Neil seems like the type who wants to bear his soul.