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LTTP: The Last Of Us 2 (PS4 Slim) 2020

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
last_of_us_part_2_banner_big-scaled.jpg

I’m happy to of played this game and overall it was good and it’s a future for Naughty Dog, here’s my take away.

ND seems to clearly know how to be dramatic and they like building around characters (Ellie, Tommy, Abby etc.) Enemies make you feel very anxious in a good way where I couldn't put down the controller a lot of other things too like building up your weapons, taking minutes to admire scenery, and the story really has it's own identity because you fall in love with Abby and I give ND a lot of credit on the game.

The world in Seattle is legitimate and is linear as opposed to open world, it’s fun moving around but leaves you thinking about it’s potential rather than what it is ultimately the levels put you in the line of fire or stealth.

The-Last-of-Us-2-Sightseer-Trophy-Downtown-Map-Labeled.jpg

Choke job map design, no excuse here... the game needed a legit organized pause menu map.

Ellie and Joel are pushed out the door instead Abby and her people are here this is a character who’s obviously the daughter of the doctor Joel killed in the Last of Us 1, and at the end of the day it feels like Naughty Dog changed their mind on the main character but nevertheless
Abby shows producing under pressure, leadership and for the first time you’re rooting against Ellie.

da0aead6cf71178ffc25be317c16809edeae07b9.gif


Final bad guy.

The game has zero puzzles and when you think of naughty dog games they average some sort of puzzle every other chapter and that’s very limited here. It’s a traditional survival horror action adventure game

tumblr_mo55ihdcNH1rn6mb8o1_500.gif


Clickers (infected)
WLF
Rattlers (gang)
Seraphites (cult)

At some point you’ll meet one of those enemies.


1592687422_867_Last-Of-Us-Partie-2-11-conseils-pour-vous.jpg


The story is a service to apocalypse fans and honestly if you put the last of us 2 next to other games it’s just better. It’s a complete top 10 game with very little issues.

What does GAF think of the last of us 2?
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
I completed it for the first time the other week and thought it was all over the place. There are very little unique setpieces and most of the game it‘s just the same encounters against humans/infected, which gets quite boring halfway through because the game is just too long.

There is very little story in general and I found almost every single characters (except maybe Jessie) unlikeable. Also the pacing with the random flashbacks is just weird. Seeing that U4 suffered from the same issue and it later came out to be due to the turbulent development it leads me to believe that a lot of things happened during the development of Last of Us 2 as well. But who knows... It would not surprise me.

At the end of the day I would say it‘s a good game but not much more and also far inferior to the first. 8/10
 

THEAP99

Banned
I love it. It's easily the best naughty dog game due to its massive ambitious scope that for me was able to stay fresh throughout with it's dynamic enemies and encounters. As well as I thought the story was very memorable and effective. I don't think I've played any other strictly linear game (no semi-open world like god of war) where it retains this major fresh quality for the whole 20+ hours.

Now I'm just waiting for a ps5 Remaster to play it again for the 6th time. They made great use of the dualshock vibration so I can't wait to see how they make use of the dualsense
 
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NinjaBoiX

Member
It was astonishing, I was so impressed with it. GOTY no doubt.

Yeah, there’s some slightly wonky storytelling here and there, and people cried that they killed their favourite character. But purely as a tense, cinematic third person shooter, I can’t think of a single better example of the polished to perfection mechanics and jaw dropping technical achievements.
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
My opinion about The last of us Part 2 is that it is a great game.

I find it very stupid on the part of mediocre "video game analysts" like Angry Joe who denigrate a great game just because of one character.

The game has excellent production values, and even for me... Abby is a good character, I really like her campaign, its more cinematographic to me.

In Ellie I also like the Campaign and the soundtrack.

I really like the story of rivalry and revenge on both sides because they know their reasons and motives.

Maybe the weak point is sometimes the story, i talk really in the final part that sometimes you come to think that it is a TPS like any other, but even so, I liked it a lot.

It is not the best game I have play in my life, but in quality I feel that it is comparable with the first game, although this one is a masterpiece.
 

shoegaze

Member
last_of_us_part_2_banner_big-scaled.jpg

I’m happy to of played this game and overall it was good and it’s a future for Naughty Dog, here’s my take away.

ND seems to clearly know how to be dramatic and they like building around characters (Ellie, Tommy, Abby etc.) Enemies make you feel very anxious in a good way where I couldn't put down the controller a lot of other things too like building up your weapons, taking minutes to admire scenery, and the story really has it's own identity because you fall in love with Abby and I give ND a lot of credit on the game.

The world in Seattle is legitimate and is linear as opposed to open world, it’s fun moving around but leaves you thinking about it’s potential rather than what it is ultimately the levels put you in the line of fire or stealth.

The-Last-of-Us-2-Sightseer-Trophy-Downtown-Map-Labeled.jpg

Choke job map design, no excuse here... the game needed a legit organized pause menu map.

Ellie and Joel are pushed out the door instead Abby and her people are here this is a character who’s obviously the daughter of the doctor Joel killed in the Last of Us 1, and at the end of the day it feels like Naughty Dog changed their mind on the main character but nevertheless
Abby shows producing under pressure, leadership and for the first time you’re rooting against Ellie.

da0aead6cf71178ffc25be317c16809edeae07b9.gif


Final bad guy.

The game has zero puzzles and when you think of naughty dog games they average some sort of puzzle every other chapter and that’s very limited here. It’s a traditional survival horror action adventure game

tumblr_mo55ihdcNH1rn6mb8o1_500.gif


Clickers (infected)
WLF
Rattlers (gang)
Seraphites (cult)

At some point you’ll meet one of those enemies.


1592687422_867_Last-Of-Us-Partie-2-11-conseils-pour-vous.jpg


The story is a service to apocalypse fans and honestly if you put the last of us 2 next to other games it’s just better. It’s a complete top 10 game with very little issues.

What does GAF think of the last of us 2?
Shallow game masquerading as a deep experience. Had its moments, and could be remade to a point of being deserving of the sequels name, but fails miserably the way it stands. The backbone of a cinematic game is the way the story is woven, and it misses not only the mark that everyone expects it to hit, but even the mark the authors expected it to hit. It's a messy, zigzagging and pointless foray into childish ideas for the sole purpose of novelty.

7/10, had an urge to try Andromeda after this, as the vibe they give is similar and I've proven to myself that I can stomach it, but played Hellblade instead. And the writing blew me away.
 
What does GAF think of the last of us 2?
How long have you been here?
I completed it for the first time the other week and thought it was all over the place. There are very little unique setpieces and most of the game it‘s just the same encounters against humans/infected, which gets quite boring halfway through because the game is just too long.
Should they add aliens ans robot dinosaurs to vary it a bit? I loved the combat in the game and thought that the encounters felt varied. The set pieces, while not over the top were pretty neat as well, that lead up to the storm with Ellie on her small boat was amazing.

Also the pacing with the random flashbacks is just weird.
Yup, I hated the flashbacks, they definitely were overused and some made no sense (how often and how easily were both Ellie and Joel able to go back to Seattle and the hospital between the two games? How come they never came across any of the two factions when they went back?)

The actors are amazing, most of the conversations make some sense (I'm trying to play horizon zero dawn again, the conversations are just creepy, the voice acting is just bad and the mocap is 10 years behind what ND does... The Combat is great).... But as you said, most of the characters don't stick, they have emotions, but it lends flat.
 

Certinty

Member
Probably the most conflicted I’ve ever been with a game.

The graphics, level design, animations, voice acting, gameplay, gunplay are all amazing, like I can’t fault those in any way even if I tried.

But the story, characters, pacing and how much the game drags out is just outright horrific. Still can’t believe how bad the characters and story ended out, felt like it was fan fiction at times.
 

mxbison

Member
The Story went a little wild in the end and dragged on too long, but gameplay, level design and presentation were excellent.
 
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RyRy93

Member
The SJW influence was obvious and the story went on forever but still a better story than most games, the combat is weighty and brutally realistic while remaining responsive.
Some really cool environmental storytelling and puzzles too.
 

Topher

Gold Member
The SJW influence was obvious and the story went on forever but still a better story than most games, the combat is weighty and brutally realistic while remaining responsive.
Some really cool environmental storytelling and puzzles too.

My only complaint about the game was that it went an hour or two too long. I thought the story was brilliant. I don't care for some of SJW messaging, but I don't let that stuff kill my enjoyment of a game.
 

Warablo

Member
I thought the flashback sections were all over the place and pacing was awful. They kinda ruined all the characters. Turned Ellie into a whiney bitch.
 
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THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
The game was 15/10 for a lot of it, straight up amazing, then there is the lame story that is trying way too hard to be clever. Still 10/10 overall.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Wasn't for me and it left me disappointed. Boring story and repetitive gameplay, which was mostly the same as the first one.

But whatever, not all games and for everyone I guess.
 

skit_data

Member
Great game with challenging narrative. I never thought it would be able to work, but yes in the end i was rooting for Abby more than Ellie. It was a ”happy yet bittersweet” ending. In terms of graphics its very impressive. I played Until Dawn the other day and its facial animations and materials looks like complete utter garbage in comparison despite being on the same console and published by Sony themselves.
 
I had a spare hour on my hands so I decided to make this succinct graph to show you how I feel about this game in comparison to the other ND games I’ve played;

u8qq16P.jpg
I can't agree with this graph, I never liked the Crash games, they should be around 6 or maybe 7, then the worst thing is that you placed U1 above U4? U1 was never good, I recall almost puking on my PS3 controller when I tried it the first time.
 
lmfao :messenger_grinning_squinting:

You anime people man... lol


Greatest game ever made. Bar none. And I say it with my chest.

ND needs to hurry the hell up with a PS5 version, I will buy it again.
I just want them to unlock the frame rate to let it shine at 60fps, I don't even know why Sony even let them not do it given how close the game was released compared to their next gen console... and many studios provided these enhanced patches for free, even third parties are doing it.

They should do the same for Horizon Zero Dawn, UC 4 (which was supposed to target 60fps from the get go), probably a couple more.
 

Hunnybun

Member
I think overall you'd have to give it a 9/10 just for its astonishing technical accomplishments and dramatic sweep, and amazing set pieces etc. It is in many ways the most impressive game I've ever played.

But there's a lot I didn't like, too.

- I never sympathised with Ellie being angry with Joel for saving her life. Tbh, and maybe this sounds harsh, but I just thought it made her come across as a self-obsessed brat. I realise the irony of that given the potential self-sacrifice she was denied, but there you are. I didn't BUY it. I think maybe the narrative error here is just having a motivation that's SO obscure that it's IMPOSSIBLE to sympathise with. How would I feel if somebody saved my life and in doing so prevented me from being the source of a world saving vaccine? Erm, well actually I'd have no fucking idea, because it's SO alien. So don't make that the basis for the entire damn story. Joel in the first game: that's a clear, simple, sympathetic story arc. And not only did I not really like this reading, but it actually actively interfered with the central revenge plot! What was the point of it? It only served to undermine our understanding of the feelings between the characters, and therefore cast doubt on the imperative for revenge. And thereby also managed to undermine the impact of the cycle of violence commentary, which is obviously indirectly a commentary on blind in-group loyalty.

- Abby DID have a sympathetic motivation, but unfortunately that's where my engagement with her ended. Another sullen, sulky, unpleasant character, just like Ellie.

- the rest of the cast were similarly unlikable or forgettable, with the qualified exceptions of Tommy and Jesse.

- the constant flashbacks were unnecessary and boring.

- the final denouement - the lost fingers - was such crass writing I felt more like laughing than crying once the credits rolled.

Basically, it was just a bit pretentious and self-regarding as a work of fiction. As a game it was mostly superb.
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
It was good, but I wish I could have killed Ellie with Abby at the end. It was just so infuriating that she had to try again to get revenge.

I do love seeing the whiny little bigots complain about having their games stolen because a trans character who really made sense to the plot in the game was included. Or crying about Abby's physique. The shit that people will let themselves get worked up about because they just want to spew hate online is pretty pathetic.
 

dave_d

Member
I have it but I haven't played it yet. Ok, it's because I'm wondering if there's going to be a free upgrade for it for the PS5 and figure I can wait a bit to play that version or just play the PS4 version if there isn't one.(I've got a bit of a backlog anyway.)
 
Melodramatic tripe with some decent enemy encounters. Story is a complete weight around its neck, and in terms of its execution a total step back from the original.
 

Max_Po

Banned
At the beginning of 2020 I had 3 games on my radar...mostly winding down the console generation...

1. The Last of Us Part 2 ( I had kept away from trailers, spoilers and everything) I knew ND would deliver on animations/story etc
2. CyberPunk2077 .... (game of generation.. .. wow wow wow ... so much hype ....)
3. Ghost of Tsushima (love Sucker Punch, just wanted to see what they were up to...)

At the time of release, I enjoyed the story and felt the end was extra long with unnecessary length padding. Abby's character at the end was developed extremely blandly...
I enjoyed and quiet frankly loved Ghost of Tsushima. I haven't played any Assassins Creed game after black flag and I was expecting a similar experience. The combat alone in the game was much better than decade plus of UBISOFT Garbage.

Then I played and finished Cyberpunk 2077 ..easily one of the WORST game of the generation.

Congrats to ND for making one of the best games of the generation... all thanks to fucking CDPR ...
 

Athreous

Member
I really liked the game, but the way that the story was told pissed me a bit...

I'm not a Team Ellie/Joel and fuck the rest, but omg, there was so many better ways to tell that story...

Abby ends up being an interesting character, but more development would be great...

It's a 9 out of 10 game for me!
 
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Ozzie666

Member
One of the best of all times, and the highest production quality in gaming history.

#FuckTheHaters

anigif_sub-buzz-1338-1529539448-5.gif
I had a good time with it.

COVID lockdown year for me, will always be remembered for Luigi's Mansion 3, Last of Us 2 and Ghosts of Tsushimia. Those are the games I remember playing more than any other experiences.
 

bender

What time is it?
I'd say it's mostly fine. Mechanically, TLOU felt dated at release and TLOU2 doesn't really add much to that formula. And where the original was more grounded in its' set pieces which set it apart from the bombast of the Uncharted Series, TLOU2 tends to lean more heavily towards those WOW moments from Naughty Dog's other blockbuster series. The original narrative worked not because of the source material, that's well covered ground, but because of the performances and chemistry between Joel and Ellie and for the most part, that is lost in the sequel. Shot out to the countdown sequence in TLOU2, it is a brilliant sequence and just re-enforces my previous sentiment. TLOU2's story tries to be more profound with the folly of revenge, but it doesn't really do a good job of introducing or making you care about any of the new cast and young adult Ellie, just feels too far removed from adolescent Ellie and comes off as wholly unlikeable. That left me playing with or alongside a cast of characters that I really didn't care for who put themselves in idiotic situations with a payoff that really doesn't work. As much as ludonarrative dissonance was over used by the media a few years back, it's hard to have to accept characters realizing the pitfalls of revenge when they've created a mountain of corpses before letting their opposing co-star walk away time and time again. It's a technical tour de force but something I'll probably never play again...maybe I'll revisit the museum sequence and remember better times.
 
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Fredrik

Member
Still haven’t played Part 2.

I liked TLOU1 a ton but kinda opted out of Part 2 early because of the brutality. Then I got the whole story spoiled like many others, after that point the interest faded even more.

Eventually I saw this nakeyjakey rant video


...and after that I didn’t think it was worth spending my time there even though it looked amazing visually, I already knew everything about the story and the gameplay wasn’t too spectacular on it’s own.

The rope tech is insane though! Like holy crap, give that coder a budget and a small team to make a unique puzzle game!



The door isn’t completely closed though, I might still play through it if they make a PC version, but right now I feel like it’s no big deal if I skip Part 2 and jump in on Part 3 instead. I hope ND goes back to fighting the virus in the next game, they should go nuts with crazy evolved monsters and evil wildlife etc instead of focusing on crazy hateful people, there is so much potential in the IP.
 
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