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TLOU2 Haters and Detractors are review-bombing Metacritic. The Salt rises!

Ulysses 31

Member
Is your console set to PCM? As said, Dolby or DTS should be fine. And did you try with this game? This is the first game I've noticed to limit your audio output options, if the system doesn't support it.
Oops, misread. It's set to Dolby so that's why there's 5.1. :lollipop_grinning:

I get 5.1 from Switch games which is only PCM but only if it's connected directly to my soundbar. I assume with eARC TVs that won't be needed anymore.
 
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nowhat

Member
I assume with eARC TVs that won't be needed anymore.
Oh yeah, this is veeeery annoying - I didn't research the soundbar much, just that it wasn't bottom of the barrel. There was a bundle deal with the CX, I figured they were meant to play well together. And as far as aesthetics go, it's all good, same width as the telly and all.

But the end result is, now I have a TV that supports eARC, and a soundbar which does not. Yay. I guess it will be bitstream for me for quite a while still.
 

ZZZZ

Member
Clearly you don't understand what the game actually tells us:

Tm0r0tN.jpg

You'll notice a lack of "Ellie is immune" here, instead it's the cordyceps that's mutated.

The surgeon's recording:

-The fungus in Ellie’s brain hasn't spread to the limbic regions but is still present
-Antigenic titers are high
-In vitro fungal cultures from Ellie’s blood grow cordyceps
-No leukocytosis
-No pro-inflammatory cytokines

This points to the cordyceps in her brain having mutated to become an inert version rather than anything Ellie's body has done. She's showing no signs of her immune system attacking it, she's still infected but it's idle.

This means that the doctors need this new strain of cordyceps to clone the mutation, see if they can cause the mutation to happen in people infected with the classic strain and more importantly create a vaccine that would, essentially, infect people with this new strain so that the classic, dangerous one can't.

But for all of this, they have no need of Ellie, just the mutated cordyceps strain.
Funny thing about that, is that she's still infected just not developing the zombie disease, so your vaccine won't stop people from getting infected, on cases like this all it takes is for zombie out there to go through a mutation in their dna and you are fucked.
 
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Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
What a terrible take - "stop being emotional and look at things objectively"? For one, I'm guessing this person doesn't understand the meaning of the word "objective". Secondly, according to the game's director, all the years worth of work was all about the emotions:

If you have to stop being emotional to appreciate what is supposed to be an emotional experience, I'd say that's a colossal and unmitigated failure.
I'd say that is a huge achievement to get someone that emotional in a video game. I can't wait to play more later today I'm around the 14 hour mark but I did a lot of exploring
 

RedVIper

Banned
Clearly you don't understand what the game actually tells us:

Tm0r0tN.jpg

You'll notice a lack of "Ellie is immune" here, instead it's the cordyceps that's mutated.

The surgeon's recording:

-The fungus in Ellie’s brain hasn't spread to the limbic regions but is still present
-Antigenic titers are high
-In vitro fungal cultures from Ellie’s blood grow cordyceps
-No leukocytosis
-No pro-inflammatory cytokines

This points to the cordyceps in her brain having mutated to become an inert version rather than anything Ellie's body has done. She's showing no signs of her immune system attacking it, she's still infected but it's idle.

This means that the doctors need this new strain of cordyceps to clone the mutation, see if they can cause the mutation to happen in people infected with the classic strain and more importantly create a vaccine that would, essentially, infect people with this new strain so that the classic, dangerous one can't.

But for all of this, they have no need of Ellie, just the mutated cordyceps strain.

tHEy dOnT NeEd ELlE. jUsT hEr bRaiN.
 

Helios

Member
You're telling me what a fictional character is doing.

I'm not here for theories, I'm here to debate what the characters said in the game, which can only be interpreted one way.
What is the point of going through the game bringing up quotes that support either view when there's a clear direction to the ending and you refuse to acknowledge it?
The whole point of the first game's ending was to be ambiguous as to what the correct choice would be. It's why the ending was so divisive. It's also why people shit on TLOU2 for retroactively making one choice absolutely the correct one for the sole purpose of shitting on Joel so he can be killed later.
 

REE Machine

Banned
Lgbt fanservice...

Btw, the game is beautiful, environments, etc. And it is wasted by its gameplay that is deep like a puddle.

So the question is: A technical masterpiece means nothing if has no gameplay, challenge. It's really a waste.
If it has no gameplay i dare you to go back and best tlou on grounded without look up paths as well as this game on survivor without looking anything upZ

how many people say sony games are walking simulators yet most plebs cant beat these "walking simulators" on the hardest difficulty
 
If it has no gameplay i dare you to go back and best tlou on grounded without look up paths as well as this game on survivor without looking anything upZ

how many people say sony games are walking simulators yet most plebs cant beat these "walking simulators" on the hardest difficulty

Plebs? Wtf are u talking about?

Well, i played the entire game, i saw talking, stupid minigames, horse walking, more talking, short action generic gameplay, cut-scenes, repeat.

Careful when u talk to someone u don't know, here's my pleb collection;



uV1EOQf.jpg


mMJ294T.jpg


XOJW4n0.jpg




QkF0tQ1.jpg


GAtIRLt.jpg



And this is just a preview, if u want to see more, look my facebook album;






Im not a hater, i said the game has an agenda, is beautiful and gameplay wise is deep like a puddle. And it IS.

Even Tetris on hard difficult is hard, a game mechanic/gameplay isn't related to difficult.

now go back and play only 10% of what i played in my life to make conclusions, then we talk again.

Peace.
 
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#Phonepunk#

Banned
If Metacritic wants to do something about this they will.

Until then it’s there problem alone and people bitching and moaning about how a website works are wasting their time. All the furious ranting about incels and whatever is a waste of time.

Take it up with metacritic if it’s really a problem
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
Plebs? Wtf are u talking about?

Well, i played the entire game, i saw talking, stupid minigames, horse walking, more talking, short action generic gameplay, cut-scenes, repeat.

Careful when u talk to someone u don't know, here's my pleb collection;



uV1EOQf.jpg


mMJ294T.jpg


XOJW4n0.jpg




QkF0tQ1.jpg


GAtIRLt.jpg



And this is just a preview, if u want to see more, look my facebook album;






Im not a hater, i said the game has an agenda, is beautiful and gameplay wise is deep like a puddle. And it IS.

Even Tetris on hard difficult is hard, a game mechanic/gameplay isn't related to difficult.

now go back and play only 10% of what i played in my life to make conclusions, then we talk again.

Peace.


Hell yeah, you have a copy of Wet.
 
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Helios

Member
If Metacritic wants to do something about this they will.

Until then it’s there problem alone and people bitching and moaning about how a website works are wasting their time. All the furious ranting about incels and whatever is a waste of time.

Take it up with metacritic if it’s really a problem
They don't have a problem when a game they don't like gets review bombed. They also don't have a problem when their favorite game gets "review bombed" with 10/10s especially when some reviewers are being weighted more than others.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
You have a half baked team of doctors with extremely limited supplies and technology that have one try to find a vaccine, the odds of success are abysmal to put it lightly.

I don't need "dialog" to understand that the odds of success in this situation are virtually 0. It was a hail mary attempt, and we can argue it was worth trying even if it meant ellie died, but you acting (and everyone in TLOU2 btw) like it was a guaranteed cure and Joel doomed humanity is absurd.

Edit: Not to mention the plan was dumb from the get go, you have the only person who's immune, that you know of, and your first instinct is to kill her?

The game doesn't depict this.
Joel didn't decide to safe Ellie because he thought the chances were slim. He wanted to save Ellie because he didn't want her to die.

Period.

You guys are adding dialog that wasn't included in the game.

Marlene believe they were going to make the cure
The doctors believe they were going to make a cure.
Joel was told they were going to reverse engineer a vaccine.
Joel believed they were going to make a cure.
It's not a retcon because THIS is what actually happened. Telling me the chances were slim when that wasn't implied to told to Joel means he didn't believe the chances were slim.

You guys can't add plot elements to the story just because that's what you want to believe.
 
You would be right if this is how people thought about it. It's just another generic "bad guys not so bad" and "good guys not so good" plot.
It's not teaching us jackshit, because it's not explicit about it. People typically agree with the message of these stories, only to go rant about people different than them the next day on twitter, facebook or in private circles. If all those moral stories that are so ever-present and have been for the last decades would help, we wouldn't be where we are today.
Heck, Neil Druckmann created his story, and do his opinions seem nuanced, seing the individual before political association? Not to me, but to be fair I don't actively follow him either, so my view on him might be biased through the information I receive.

Honestly, I'm a bit angry right now due to sort-of related reasons.
In Germany, there is no systemic police violence. We barely have any deaths due to police shootings, ever. Yet last night in Stuttgart there was rioting and looting going on, due to police doing a drug search among partying people or something like that and people getting angry and unifying 'against the police'. Apparently a couple hundred people went against the police, started looting, destroying shops. We never had anything like this. And now we do. Why? Because they just follow the latest social media trend that is coming from the USA. We are getting more and more divided because people are too stupid to realize their stupid trend-chasing hurts only themselves and their cause. People don't care about improving situations, they just want to destroy. Sorry for going offtopic, but I don't know where elsewhere to do this.
I don’t understand what this post is really saying.

Is TLOU2’s story the problem here, or is it that people aren’t receptive to it? Both?

Help me out here.
 
I watched hours of this game on stream and a relative play it on PS4 Pro.

Dare I say best looking console game this gen. However those arms on Abby LOL.

If anything in that game proves Naughty Dogs agenda more than anything, like I saw moments in the game where they treat her like a hulk/berserker character. Lifting up heavy shit or lifting up people.

Then again ND are game developers, artists and it’s their art. They can produce whatever agenda they want. I’m not there for it, will watch the rest of the game ones some one uploads a movie cut.
 

SushiReese

Member
Crosspost here:
PSN Asia area (excluded Japan) The Last of Us 2 got 2.5/5 overall 2000+buyer review: the lowest score Sony Exclusive game ever got:
By comparison to other Sony exclusive:
The remastered TLOU 1 got 5/5 full score: https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA00559_00-THELASTOFUS00000
Uncharted 4 got 5/5 https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA00912_00-ASIAPLACEHOLDER0
Horizon got 5/5 :https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA05682_00-ASIAPLACEHOLDER0
Day Gone got 4.5/5 https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA09115_00-ASIAFULLGAME0000
 
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RedVIper

Banned
Crosspost here:
PSN Asia area (excluded Japan) The Last of Us 2 got 2.5/5 overall 2000+buyer review: the lowest score Sony Exclusive game ever got:
By comparison to other Sony exclusive:
The remastered TLOU 1 got 5/5 full score: https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA00559_00-THELASTOFUS00000
Uncharted 4 got 5/5 https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA00912_00-ASIAPLACEHOLDER0
Horizon got 5/5 :https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA05682_00-ASIAPLACEHOLDER0
Day Gone got 4.5/5 https://store.playstation.com/en-hk/product/HP9000-CUSA09115_00-ASIAFULLGAME0000

Those are clearly bots who didn't even play the game.
 

Herr Edgy

Member
I don’t understand what this post is really saying.

Is TLOU2’s story the problem here, or is it that people aren’t receptive to it? Both?

Help me out here.
It's both. People could learn some things from it, but the story is ultimately so simple and has been done countless times before, so that if these stories would actually teach something they already would have, but they don't and haven't, because they aren't explicitly deconstructing and criticizing identity politics.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
What is the point of going through the game bringing up quotes that support either view when there's a clear direction to the ending and you refuse to acknowledge it?
The whole point of the first game's ending was to be ambiguous as to what the correct choice would be. It's why the ending was so divisive.

This is an awful take. :messenger_tears_of_joy: (I'm also removing spoilers)

Ellie knew (or at least had a feeling) that Joel lied to her. That's why she asked the question.

The ending wants us to think what would we do in that position.
It's also why people shit on TLOU2 for retroactively making one choice absolutely the correct one for the sole purpose of shitting on Joel so he can be killed later.

The decision doesn't come without consequences. Joel paid for his life for saving Ellie. You think they were going to create a story and have no one go after Joel, then you really don't get story telling. lol.
 

REE Machine

Banned
As u can see, u wont look closely my collection, i play EVERYTHING.

Stop with personal offense, tlou2 has no gameplay imo, if hurts you, there's nothing i can do.

Stop being a child, argue like an adult.

Doesn't matter the genre, if the game is fun and has good gameplay, its 10 for me!
Thats a horrible opinion, no gameplay...at all
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Thats a horrible opinion, no gameplay...at all
No kidding. It's clear the gameplay itself is on par with (and in some ways better YMMV) than TLOU. So if TLOU "had gameplay" but TLOU2 doesn't, what changed? Because from what I've seen and heard it plays exactly the same for the most part, aside from some new mechanics that a lot of people seem to like. The only real qualms I've seen people have is with the script, story, pacing, and direction.
 
It's both. People could learn some things from it, but the story is ultimately so simple and has been done countless times before, so that if these stories would actually teach something they already would have, but they don't and haven't, because they aren't explicitly deconstructing and criticizing identity politics.
I guess I just disagree then, because:
  1. I don’t think TLOU as a series (or even Naughty Dog as a studio) prides itself on originality, only on great execution.
  2. The attack on identity politics was extremely clear to me, and given that the game just came out, it’s hard to judge how receptive people will be to it in the long run.
  3. If audience reception is how you measure the success of a piece of media’s influence, what other one has explored this topic with a potential audience as large as TLOU2’s? This isn’t some budget indie project that’ll only reach a few people; it’s one of the biggest entertainment launches of the year.
 

REE Machine

Banned
No kidding. It's clear the gameplay itself is on par with (and in some ways better YMMV) than TLOU. So if TLOU "had gameplay" but TLOU2 doesn't, what changed? Because from what I've seen and heard it plays exactly the same for the most part, aside from some new mechanics that a lot of people seem to like. The only real qualms I've seen people have is with the script, story, pacing, and direction.
The best thing about tlou is its more open, it sucked in uncharted 4 because there is no point to scavenge, theres no post apocalyptic world where you see a world in ruin etc, the more open elements of tlou p2 work so fuckn well because each new place you visit theres a new story of characters you never see but the lives ruined by the event, its god damn amazing
 

MiguelItUp

Member
You may or may not like the gameplay but there is plenty of it. To me it is a greatly improved version of the first one.
It's the biggest positive beat I've heard, read, seen, personally. Seems like majority of the people that don't seem to care for it at all, didn't care for the previous game.
 

LarknThe4th

Member
"Druckmann: “I saw one girl get to this sequence that took us a long time to get to land. And she’s bawling. I’m watching her, and I’m starting to cry because she’s crying"


For fuck's sake 🙄
Imagine him trying to hang with people like Takashi Tezuka in a conversation about game design! 😂😂😂😂
 

Woggleman

Member
It's the biggest positive beat I've heard, read, seen, personally. Seems like majority of the people that don't seem to care for it at all, didn't care for the previous game.
That is understandable but to me it is some of the most tense and brutal combat I have played in a game. It really does feel like a darwinistic fight for survival.
 

Herr Edgy

Member
I guess I just disagree then, because:
  1. I don’t think TLOU as a series (or even Naughty Dog as a studio) prides itself on originality, only on great execution.
  2. The attack on identity politics was extremely clear to me, and given that the game just came out, it’s hard to judge how receptive people will be to it in the long run.
  3. If audience reception is how you measure the success of a piece of media’s influence, what other one has explored this topic with a potential audience as large as TLOU2’s? This isn’t some budget indie project that’ll only reach a few people; it’s one of the biggest entertainment launches of the year.
Stories about the cycle of hatred, as well as stories about villains that turn out to be not so bad and protagonists that turn out to not be the great guys, are done to death and I'm not talking games here. I'm not complaining about lack of originality, I'm talking about lack of effect of those stories. And just because you saw some identity politics in there doesn't somehow make it an explicit criticism thereof, that will make people go "Ah, maybe I should listen to an individual's points before grouping them with those other people".

Even if a highly acclaimed story would do this, then it would still only affect a handful of people that typically would become hateful about those that "don't get it". Projection and hypocrisy, you often see it in modern toxic politics. Not to mention that people would find reasons to dismiss the point made. Just like SJWs dismiss games and viewpoints from people other than them, you see people hating on people from the left for nonsensical reasons. If a game can be viewed as a statement of a political person, the game will be made invalid by those opposed to that person's politics...
 
The last of us didn't try to give you any ambiguity about whether or not Ellie could cure everyone. that you not even going to save the many. the kind of ambiguity people appreciated what is moral. even Joel isn't going to rationalize the idea that it wouldn't have worked. and if he truly believed it wasn't going to work he wouldn't have had to lie to Ellie. That lie isn't a retcon that was in the first game.
 
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I can't explain why but my phone keeps deleting parts of what I say. Makes it really annoying to try and post on here when I'm not at home. What I'm trying to say is that the game was about moral ambiguity where Joel's actions moral it was asking a question that's been asked for a long time as a moral quandary which is would you sacrifice the one for the many. If your argument is that the many weren't going to be save then you actually don't want ambiguity you just want to do the right thing and in that case you're playing the wrong franchise.
 
Please read carefully.
I never claimed he was reviewing the game as a whole.

Apparently, there's now a consensus you can review the story if you've just watched a playthrough. That means you can be critical of one of the major components of the game even if you've just gone though a summary. And since you can also judge visuals and sound design, that now makes three major components you can have an opinion on based solely on watching playthroughs.

I suppose that's progress.
I think that for a series like TLOU, that consensus is very fair.

Speaking as someone who bought TLOU1 at launch and never felt compelled to replay it, I have to ask: what exactly do you gain from playing TLOU that you don’t from other games? The gameplay mechanics are competently done, but they’re in no way revolutionary:
  • MGS5 and Mark of the Ninja have deeper stealth mechanics.
  • Gears 4/5, Vanquish, GTA 5 and even Uncharted 4 Online all play more fluidly as third person cover shooters.
  • State of Decay 2, BotW, and Days Gone have deeper survival/resource management mechanics.
  • DOOM, Eternal, and God of War have more satisfying brutal combat mechanics.
  • And if you enjoy QTE interactive narrative, any of David Cage’s games offer more player agency & consequence.
I’ll admit that it sure looks & sounds pretty, but so do all the games I just listed (except maybe State of Decay).
The great story/writing is the only unique selling point this series has left...all of which can be experienced in a YouTube playthrough.

Again, what reason left is there to actually play it?

I’m super happy that TLOU’s excellent narrative will soon be told in an HBO series written by Neil himself, because that’s a much more proper medium for it. To me, it has very little business being a video game.
 
I think that for a series like TLOU, that consensus is very fair.

Speaking as someone who bought TLOU1 at launch and never felt compelled to replay it, I have to ask: what exactly do you gain from playing TLOU that you don’t from other games? The gameplay mechanics are competently done, but they’re in no way revolutionary:
  • MGS5 and Mark of the Ninja have deeper stealth mechanics.
  • Gears 4/5, Vanquish, GTA 5 and even Uncharted 4 Online all play more fluidly as third person cover shooters.
  • State of Decay 2, BotW, and Days Gone have deeper survival/resource management mechanics.
  • DOOM, Eternal, and God of War have more satisfying brutal combat mechanics.
  • And if you enjoy QTE interactive narrative, any of David Cage’s games offer more player agency & consequence.
I’ll admit that it sure looks & sounds pretty, but so do all the games I just listed (except maybe State of Decay).
The great story/writing is the only unique selling point this series has left...all of which can be experienced in a YouTube playthrough.

Again, what reason left is there to actually play it?

Fixed!
 
If I can comment on one thing that guy above me said it's that I wouldn't ever call the way gears games play fluid. I don't even necessarily mean that in a negative way there just slightly more mobile tank controls. Like barely a step above old resident evil games
 

RedVIper

Banned
The game doesn't depict this.
Joel didn't decide to safe Ellie because he thought the chances were slim. He wanted to save Ellie because he didn't want her to die.

Period.

You guys are adding dialog that wasn't included in the game.

Marlene believe they were going to make the cure
The doctors believe they were going to make a cure.
Joel was told they were going to reverse engineer a vaccine.
Joel believed they were going to make a cure.
It's not a retcon because THIS is what actually happened. Telling me the chances were slim when that wasn't implied to told to Joel means he didn't believe the chances were slim.

You guys can't add plot elements to the story just because that's what you want to believe.

There's pretty much no way to make a vacine for fungal infections, I dont think it's ever been done.

Somehow these geniuses were totally going to do it if they just got to kill Ellie.

I don't care what the doctors believed in, they were wrong, so it's hard for me to take comments like "Joel domed millions!" seriously.
 
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There's pretty much no way to make a vacine for fungal infections, I dont think it's ever been done.

Somehow these geniuses were totally going to do it if they just got to kill Ellie.

I don't care what the doctors believed in, they were wrong, so it's hard for me to take comments like "Joel domed millions!" seriously.
I can't tell if you're serious arguing that they couldn't cure what was happening in the game based on real world science. I mean you might as well say that there are no fungal infections that are passed between people via bite.
 

RedVIper

Banned
I can't tell if you're serious arguing that they couldn't cure what was happening in the game based on real world science. I mean you might as well say that there are no fungal infections that are passed between people via bite.

You guys really seem to struggle with the concept of realistic fiction.

Fungal infections could be passed by bites if you had an infection in your mouth, which the biters clearly do.
 
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You guys really seem to struggle with the concept of realistic fiction.
I'm not struggling the game was 100% soft sci-fi not hard sci-fi they did not try to justify the existence of spore zombies using science at all. So the science for curing it also would not be in depth. It was not the point of the game that is not the kind of game it was.
 

Geki-D

Banned
tHEy dOnT NeEd ELlE. jUsT hEr bRaiN.
I get that seeing as you've been BTFO you're now acting like a retard but let's not forget what your original, very wrong, point was:
Not to mention the plan was dumb from the get go, you have the only person who's immune, that you know of, and your first instinct is to kill her?
So now that you've had the game explained to you, you now understand why they don't need her alive, they need her brain outside of her body (I'll explain a little detail here to you because I'm sure, judging from your level of intellect, you might not know this; people can't be alive and have their brain outside of their body at the same time).

Your welcome.

There's pretty much no way to make a vacine for fungal infections, I dont think it's ever been done.
I'm sorry but if you're just too dumb to understand something when you've had it directly explained to you already then that's that. I'd suggest you go back to eating crayons.
 
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Vawn

Banned
96 Metacritic and seeling extremely well, even outpacing Animal Crossing. The extra publicity this movement of people trying to review bomb the game, is actually probably just helping it.

Ironically, the last game that a massive push to review bomb its Metacritic user score was Animal Crossing New Horizons. These people are just bringing more attention to the game they want to hate on.
 
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