Simply put: “The Last of Us” was the reason I finally gave in & bought a Playstation 3. After seeing previews both in print and via gaming sites, “The Last of Us” seemed like a must-play experience that saw yours truly purchase a PS3 two months before its impending December 2012 release. After several delays, “The Last of Us” finally saw its release in June of 2013 and delivered upon all of its high expectations with mostly solid gameplay rooted in what developer Naughty Dog had crafted with the first three “Uncharted” entries and a heartbreaking story. Though “The Last of Us” proved successful both critically & financially, it felt like one of those games that didn’t need a sequel. Yet, a little over three years after the original’s release came the announcement that a sequel was in the works for the PS4. Three & a half years later and a grand amount of controversy supplied by leaks, “The Last of Us: Part II”/“The Last of Us 2” found itself ready to shake up the gaming world yet again. Coming in with an open mind and having avoided a majority of the leaked spoilers, I just hoped I could get as much enjoyment out of this sequel as I did with the original and its remaster.
Did I Complete “The Last of Us: Part II”?
Four years after the events of the original game, Ellie & Joel find themselves inside the fortified & greatly inhabited town of Jackson headed by Joel’s brother Tommy & Tommy’s wife Maria. After a harrowing day, Ellie is set on a path of revenge focusing on one girl named “Abby” who the player gets a chance to control both early in the story and during the game’s second half. Throughout Ellie and eventually Abby’s journeys there are a plethora of collectibles that both add little to the overall experience like state-specific coins or gives the player glimpses into the mindsets of people long gone such as random notes scribbled on sheets of paper somehow still in tact. After nearly twenty-eight hours I finished the game’s story on “Moderate”/normal difficulty while attaining all the collectibles and chapter-specific trophies such as placing a nice hat on Joel’s head or winning an archery competition. Taking advantage of new game-plus that unlocks after finishing the story, I spent nearly nine hours obtaining all the weapon & character upgrades to unlock the platinum trophy.
Did “The Last of Us: Part II” Live Up to the Hype?
After the events of “The Last of Us”, Ellie and Joel have seemingly embraced a life of normalcy in a world overrun by contaminated humans turned into infected plant people and various factions looking to strong-arm their way into territories for haven. Then everything takes a big turn and Ellie has to go out and avenge the loss of someone incredibly close to her even if said person’s death was justified in this version of society. The game plays very similarly to both its predecessor and Naughty Dog’s first eighth generation gaming experience “Uncharted 4” with the latter being seen via certain traversal moments including very similar animations such as jumping from ledge to ledge. Ellie and eventually Abby – the believed antagonist that actually becomes a temporary protagonist midway through the game – have the ability to use cover be it man-made barricades or tall grass to sneak up on enemies for stealth kills. In the first game stealth kills were minimal mostly because the need for either choking out an enemy (which would take an absurd amount of time & left the player prone to being spotted by other enemies) or utilizing a crafted shiv. Both choke kills & shiv stabbings return here, but are mostly connected to Abby as Ellie is gifted a knife for stealth kills that can be upgraded for faster executions (a method made even better when taking on the one-hit kill infected known as “Clickers”).
Stealth can be overpowered at times thanks to the return of the game’s version of “Detective Mode” known simply as “Listen Mode” where the protagonist can see nearby enemies even through walls. Though “Listen Mode” can help the player from being overwhelmed, it doesn’t mean the game is a cake walk when enemies arrive. Enemy AI is more aware compared to those adversaries in the first game, though can be exploited yet again with moments of foes funneling their way to death. Moments like an enemy pulling Ellie from underneath her hiding spot or noticing Abby trying to swim to safety will happen several times for any gamer. Sound is a big deal in this iteration with enemies investigating or downright rushing toward the sound of gunfire, an explosion or simply hearing something break glass. Unfortunately this iteration features too few new enemy types. In regards to the infected there are poison-spewing “Shamblers” presented as a less threatening version of the “Bloaters”, and “Stalkers” that live up to their name by hiding near corners or embedding themselves in wall while waiting for the player to walk past them for a sneak attack. Dogs are also introduced; trained to discover the protagonist’s scent and hunt her down. Dogs and their masters can be killed to avoid the problem of being stalked (though slaughtering an animal even in digital form may be a little too much to bear). The “Scars” enemy group focus on bow & arrow usage while communicating through whistling. Scars are, arguably, the best enemy type in the game as they usually force the player to mix together all the combat options from stealth, to melee combat, to shooting out with those using rifles while pulling arrows out of the protagonist’s shoulder.
“Uncharted 4’s” melee combat is seen here with the player being able to dodge incoming strikes from nearby enemies while pulling off counter attacks. At times these melee retaliations will result in grand victories before the player has to move forward, or the enemy will halt the attack before going for their own onslaught. Without an auto-targeting system on higher difficulties, there will be times when the protagonist will swing in the wrong direction after dodging; hitting nothing but air as the enemies land flush strikes. These flaws in regards to melee combat also connect to the decision for the game’s camera to come in too close or is hindered by the enclosure of a building. Gunplay is a little more forgiving & tight compared to its fist-to-fist counterpart. Both main characters have the same base weapons like pistols and a shotgun, but they also have their own specific versions of similar weaponry like Ellie being gifted a bow that must be charged while Abby attains a quick-action crossbow. Crafting weapons & items such as molotovs and even silencers for the base pistol work just like they did in the original iteration. Picking up objects including rubbing alcohol bottles and duct tape will help the player create a makeshift first-aid kit or reinforce that 2×4 board obtained a few minutes earlier via a real-time menu activated by pressing the touchpad. Screws and pills known as “Supplements” can also be discovered by the player that are solely connected to upgrading firearms and character skills respectively; the latter needing collectibles known as “Training Manuals” to open up more branches on said skill trees such as “Explosives” or “Covert Ops”.
Though the gameplay is really a more refined version of what was seen seven years ago, just like the original iteration the game’s quality mostly hinges on its story & its presentation. Rather than focus on two characters growing closer as they move across the country in an attempt to potentially make the world a better place, “The Last of Us: Part II” focuses on two women putting their lives on hold for the sake of revenge. This rabbit hole of violence begets more violence & loss as the plot progresses to the point that by the story’s end it’s less about rooting for someone to win and, rather, hoping the cycle is broken. Unfortunately the journey to that conclusion is something that will definitely divide audiences & fan bases mostly thanks to false advertising. Midway through the narrative, Abby is given the spotlight.
While Abby’s sections do a great job expanding upon the world of “The Last of Us” on the west coast and gives a character who doesn’t make the best first impression on the player a chance to rectify that perception, the fact remains this game was marketed & promoted as “Ellie’s story.” Though Abby’s reasons for her actions are justified in her mind and, potentially, the player’s, her nature & character direction as a whole doesn’t present her in the most sympathetic light; making it that much harder to support her even when she attempts to do the right thing when interacting with some of the few new characters given a chance to be on screen for longer than an hour. The twist of playing as Abby is a commendable decision for the sake of crafting a more immersive story; though the developers may have succeeded better in adding a relatable layer to Abby’s character with the first Abby-focused flashback chapter that leads to the midway point happening much sooner in the story (say during the first five chapters of an overall forty-six).
On the opposite side of the spectrum is Ellie’s portion of the story. Mostly thanks to the player already having an emotional attachment to her thanks to the first iteration in this franchise, the story presents Ellie’s actions as both necessary & disturbing. Seeing the ruthlessness of the people who were the catalyst for her latest journey, Ellie accepts killing these goons is helping the world – a world that she could’ve helped through death if Joel didn’t make that costly decision at the conclusion of “The Last of Us”. But during Ellie’s quest for revenge her level of morality is further shaken to the point of a mental breakdown. By the game’s end Ellie is a person suffering greatly from PTSD and sees only one way to exorcise her figurative demons no matter the cost.
Technically the game is incredibly impressive. Visually it stands head & shoulders above a majority of anything seen in this gaming generation thus far, though there are some lacking textures in the bigger environments like closed off buildings and the visible walls made up of overgrowth. Frame rate stability is impressive with it rarely dropping, though glitches can occur. During the first playthrough saw a few graphical glitches, as well as Ellie falling into the world and the game hard crashing during one of the final chapters. Thankfully the checkpoint system is very forgiving during encounters and a death or crash won’t force the player to replay thirty minutes to an hour of stuff they’ve already finished because they forgot to manually save between chapters.
A huge flaw from the original iteration returns here with the ally AI being invisible to enemies; breaking the immersion when no adversary can see a threat standing right in front of them. One of the most impressive offerings from “Part 2” are the accessibility options including modifying subtitles to add names & color coding to adjusting the color palate for the color blind. The difficulty settings aren’t set in stone with the ability to adjust the reaction times, sight-lines & general aggression of enemies; not to mention the amount of craftable items available in a given area. Though this is made by the same people who crafted the intricate puzzles seen in “Uncharted” games, “The Last of Us 2” features some of the most uninspired puzzles witnessed this generation; usually boiling down to moving a garbage bin or throwing a rope over an exposed support beam. Depending on the player, the level of violence depicted in this game ranks up there as some of the most visceral seen in a mainstream, highly publicized offering and could be a complete turn off.
While the gameplay of “The Last of Us: Part II” doesn’t reinvent the wheel or even innovate compared to its predecessor, the way Naughty Dog approached the story will be the determining factor whether or not someone looks at this as a worthy successor or a disappointing experience.
Should You Play “The Last of Us: Part II”?
For those who were hoping to have a similar, more technically polished version of “The Last of Us” featuring Ellie in the figurative driver’s seat, “Part II” will be one of the most disappointing PS4 exclusives of all time. The gameplay isn’t much different from what happened a generation ago, but the story presentation is such a departure from the original iteration that it may cause fans to hate many decisions both big & small. But for those coming in with an open mind and not looking to criticize every choice before the credits roll may discover an experience unlike any other that will stand the test of time. It’s hard to agree that gamers who enjoyed the original iteration shouldn’t give this a chance, but it may be an easier pill to swallow if purchased when on sale. And who knows, maybe someone on the fence will play through this and feel like they’ve just experienced something on the equivalent of getting the best birthday present ever, having a ballad sung to you by the love of your life, or simply making silly faces in the mirror.
