The Last of Us Part II Review

I was hesitant to buy this seemingly unnecessary follow up to Naughty Dog’s 2013 swan song for the PlayStation 3.  Because while I did enjoy the original, I did not fall head over heels in love with it. Nor did I laud it as one of the greatest games of all time like many did.  There are plenty of examples of games that play well and also have great stories and characters. While The Last of Us did them all very well, it didn’t seem to be breaking any new ground.  Nor did I feel that the story really needed continuing as it all wrapped up quite nice and tidy.  It seemed that if a sequel was made, it would be made for profit and not to continue a story.

The ending of the first game is brought up several times.

But out of curiosity to see how they would handle this, I put these thoughts on hold and dived in.  And after the nearly 21 hours it took to complete it, I kind of wish I hadn’t bothered. 

The first issue I had was how the game drags.  As mentioned, it took nearly 21 hours to finish making it almost twice as long as it’s predecessor.  Despite the long runtime excluding a few stand out events, it doesn’t feel like much occurs or is resolved.  Areas feel padded or semi-open necessitating you visit most of the map to find what you are looking for.  Cutscenes feel slow without much of impact said.

It's a cutscene. Important things are happening.

In terms of actual gameplay though there is good news.  It is almost entirely identical to the first with the excellent combination of stealth, shooting and resource management.  Crafting returns and upgrades have been changed to trees from single upgrades. Tree items are unlocked by gathering a new resource, pills.

I can also speak highly of the presentation with every last ounce of the PlayStation 4’s power being pushed out. This power is used to create gorgeous visuals and all characters are carefully and believably rendered and animated.  Even the doggos.

You can pet the dog in The Last of Us Part II.

The story is where most people, myself included, have the most issues with though.  Without divulging spoilers, all I can really say is that it goes places you would prefer it did not.  Motivation for characters seems flimsy at best and very little is resolved leaving one wondering why they (and you) bothered.

There has been a lot of anger regarding the story. Most of this has been directed at the LGBTQ+ characters and I can’t say I had much issue with this.  The transgender character is only indirectly mentioned in the dialogue once and it completely slipped me by.

Crafting, upgrades and collectable mcguffins all make a return.

Overall, I’d have a hard time recommending this game unless you are an extreme die-hard fan of the first game.  Even then it’s story may not appeal to you.  The gameplay and presentation are excellent as in the last game, but story and characters themselves have limited appeal.

I’d say if you want more The Last of Us, just play the PlayStation 4 remaster of the first game.

Final Score: 2/5

 

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