Last Of Us 2 || Story || Gameplay || Review|| *SPOILERS*

THE LAST OF US PART 2: A Beautifully Messed up Sequel 

The beauty of Last Of Us was the sense of wonder that it ignited in the player’s hearts. Discovering a broken society and a world where nature has taken over completely. The game's narrative of a zombie apocalypse, framed by a girl’s, Ellie, experiences was groundbreaking storytelling.

My experience with the first game changed all my expectations from the Survival-horror segment. It was hard to tell whether the mindless zombies- better known as infected- or the surviving humans - who would go to any lengths to ensure their survival.

The sequel of the game held high hopes for me. I again wanted to embark on a journey that will be one of a kind. The sequel expanded the already well-crafted story. The Last Of Us 2 weighs on the original game, as the ramifications of Joel's action have sprawling effects on the sequel. 

I was caught off guard by what the game had to offer. The Last Of Us Part 2 (TLOU2) dragged me under the muddy water and showed me all the gritty realities of a broken world.

 

Ellie who was immune to the virus could help create a vaccine. But creating a vaccine would kill her. So Joel kills dozens of people to save Ellie. The game does not cast any judgment on his choices and the player is left with the moral question: Did he do the right thing? 

STORY:

Ellie in Last Of Us Part 2    Image: Naughty Dog/Sony Entertainment LLC

The sequel steps back into the world five years later. Joel and Ellie have settled in Jackson where survival is hard but the community of people makes the life there seem like usual. The game caught me off guard when a new character Abby kills Joel with a golf club while Ellie watches. This first impression of Abby made her the obvious villain in my eyes. But the game tries everything to make her look like a powerful hero.

Joel kills Abby’s father at the end of the first game, so she kills him in the second. The developers of The last of us 2 have made the game Abby’s revenge story as well. Over the course of the game, Ellie grows more enraged and makes some very messed up choices that I have seen in any game.

 

There is no doubt that the game shows some very disturbing choices that Ellie makes just to make us feel like Abby did the right thing. But I think that the developers wanted to portray the choices as side-effects of uncontrolled rage.

Abby is a buffed up character, hailing from the city of Seattle. There she is a member of the Washington Liberation Front. Her story also shows some harsh realities of a post-apocalyptic world, where death can come from any side at any time. Abby deals with another group, the ‘Serahites’. They are a cult that follows the ideology of a woman. 

What was more shocking than Joel’s death was when the game transitioned from Ellie and started narrating the story through Abby’s point of view. I played as the person that was supposedly the villain! I was shocked and cursed the naughty dog’s team for forcing such choices on me. I was not alone, the majority of the internet also felt like the developers have betrayed the fans of the franchise.

I can't count the number of times I was sitting staring at the screen thinking, “No, this is not right. That's not how this should go.” The Last Of Us 2 was a punch in the gut. Every time I started to feel for some character the Naughty Dog team loaded their shot-gun and killed him. As Ellie embarks on the revenge journey to Seattle she loses friends and the same goes for Abby. Both characters are consumed with anger and do not realize what they are losing.

Altogether, The Last Of Us 2 is very compelling in a weird way. Even though some of the segments will hit me emotionally, I was hooked to the story until the end.

GAMEPLAY :

The Last Of Us 2’s gameplay is undoubtedly very engaging but it lacks innovation that the Naughty Dog’s developers implemented in the first game. The lack of innovation might be due to technological restrictions. It’s not like that the studio didn’t try to be innovative, there are some elements like when Ellie plays guitar the game utilizes the Dualshock 4’s touchpad to give us the ‘feels’. But the game was under development for so long that all these features seem outdated. 

The developer Naughty Dog has polished the game but it all seems a little outdated despite the beauty rendered in pixels. The Last Of Us 2  is a pretty game but the core element of killing, looting then squeezing through a tight gap becomes repetitive.

Open World in The Last Of Us 2  Image: Naughty Dog/Sony Entertainment LLC

There are moments in the gameplay that are actually very forward. For instance, Ellie's first day in Seattle is spent on horseback exploring a rather ‘small’ open world. Equipped with a map and a means of transport, and full freedom to wander off, the bar sets the bar high. But it’s a shame that after a few hours of exploring, our horse is blown into smithereens by a landmine, and the open-world element is replaced with small wandering areas, just like the previous game.

The Last Of Us 2 would have been the best game for me had it stuck with the open-world concept. Naughty Dog played it a bit too safe by investing all the creative energy in the plot.

Conclusion :

I read that the game director Neil Drukmann, on multiple occasions, has said that he intends to leave the players “ repulsed by some of the violence they are committing themselves.”

The sense of horror is exacerbated by the realistic graphics and state-of-the-art motion capture work makes the violence that much more visceral. 

Experiencing the story through both Ellie’s and Abby’s perspective forced me to change my thinking and evolve with the characters. The details in the story are so good that even some of the dogs have a history. Same goes for the graphics, as I made my way through the story by brutally killing the enemies, I was greeted by breathtaking views. 

If you have a chance to play the game please do so without waiting any further.

But if you can't play the game then watch the full gameplay on Youtube, because this is one of the finest storytelling of our time.

If you are going to watch the gameplay on Youtube then start from The Last of us Part 1. As it will help you understand the story well.

Some of the gameplay parts might be boring for you but you can skip it and follow the story.

Do tell me if you would like to read the whole story of The Last Of Us franchise.

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