Daniel Gifford

I honestly enjoyed every minute I played this game. Pros: The game had great game play, mechanics, world building, and tone, albeit a darker and more depressing one than the first. I found myself enthralled with the story every minute I played through and I think it brought the player to another level of story telling that goes beyond the emphasis of subjectivity and individuality in a protagonist. Cons: Weak character development here and there (I found that to be a strength at times though), teased the player with open world game play that fell through, and it limited itself to reusing the same areas over and over again. (Slight Spoilers ahead) The game had some flaws but I am honestly shocked by how harsh people have been in reviewing it. The franchise has always been about dealing with loss and showing how that is something that people handle differently. I certainly did not like seeing Joel get tortured and murdered in front of Ellie but I am not surprised that, is the direction the developers went with it. I knew Joel had to die for the game to really move on in order to tell a new story. I didn't want the game to be like the first and be about another righteous quest where you cross the country in search of a cure. The franchise challenges the romanticism aspect of story telling and reminds the player in both the first and second parts that you don't always get a happy ending. You just get an ending because that is the way the world works and that is the way people work. The world isn't binary where the good guy gets the bad guy, everything goes back to normal, and all the characters have a happy ending. Instead its gray and messy and not always easy to understand and I think part 1 and 2 captured this in a brilliant way. Joel never redeems Tess in part 1, the Fireflies fall apart, and the last of the way the world worked before the outbreak begins to fade away. In part 2 it showcases this but to a much greater extent and with a more appropriate and darker tone. These aren't games that make the player feel good when playing through but they do catch your attention and force you to ask yourself really hard and difficult questions about community and people. What is a bad person really? Can a person really be bad in a world like this one? Are people doomed to keep fighting other people they do not understand? What was the point of all of this? I think the game is trying to show the player that there doesn't have to be a point, its just a story. I also think it forces you to grapple with the concept of loss and how that can turn into obsession.

Pros: Gameplay and combat is decent. Exploring the world on your motorcycle is probably the best part of the game. Interesting world building and atmosphere, really feels like a post apocalyptic zombie world Cons: The plot. The character personalities are all over the place. There isn't a feeling of attachment to the people in the game or to the main character. It's seems to be written clumsily or ideas were changed mid development. Most of the missions are the same and are very tedious. It takes way to long for your character to start being decent at anything. The story had a lot of potential but failed where it mattered and your left kind of shrugging your shoulders when your done. Overall the game is just ok. Not terrible but not that good either. Try it out but I wouldn't buy it at full price.