I’ve just completed the game and am at a loss for words...
- - LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD - -
STORY
The Last of Us Part II (LOU2) builds on the world and story of its predecessor and the trailers released mid-late 2019. The structure of the storyline is not linear and there are time skips throughout. I would recommend a replay of the first if you have not completed it recently as there will be many references to events which happened in the first installment.
With that being said, forget what you know. Nothing will go the way you think it’s going to go, leaving you in a perpetual state of unease. The LOU2 does not hold your hand and does not pull on the punches. Things won’t always go your way and it’s why many reviews are negative. The game puts emphasis on this concept reflecting the grimm and grueling reality these characters live in.
In LOU2 there are multiple flashbacks, however, knowing the fate of some characters diminishes the impact of the ‘what would be’ happy memory. To fully attain the intentions of the game’s writers you need to be aware of what each character knows at that point in time when a flashback does occur.
You play as both Ellie and as Abby, the game’s main antagonist. Though Abby is the main antagonist you (should) come to realise while playing as her that given her same circumstances most would have done the same thing. On the other hand Ellie is not exactly an angel so the title protagonist, usually associated with ‘good’, seems unfitting. While playing for both teams it’s clear that one’s ‘justice’ is solely their own.
“Revenge is a double-sided blade.”
It’s a phenomenal story that leaves a lot unsaid. If you don’t know, you won’t know.
GAMEPLAY
If you played through the first LOU then you’ll be familiar with most of the game’s mechanics. In LOU2 the mechanics are expanded on in a number of ways.
Firstly, the upgrade tree for Ellie/Abby has been designed such that you learn a set of skills rather than having upgrading preset skills.
The crafting capability has also been expanded on, allowing for new items, to be crafted, silencers, ammo and ammo types. This makes resource management more of a strategic decision rather than crafting for the sake of it.
The stealth mechanic has received a major upgrade bringing the ability to go prone into the fray, being able to hide in tall/short grass and a tree of upgrades in relation to stealth (covert training). There are multiple instances where you may even use swimming underwater as means to get out of enemies’ sightlines.
As with the first installment safes litter the land of LOU2 though getting their contents can be a lot more difficult than finding a note with the code explicitly stated on it.
Lastly, combat is for the majority the same but an “evade” has been added. This changes the entire dynamic of melee combat.
FINAL VERDICT
The Last of Us Part II is a fantastic game and is definitely a must play in my opinion. Let it be known though that if you come into something with expectations of it being one way then you set yourself up to be disappointed.