Mole Hansman

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The Last of Us Part 2 is technical triumph but a narrative disaster. The writing in the game is amateurish to the point that it's difficult to believe that it shares any DNA with it's predecessor. One facet of the first game that it was universally lauded for was the believability of the events and characters. The way the story unfolds in the sequel is the complete opposite of this. As much as you may disagree with a story's main beats, if the connective tissue is well crafted and cohesive and the motivations and actions of the characters feel genuine, then it will still resonate. Nearly every major story beat in TLOU2 comes by way of uncharacteristic stupidity and incompetence from the cast of generally unlikable, charmless characters; or by way of outlandish coincidence. One particularly galling recurring contrivance is Ellie's plot armour. The antagonists of the game have multiple chances to off her, but instead let her live for no conceivable reason, instead tying her to a table or some other cliche while they wait to be killed. Ellie herself has matured from a quirky, endearing, sightly rebellious teen into the personification of wallpaper paste. In fact, most of the characters are as bland as a bread sandwich. Frankly, the game as a whole is devoid of any fun or personality, with the exception of a few scenes featuring what made the first game work so well: the relationship between Ellie and Joel. These are few and far between, however. Separating herself from the bland cast of characters is the despicable Abby. Abby makes for a pretty good villain. You hate her. She's a mean, disgusting psychopath (her breathing like a pig in heat was particular repulsive during a certain scene). The problem with this is that she is also the second playable character. ?????? Moving on. The game's technical achievements and solid gameplay loop save it from being a complete failure. The game is undoubtedly the pinnacle of what a game can look like on the current hardware. The facial animations in the first game blew me away and the exact same is true in the sequel. The gameplay in the first game split people into 2 camps. Either you found it a terse game of cat and mouse which could explode into a frantic and brutal melee after a single slip up (like me), or you thought it was something you had to get through to reach the next cut scene. Well, it's essentially the same here but with a bit more going on. Not a lot more to be honest, but I think enough to feel somewhat distinct. Basically, if you liked playing the first one, you'll probably like playing this one. One gripe I did have was the unnecessary jump mechanic. You jump like an anvil in treacle, missing the mark often. When you do eventually make a jump, you will often cling onto icy metal or perform some other improbable feat of superhuman upper body strength. A fairly minor quibble but one I felt like mentioning. There's plenty more to the story and the writing I could complain about but I feel like this review has gone on far too long already. To sum up, the game is a jarring, unpleasant experience that I would not recommend. If you're thinking of picking it up, watch the first couple of hours first and then make an informed decision. I hope I've articulated why the game is in fact bad, for anyone who thinks that it's just being review bombed by sexist alt-right scum or whatever. It's a sad day for Naughty dog fans.