Taylor Kyte

This game exceeded my expectations by far. I dont completely understand the complaints about the gameplay and story. Both are extraordinary. The stealth actually works unlike most AAA games, melee combat feels so heavy, the gunplay feels more realistic than most games, and the story is exceptionally well written. It is a very difficult game to play though. This game deals with grief, violence in human nature, revenge, forgiveness, compassion, sexuality, and letting go. All things most people are subconsciously afraid of dealing with, or just dont want to deal with. Some spoilers below. [Spoilers] I do understand the anger from fans. Joel was my favorite character ever, and seeing his skull bashed in so early was angering. The game is meant to invoke these emotions. The game starts off 4 years after the last one left off, with flashbacks of Joel telling Tommy about what happened with the fireflies. Shortly after, Ellie is sent out on patrol with another character, Dina. If you didnt play the left behind dlc from tlou, then you will learn here that ellie is into women. Another character, Jess, was supposed to relieve Joel and Tommy of their patrol shift, but they were not found. Jesse finds Ellie and Dina. They then track down Joel, and Ellie finds him being tortured by Abby, an ex-firefly with a group of other ex-fireflies. Joel's skull is literally beatin in while Ellie watches. They let Ellie and Tommy live. Both set out separately (Ellie with Dina) to track the group down for revenge. (I dont want to give too many details away, only some spoilers that upset many fans and caused them to review bomb this game.) You play half of the game as Abby to learn her story, and why she did what she did to Joel. By the end of the game, both Abby and Ellie are so damaged both mentally and physically, and are barely surviving. This represents what holding on to the past does to you, and that revenge is not the answer. The last scene is beautiful. As bitter as it seems, it is a happy ending. Ellie goes back home from her journey to find her partner has left their house. Ellie finds Joel's guitar and tries to play a song he taught her. In this moment, she realizes what her thirst for revenge did to her and the people around her, and she lets go of Joel..a lot of people won't understand Ellie's actions or Abby's actions throughout the game, but if you dig deep it all does make sense. I know this sounds very incoherent, but i left out so many details on purpose. This game is too good to be completely spoiled, and does not deserve the review bombing its receiving. Just try to play it through to the end. This game combined with the first has become my favorite story ever told.