Dylan Beckler

Spoiler-free Review. If you read through the reviews, you will find two common themes mentioned in nearly every negative review: 1. The story didn't happen the way that they wanted it to 2. The sexual orientation/identity of some characters is pushing a feminist or political agenda from Naughty Dog. To put it simply, if you think "random google reviewer" knows more about writing a good story than a video game studio known for writing powerful stories, go ahead and trust the 1-star reviews. It's ridiculous to dismiss the game because they didn't tell the story that YOU wanted to hear. I agree that some events in the game made me feel frustrated and they felt unfair. That doesn't make it a bad or cheap story device, that's how life works, and if anything, those feelings should make you empathize with the characters and give you insight into the choices they make and the way they develop. The story is excellent and told in a creative and compelling way. The game will push you to see conflict through both sides of the story. Whether or not you will feel sympathy for the characters or feel that they are justified in their actions, I cannot say. We each have our own moral compass. All I can say for certain, is that the acting and animation are phenomenal and the characters absolutely come to life. The second point about gender identity and sexual orientation... It's sad that we have to walk down this road. Ellie's homosexuality I believe is already known to most, and it has little bearing on the events in the game. It's simply a change from the norm of a straight male character as a protagonist, which encompasses probably 90% of all media. It's saddening that being exposed to something different is enough to get so many people riled up. The sexual orientation/identity details are inconsequential to the plot. There is no "agenda," and no one is trying to make a statement about these issues; the transgender detail is something that is barely even mentioned. If you are making your decision about how to rate this game, or whether or not you would play it based on these details, you should be ashamed of yourself. Gameplay is great, graphics and animation are superb, environment and atmosphere are amazing, music is very well-done. There were a few minor visual glitches, but overall not an issue. They followed up a masterpiece with another masterpiece. Well done Naughty Dog. 10/10.