Daniel Murphy

Here’s my honest review (SPOILERS): ___________________________________________ The game is definitely not perfect, but it’s definitely not an abomination or anything close to it. Joel’s death to me was portrayed in a foolish way, as he acts in a way that differs greatly than the first game and ultimately gets himself killed. This scene pissed me off quite a bit and it gave me a feeling of distress through my entire play through. But the thing is, going into this game and reading any of the leaks, I had the idea that Joel would be killed off in this game, so to see him die really wasn’t surprising the way he dies is surprising (not in a good way). Besides that, the graphics are probably the best I’ve seen in any game (comparable to RDR2). The gameplay is very similar to the first games but slightly enhanced, I personally really enjoyed the gameplay in the first game so to see it return in a better way was pleasant to see. I’ve also seen reviews talking about trashy character development and to that I say how? Ellie has to be one of the greatest characters in video game history and to see her evolve from a young girl to a young adult and the struggles that came with it had me emotionally invested into her. The way she has to come to terms with Joel’s death and how to deal with her extreme desire for vengeance had me feel for her the whole time. Dina and Jesse also had me interested in their lives as well. There are quite a lot of people who complained about the idea that the game is SJW propaganda and it portrays an extreme left wing influence. This is something I understand as I’ve seen shows/movies be absolutely ruined by their persistent left wing agenda (I’m looking at you new Star Wars trilogy). But this game to me implements it just fine while I may or may not agree with the politics involved, for me it doesn’t get in the way of the flow and immersion of the game. I don’t feel having a female main character is a bad idea at all, it just gets frowned upon due to the amount of attempts made, only for it to be ruined by political bs. I don’t understand the idea that people couldn’t attach to any of the newer characters. Dina and Jesse had great personalities (IMO), and to see the fate of these characters is really heart wrenching. The ending is something that kinda disappointed me a bit as for me it leaves more questions unanswered than answered. While I did get the message that everyone loses, I couldn’t help but feel confused as to why Ellie would be abandoned and left on her own at the games climax. I feel it can be redeemed by some sort of dlc, similar to the dlc the first game got. A dlc that either shows Ellie finding salvation and purpose or finding peace and comfort. I feel that it would put a good end to her character and can leave the player fulfilled with what she’s done. To the people who gave this game a low score, while I may not understand why you hate this game as bad as you do, I respect your opinion and it deserves to be heard. Conclusion: The game to me has pretty low points and pretty high points. The fact that a game can make me feel emotionally exhausted after I completed the game and have that feeling linger for as long as it has shows to me that the story may be flawed, but at its core is an incredible story about the struggles of these characters. I must recommend this game to anyone and I would rate it an 8/10.