Joshua Newby – Google

[SPOLIERS] Graphics are insane. Gameplay is slightly improved, but otherwise it's Naughty Dog's standard outing. The writing in the cutscenes is subtle and superbly crafted. The actors knock it out of the park and the facial animations are more articulate than they ever have been. It's just such shame that the overall narrative is a completely muddled mess. The pacing is all over the place as we continuously switch between the past and the present through flashbacks. Not to mention how the second half of the game lumps an entirely new narrative onto the experience, just as we're becoming invested in the final stages of Ellie's story. I appreciate how they tried to tell a dual-perspective story about retribution and the cycle of revenge. However, I kept feeling that the most interesting part of the story was reserved for the flashbacks between Ellie and Joel. That in my mind is where the heart and soul of the sequel lied; addressing Joel's lie to Ellie at the end of the first game. It would've felt like a natural progression for Joel and Ellie's story. Instead the writers allowed the ethical themes surrounding vengeance to be the main focus of the game. The got it mixed up. It should have been the other way around. They could've done so much better. Above all else, I was disappointed.