Aria Velz

There's a ton of negative feedback about this game and though to a certain extent I understand it, I also think the type of backlash is an inevitable pitfall when you revisit characters that people love in a new way. This game is also extremely dark and violent, for a pretty dark time. And yet, I found it absolutely compelling. Like the original game, The Last of Us Part II is filled with brutality, exhaustion, and moments of patient waiting and frantic decision making. The new combat elements and enemies are more tweaks than huge shifts but the core gameplay is as compelling as the first game. The main themes of the game are very obvious from the get-go: Revenge and the cycle of violence. This is where a lot of people start to give backlash. For many players, the game is too obvious about this point but I think that ultimately I understood why the characters felt like they had to continue the cycle. The Last of Us series is also about balancing selfishness with the needs of the people you love, and I felt like Part II captured the maddening aspects of that tension very well. The huge point of contention with players is that there's a significant point of view shift in the game, and a lot of people hate it. Like A LOT of people hate. And I think if there is fault, Naughty Dog should have sprinkled in those shifts throughout the game rather than create two entirely different blocks of story and gameplay to present that. And playing through that shift there were moments I thought, "I don't think I need this perspective for this long." Maybe if there was a more evenhanded way to present the multiple perspectives, then there wouldn't be so much backlash. But for me, by the end of the game, I felt the emotional impact. I understood why I as a player needed to be invested in other characters for that long. The final fight made me incredibly sad and restless to the point where I considered not finishing the game because I was afraid of what the outcome would be. But I'm glad I didn't. I sobbed throughout the last ten minutes of the game and found it incredibly hard to part with both perspectives. Maybe this worked for me and not others because I'm more naive and because I'm sensitive, but I loved it. It's not for everyone, but it's on the Hall of Fame for me as excellent gaming gut punches. Though the game is incredibly bleak, there is a glimmer of hope by the end that makes me believe that eventually, the characters we love and even the ones we hate can be at peace. I hope the gaming community will also be at peace eventually when it comes to this entry in the series.