Dominic Davison

The Last of Us Part II is a technically impressive, emotionally brutal sequel that nails atmosphere and gameplay - but doesn’t quite stick the landing narratively. Gameplay-wise, it felt largely familiar from the first game, which I didn’t mind. It’s fluid, responsive, and still holds up. The prone system added some nice stealth variety, though I did find it inconsistent - getting spotted in tall grass from miles away felt a bit off. One small but satisfying detail: the weapon upgrade animations and visual changes (like adding a foregrip for accuracy). Nice touch. The pacing between gameplay and cutscenes was solid. The real standout here is the world-building. It’s tense, derelict, overgrown - nature swallowing the remnants of humanity. Every environment feels lived-in and dangerous. The combat is gritty and violent; headshots are savage and actually feel impactful. The atmosphere? Top tier. This is where the game truly shines. Story-wise, I didn’t hate it like some others did, but I do have mixed feelings. We all wanted revenge after what happened to Joel - but after dragging us through hell, letting Abby live felt hollow. Not redemptive. Just unsatisfying. I was left feeling empty. Not moved. Just... cold. That said, I don’t mind that they killed off Joel. It was a brave move and I respect stories that take those kinds of risks - think Game of Thrones in its prime. It added weight to the world and consequences to the characters’ choices. My issue is more with the execution of the dual-plot structure. It felt disjointed. Playing as Abby wasn’t inherently the problem, but how it was handled didn’t land emotionally. Her story and gameplay had some great moments, but I couldn’t connect with her or her crew. Lev, in particular, felt like a forced companion. It might’ve worked better if Abby had been more of a grounded antagonist - flawed, complex, but clearly opposed to Ellie. As it stood, they asked us to empathise too quickly, too deeply, and most players weren’t there yet. A better route might’ve been expanding the flashbacks between Joel and Ellie - build out their relationship, show more healing, add more weight to what was lost. Instead, they front-loaded the trauma and tried to justify it afterwards. The ending is where I struggled most. No closure. No redemption. Just a slow bleed-out. Ellie had a happy ending with Dina and JJ, and they ripped it away. Honestly, I would’ve been more satisfied if the story ended on the farm. Instead, we’re left with a broken character and no clear promise of anything better. Still, let’s not take away from what did work. The story is still very good, just not quite on the same level as the first game, which set an impossibly high bar. I respect the vision. It didn’t pull its punches. And despite everything, I want a Part III - because Ellie’s story doesn’t feel finished. So yeah, I didn’t hate it. But I definitely see why others did.