Kevin C

I am 5 hours into the game and will update my review as I go. So far I stay neutral on the game. It is probably going to wind up being a game that- If you loved the first game, you probably need to play to see for yourself, and if you didn’t, you can completely skip because this franchise simply is not about engaging gameplay or fun, and so far is completely inferior to the first. For the record, the first one is my favorite game of all time and holds a high level of emotional meaning to me. Spoiler Alert The game establishes the importance of the guitar to Ellie immediately and holds it consistent throughout. Outside of Joel, guitar is #2. Ellie and Dinas relationship so far is amazing. This game could’ve probably been 10/10 if the changed some things of how their relationship ends based on spoilers. If Ellie didn’t lose Dina, and kept her fingers, MOST of what I’ve seen so far is forgivable. I could probably could have watched the scene where they smoke weed and when Ellie serenades Dina with “Take on me” over and over again. Those are the butterfly moments that we live life for. Ellie deserves to wind up with this love. With Dina leaving here at the end, I’m afraid this entire story will be pointless and it makes me not want to finish the game. Joel’s death did not upset me as much as I thought it would based on spoilers. The golf club made sense in context, and the saved a lot of the brutality via cutting to Ellie’s perspective prior to him dying. After Ellie and Dina make love, they cut immediately to you playing as Abby. Flipping horrendous pacing. Would it be possible to allow us 5 frigging minutes to bask in the glow with Ellie, this character we have loved for almost a decade? So far, Abby is completely unlikeable. What a horrid decision by Druckmann making us play as her. Game of thrones last season level screw up. He should never be allowed to work on another game simply for signing off on this. Ellie so far still feels like Ellie. Based on the reviews I was expecting a totally broken character. She still maintains some level of innocence and compassion. So far almost all gameplay has been as Ellie. I’m expecting my score to drop once I get to the Abby parts. I see no possible way they redeem her character. I also expect the score to drop further at the end. Seeing Ellie lose everything will probably make this game completely pointless. So far though, there’s enough good moments especially between Ellie and Dina to hold this score. Graphics and sound are AMAZING Also, Abby is not trans or gay. Ellie is gay and we knew this from the first Games DLC. Being gay works perfectly for Ellie. Absolutely none of the relationships or sexuality are forced and this is not a “woke propaganda” game, at least so far. Abby is unlikeable because of the story, not her muscles. Edit: Edited the score down to 1 (from an initial 3 halfway through). Abbys story is horrible and insulting to the fans. The ending sucks. This game deserves 100% of the heat it’s getting. I hope Druckmans career is over.