By Sam Coles:
2020 has been a rather tumultuous year with the thing that
shall not be named, coupled with games that had both gamers and critics split
down the middle. The Last of Us Part II was a rather baffling game when it
released back in the summer, there were some that absolutely loved and others
that thought it was the worst thing since measles. How do I feel about it?
Honestly I really like it and can’t really wrap my head around why it got so much
hate, anyway let’s get into it.
Now let’s start off with the narrative which is the most
contentious part of this game, it takes place about 4 years after the original
where Ellie has grown up into a young woman. However you start off as a
different character called Abby, this is the aspect of the narrative that a lot
don’t seem to like as it switches perspective from Ellie and Abby as well
jumping around with various flashbacks. However the story works in this regard
as it gives context to future actions for both characters and will make you
look at them in a different light.
Abby is on the hunt for Joel Ellie’s father figure, as you
would know if you have finished the first game killed everyone at the hospital
who were trying to make a vaccine for the fungal infection gripping the world.
However they would have to sacrifice Ellie to make said vaccine and Joel kills
everyone, unfortunately Abby’s father was one of those doctors which leads her
on a revenge mission. She eventually catches up with Joel to then blow his knee
cap off with buckshot, and then finish him off by savagely beating him to death
with a golf club while Ellie screams with both anger and sorrow.
What transpires is a tale of revenge but it will make you look
at both characters differently, Ellie as you progress shows her steadily turning
into a very nasty person where here endeavours are far worse than Abby’s as she
kills more people than Abby does purely to get to her. Abby on the other hand
comes across as the more sympathetic character as you get more of an insight
into her both in the present and past, where she has a warming community where
she is always willing to help her friends. The narrative in my opinion is great
with excellent acting from the cast as well as twists you don’t see coming,
plus character deaths come out of nowhere there is no ceremonial affair
characters get gunned down without hesitation and this caught me off guard a
lot.
Gameplay is where this game improves from the first game,
the original game’s gameplay loop was good but there was something very clunky
about it that didn’t make me comeback to it often. Part II’s gameplay is
absolutely savage with how detailed the violence is, coupled with the sickening
sound design as Ellie plunges here switch blade into someone’s windpipe.
The game also gives you more options and stealth feels more
viable compared to the first, you can kill everyone without anyone seeing you with
the dizzyingly amount of tools and weapons they let you utilise. You can craft
trip mines, Molotov Cocktails, stun grenades, explosive arrows to unleash your
inner Rambo, reinforced melee weapons to my favourite fire rounds for shotguns.
It doesn’t punish your approach for each combat scenario,
but instead it leaves it entirely up to you as long as you have the right
materials in your inventory. That is also key inventory management, if you are playing
on normal you won’t be running out of things too often, but if you get careless
you will find yourself in situations where you are basically caught with your
trousers around your ankles. The game is not particularly hard on normal difficulty;
however the Rat King boss fight really tested me as well as the final hour of
the game where enemies are decked out in armour, helmets and automatic weapons.
What can I say about the presentation that hasn’t already
been said, they look absolutely stunning. I played this on a bog standard
PlayStation 4 and I’m stunned that this game is running on a 7 year old piece
of hardware, the amount of detail that Naughty Dog put into this game is amazing.
Environments look beautiful, from lush and rich forests, frost laden villages
to the warm streets of California. Character models look superb; this is easily
the best motion capture performances to date. You see ever subtle detail on a
character’s face, from a slight twitch in someone’s cheek when they are angry to
a character slowly breaking down into tears, easily the best looking game on
the PS4.
The Last of Us Part II is a fantastic game, yes there are
plot points that do divide players but honestly I think it was a bold choice to
deviate from normal sequel tropes. The gameplay is a huge improvement over the
original, with its savage and visceral combat with the open ended design. It’s
not going to be for everyone, but I for one think it is one of the best games
of 2020.
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