The Last of Us 2: 96% on Metacritic

[Nancy.]

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/the-last-of-us-part-ii/critic-reviews

The score will obviously come down but from the reviews it looks like an epic masterpiece.

Anyone buying?

[Oliver_W]

I thought a lot of people were pissed off at it?

A lot of the youtubers my brother likes (he uses my login, which makes his subs show on my feed) have a lot of videos bitching about it ... I know I could just watch one of them but I can't stand "talk to the camera" youtubers :joker:

[Smithy]

I thought a lot of people were pissed off at it?

A lot of the youtubers my brother likes (he uses my login, which makes his subs show on my feed) have a lot of videos bitching about it ... I know I could just watch one of them but I can't stand "talk to the camera" youtubers :joker:

If they’re pissed it’s because of the delay, the embargo’s first reviews have only been lifted this morning so what on Earth can they be pissed about?

[Oliver_W]

If they’re pissed it’s because of the delay, the embargo’s first reviews have only been lifted this morning so what on Earth can they be pissed about?

Maybe they were really looking forward to it? As far as I know the first one was almost universally loved.

[Smithy]

That makes no sense

[Ramsay]

Pissed off at the leaks I thought?

[Nicky91]

Pissed off at the leaks I thought?

they made some edits apparently, based upon response from the leaks

[Ramsay]

No chance they had time to change it

[Nancy.]

This guy couldn't praise it enough.

iTweaXhmocQ

[Toy Soldier]

Hmm. Depends how accurate the leaks were, whether or not they were taken out of context, and whether or not there's much more to the game and story that means it can be overlooked. I haven't actually read the leaks though, I'm determined to go in totally blind and make my own judgement on this one.

Also a chance that it plays well enough for storyline criticisms to take a back seat in the review score? Sort of a, "The story didn't go how I would have liked, but the game is excellent". Unless the plot is full of holes, largely absent, or the voice acting is terrible... I don't think a good reviewer can base their score on storyline TOO heavily. It's far too subjective a measure to be like "A technical masterpiece, pinnacle of the genre for gameplay, perfect moment-to-moment action... But I didn't like the story so 75%"

[Brother Leon]

If they’re pissed it’s because of the delay, the embargo’s first reviews have only been lifted this morning so what on Earth can they be pissed about?

The story that was leaked is...


Well. Yeah.

[Tom4784]

The capital G gamers will be raging about it, they're still mad that there's a muscly woman in the game since apparently, women can't be muscular... Gamers.... I just can't.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

I don’t think the score will come down when there’s like 80 reviews already

[Oliver_W]

The capital G gamers will be raging about it, they're still mad that there's a muscly woman in the game since apparently, women can't be muscular... Gamers.... I just can't.

I had a look on google and the character does look a bit like a bloke :laugh:

That can't be all they're "raging" about, surely?

[Tom4784]

I had a look on google and the character does look a bit like a bloke :laugh:

That can't be all they're "raging" about, surely?

She's a muscular woman that doesn't turn on gamers so her existence in the game is an affront to them for some reason, they're also still mad that Ellie is a lesbian because anything that diverse in any way is 'political' and should be avoided in gaming....although the people who believe that will champion games that are deeply political without realising their hypocrisy.

'Political' is a buzzword for diversity to those people. Anything gay, non-white or anything featuring a female character that isn't dressed in revealing straps is an attack on these gamer's rights.

[Scarlett.]

https://i.imgur.com/ipTOyEL.jpg

[Headie]

(deleted)

You might as well just spoil the whole damn thing smh, you’re not making it very subtle as to what I’m guessing the leaks were about now :rolleyes:

[Oliver_W]

That’s only a very minority though . The majority hate that character due to what’s been leaked story wise from what I know.

You might as well just spoil the whole damn thing smh, you’re not making it very subtle as to what I’m guessing the leaks were about now :rolleyes:

I've not played the first one so I'm not bothered about spoilers, I googled around and apparently

The mannish woman kills one of the main characters from the first game, and then you have to play as her ?!

If people really liked the original characters, I can see why that'd piss people off.

[Brother Leon]

I’ve deleted the post Hayden.

I saw several things that people were angry about so I felt I was being fairly vague. My bad.

[Headie]

I’ve deleted the post Hayden.

I saw several things that people were angry about so I felt I was being fairly vague. My bad.

Alright thank you. Hopefully I forget by the time I start playing :laugh: or it isn't what I think

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

I pre-ordered this from shopto and it BETTER ****ing arrive before friday or oliver or you’re getting throat punched

They said i had to choose tracked delivery because there was a massive backlog for regular deliveries so they were only offering tracked (i got 48 hour tracked bc 24 was like £4 extra or something like that)

Anyway girls prayer circle so that it arrives before friday

[Toy Soldier]

I pre-ordered this from shopto and it BETTER ****ing arrive before friday or oliver or you’re getting throat punched

They said i had to choose tracked delivery because there was a massive backlog for regular deliveries so they were only offering tracked (i got 48 hour tracked bc 24 was like £4 extra or something like that)

Anyway girls prayer circle so that it arrives before fridayI'm guessing it didn't arrive? :hehe: mine is pre-downloaded and ready to unlock at midnight :hee:.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

It came

https://i.imgur.com/lJTmY64.gif

[Nancy.]

Omg, i've started playing and the graphics are gorgeous. Just had a snowball fight with some annoying kids. lol

Is it me or does Owen look like Danny Dyer? :laugh:

[Tom4784]

I think I'll get this next week.

It's being review bombed hard by fragile incels and neckbeards which is to be expected from gamers tbh. So many of them fight to ensure the stereotypes remain true.

[Nancy.]

Wow, I don't want to spoil anything but I can't believe my eyes.

[Oliver_W]

Wow, I don't want to spoil anything but I can't believe my eyes.

Good or bad?

I watched a playthrough of the first game on youtube,and if some of the rumours are true I can see why people would be pissed off...

[Nancy.]

Good or bad?

I watched a playthrough of the first game on youtube,and if some of the rumours are true I can see why people would be pissed off...

All I can say is i'm quite pissed off too, but it's still an excellent game though. I just hope the ending is worth it.

[Brother Leon]

Just played the first few hours. Visually this game is beautiful. Gameplay is much better too so far.


Spoilers ahead.

But Yeah. I can see why people are pissed for sure though. Story is fairly weak compared to the original. Really struggling to care for most of the characters at the moment apart from obviously Ellie.


I can take Joel dying. Hell. I was expecting it to happen this game. But that death was absolutely pathetic and went against everything we know of him from the first game.

And after all that, they expect you to play as the girl that killed him?
I really hope it’s only a few hour worth of gameplay, because if it’s really 50/50 with Ellie then those parts are really going to drag.

[Toy Soldier]

Just played the first few hours. Visually this game is beautiful. Gameplay is much better too so far.





Spoilers ahead.



But Yeah. I can see why people are pissed for sure though. Story is fairly weak compared to the original. Really struggling to care for most of the characters at the moment apart from obviously Ellie.





I can take Joel dying. Hell. I was expecting it to happen this game. But that death was absolutely pathetic and went against everything we know of him from the first game.



And after all that, they expect you to play as the girl that killed him?

I really hope it’s only a few hour worth of gameplay, because if it’s really 50/50 with Ellie then those parts are really going to drag.



I don't know, I don't think the death was pathetic or went against the character. Its made quite clear that he's "softened" as a character over the years since TLOU, living a relatively normal life in the town, with family, friends, etc... And then when they encounter Abby his immediate instinct is to help her out, and go with her to her people. He's lost the instinctual distrust he had in that first game, and then they catch him completely off guard, there's not really anything he could have done at that point - they practically blow his leg off before he knows what's happening, and from that point he's helpless.

They do morally grey so well, still. In another world - if we didn't "know" Joel or his motivations - he would be the villain and that groups actions totally understandable. The Fireflies from the end of TLOU1 were good people trying to save the world, and Joel straight up murdered dozens of them... People's friends, family, etc.

We know why he did it but even at the time, you're supposed to know that the whole situation is ****ed up. Joel knows it himself.

I've only just reached Seattle, tbf, so I'm only ASSUMING that Abby and Co are from the fireflies (or have family members who were fireflies), maybe that they're some sort of splinter faction. I'm generally trying to avoid this thread because I don't want spoilers and have avoided them online... I didn't know Joel was going to die, but likewise, it wasn't a surprise.

I'll be fascinated to go back and read the backlash to the leaks once I'm done. I have a quite strong suspicion that a lot of the backlash will be from sad little boys upset that they have to play as lesbians instead of gruff old Joel :joker:

[Oliver_W]

Maybe Abby is just still bitter from her nasty experience in GameStop :(

[Moniqua]

i really enjoyed it :shrug:

[Swan]

I'll be fascinated to go back and read the backlash to the leaks once I'm done. I have a quite strong suspicion that a lot of the backlash will be from sad little boys upset that they have to play as lesbians instead of gruff old Joel :joker:

Ellie? Everyone loves Ellie. Abby isn't a lesbian.

Anyway, i liked the game but playing as Abby didn't feel right, i got used to it and it's a clever idea, but i struggled with it.

Overall probably give it 7.5/10

[Amy Jade]

I'm about 8 hours in and...I am enjoying it but honestly I have been finding myself skipping cut scenes between Ellie and Dina, I gave the dynamic a chance but it's just uninteresting to me, Dina is such a throw away character to me.

I didn't mind Joel dying or the flip reverse of Abby wanting revenge but to then to get me to play as the woman who just killed Joel is a bit of a kick in the teeth.

I also hated how Ellie reacted to Shimmer being killed, she didn't even seem arsed by it. As a horse owner myself I don't believe she wouldn't mourn.

[Brother Leon]

Game is growing on me. I’m actually gripped right now.


Hopefully they stick the ending and I can officially say the haters have gone seriously overboard.

[Ramsay]

I'm loving this too Leon. About 9 hours in according to the save file. We'll see how it goes but I've a feeling the haters went overboard yeah. I was only privy to one spoiler luckily and I've got a feeling it was actually a troll haha

[Ramsay]

Light gameplay spoilers nothing about the story really, just about what you encounter with NPC enemies
Theres no much attention to detail in little ways I've noticed that is just amazing like I've never played a game as cinematic as this. It's just unreal in alot of ways. I'll headshot a random enemy npc with a guard dog using a bow and the dog will turn around and sit beside him and cry. Every NPC enemy has a name like I could kill some guy and an enemy will find their body and shout his name. Another NPC was playing a ps Vita as I came up and killed them and I recognized the song and turns out they were playing hotline Miami.
I ****ing love this game.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

I hate the attack animation when you use a smoke bomb/knife on the dogs :(

Am i the only one that thinks the gunplay in this game is quite awful :skull: or maybe i’m just bad at it

I find it almost impossible to land headshots and much prefer melee weapons

Still a 10/10 game though and i’m only about 6 hours in

[Ramsay]

Yeah ND hasn't ever really had good gunplay has it?

[Toy Soldier]

Anyone else noticed the kind of gameplay/programming oversight that lets you basically exploit encounters that have a mix of clickers and runners?

It seems that clickers can't hear the AI player :joker:. So if you have an open enough area, you can alert everything, run away and lie low, AI controlled partner will hack away at the runners until they're all dead, Clickers just... stand there like nothing is happening. Then you can slow stealth the clickers with zero risk :shrug:. A rare oversight, I wonder if it's patchable or if they couldn't figure out the AI for it...

[Brother Leon]

I basically stealth and melee my way through the game. I only pull for the guns when it all goes pear shaped :laugh:

[Mystic Mock]

If they’re pissed it’s because of the delay, the embargo’s first reviews have only been lifted this morning so what on Earth can they be pissed about?

I can take a guess without giving away any spoilers.:laugh:

[Mystic Mock]

The capital G gamers will be raging about it, they're still mad that there's a muscly woman in the game since apparently, women can't be muscular... Gamers.... I just can't.

I think it's more that she's like Negan out of TWD that's the bigger issue.

[Headie]

Just finished it. I agree with a lot of the stuff people are saying in here, I really enjoyed it overall!

At first I was like why tf am I being forced to play as the main antagonist like can this bitch just die already, but as the game unravelled it got you realising that there isn't really a villain in all of this, everyone's messed up in their own ways and done immoral things, it all just depends on the perspective you look at it from. I think the only flaw was expecting us to happily play as Abby in the theatre scene and making us beat up Ellie, as clearly that's not what the player wants to do.

Whoever was discussing the NPC's having names and the attention to detail on them, I second the strength of that too! Especially when they were used to link the two perspectives like this one:

Lf7A6ZRIWws

I really liked the Yara and Lev story, although I can't help but wish Yara had survived if only one of those two got to live, seeing as the only reason Abby risked everything by leaving the aquarium was to get the medicine for Yara, only for Yara to get killed off just moments before escape :skull:

I think it's great we got to see a bit of all three camps as well (Jackson, WLF and Scars) altho I'm assuming the Rattlers (the ones that captured Abby/Lev and kept people prisoner) will probably be used for a DLC storyline in the future as that was kind of glossed over. There's lots of opportunities for future games/DLC storylines as well as lots of new stuff was introduced.

As for the ending I honestly don't know what to think, on one hand I was hoping to be able to kill Abby so that the story felt fulfilled, but on the other hand it's clear that Lev was having a positive impact on her and changing her as a person, and Ellie killing Abby in front of Lev would've been no different to Abby killing Joel in front of Ellie. I do think the player should've been given the choice though of whether to kill Abby or let he go free. The game really did give you a lot to think about, I think it was written extremely well and they told the story nicely!

There'll surely be a third game, right? Seems like it could be such a popular franchise but then again I can see the makers of the game being those people who don't like dragging things out/prioritise story-telling and completion.

[Headie]

AQkANvEo0j0

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

Just finished it

I kinda hope if there is another game it’ll be a completely new set of characters

It’s been confirmed that there isn’t going to be any DLC as well :worry:

[Headie]

Just finished it

I kinda hope if there is another game it’ll be a completely new set of characters

It’s been confirmed that there isn’t going to be any DLC as well :worry:

That's a shame, I definitely think that

they rushed over the 'Rattlers' group too quickly at the end. Would've been good to learn more about them, why they were keeping people as prisoners etc.

[reece(:]

https://i.imgur.com/V2LVCrQ.gif

[Tom4784]

I've just done the Aquarium.

God, that turned dark quick.

I don't think the story is as great as the first game so far mainly because the format they went with in the first game never gave the story much chance to grow stale. In each season you met new characters and each part has it's own flavour and look to it but Seattle isn't the most interesting of settings and the story isn't as compelling as the first game's SO FAR.

The game suffers a bit as well because it feels like Ellie is on her own a lot and she doesn't have anyone to bounce off of a lot of the time. I like Dinah and Jessie but I really miss the Joel and Ellie relationship and think that the game suffers a lot without it.

It sounds like I'm complaining a lot but I do really like the game so far though.

[Nancy.]

I had to stop playing it last week because of motion sickness. Maybe I need to tweek the settings or something.

[Tom4784]

An accurate depiction of me currently playing through Abby's backstory.


https://media1.tenor.com/images/8ad6ea717235ca03e618c2296affa246/tenor.gif?itemid=6021175

[Brother Leon]

The Abby part is struggling to pull me in as the Ellie and Dina section did. I do think they could have executed the whole two sides of the fight thing better if they wanted us to really care about the other half :laugh:

[Tom4784]

The Abby part is struggling to pull me in as the Ellie and Dina section did. I do think they could have executed the whole two sides of the fight thing better if they wanted us to really care about the other half :laugh:

I find it to be quite a misfire so far. Her story isn't that interesting, I have zero sympathy or care for Abby or her friends and it just keeps going on and on. Things were just getting very interesting with Ellie's story and now this massive character development dump for a character I don't have the faintest interest in caring about has derailed and murdered the pace.

[Amy Jade]

only one I had sympathy for in the abby sub plot is Alice the dog :(

Yara and Lev too but they werent really part of abby's crew so much

[Ramsay]

I came to really like Abby by the end

[Moniqua]

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/571038619989442621/729834348529844244/image0.jpg?width=380&height=426

[Tom4784]

I'm like 16 hours into it at this point and I haven't really found the game to be as bleak or as dark as it was made out to be.

Ellie killing a heavily pregnant woman aside.

It's basically the same tone as the original so far with all the moments of warmth that were found in the original. I think the story just lacks the same impact the original had so far. I'm hoping to be wowed in what remains of the game but I don't see it happening, personally.

I still really like the game as it's own thing but when you compare it to the original, it feels like it's coming up short atm.

[Nicky91]

An accurate depiction of me currently playing through Abby's backstory.


https://media1.tenor.com/images/8ad6ea717235ca03e618c2296affa246/tenor.gif?itemid=6021175

me at that irrelevant bitch Ellie :idc:

[Tom4784]

Both of the games revolve around Ellie, Nicky.

[Nicky91]

dog killer ellie as a protagonist :umm2:


should've just letten Alice eaten her

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

dog killer ellie as a protagonist :umm2:


should've just letten Alice eaten her

Cvbnbbvb

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

The game didn’t end how i was expecting it to bc i thought

abby and lev would find the fireflies and ellie would go with them and willingly have the surgery to try to make the vaccine

That would have been better actually

Naughty dog should hire me

[Tom4784]

I've just started Day 3 as Abby.

I like Sev and Yara and they're doing a lot to make Abby seem more likable but this whole section with Abby just feels like padding. It's had it's good moments, I loved the Hospital part and the part when she was captured by the Scars but I just feel like they wanted to extend the game and they've done so artificially through going over what happened to Abby in those three days when that whole recap could have been two hours tops.

I also think there's an issue in the fact that Sev and Yara do seem to be plot devices to try to make Abby more likable in quite a cliched fashion. I think it would have been better if we met those two as Ellie instead tbh. I also think the game descended into it's first real bout of bad writing with Mel suddenly turning hostile on Abby for the sake of the plot rather than it making sense for her character.

I'm kinda ready for the game to end now, it's starting to outstay it's welcome a bit. I still really like it, it's still a 9/10 game so far but I do feel it's quite flawed when you compare it to the first game

[Tom4784]

I finished it.

I kinda felt empty by the end and not in the way that the writers probably intended. It felt like the game never really went anywhere and the pacing was made atrocious by the whole Abby bit although I did like the set pieces in her sections, the Island was pretty great but as I said before, a lot of the attempts to garner sympathy and make her more likeable fall flat and when I did start to like her, they just walked it back by making her an arse again. I feel like the whole Santa Barbara section was just a way to extend the runtime but the final fight with Abby was cool enough I suppose.

I think, overall, it was a story that didn't really need to be told, I get the impression that there was never meant to be a sequel to this game but they created one anyway because the first one was a huge success and this one felt hollow and forced because of it. They dreamt up a story, tried to emulate the emotional resonance of the first game and it just felt empty.

The game itself is great in it's own right but comparing it to the original kinda shows how flawed it is. It was meant to be this brutal and harrowing tale but it didn't really shake or move me at all, it just felt empty and I think the gameplay loop started to grate on me by the end. I feel like a game like this outstays it's welcome if it's too long and this game has far too much gameplay that feels like filler between it's big moments.

I hope they leave The Last Of Us alone now, they won't but I don't think we need another instalment in Ellie's story, we didn't need Part 2 on retrospect.

As a game in it's own right, it's an 9/10 but as a TLOU game, it's a 6/10.

[Oliver_W]

I finished it.

I kinda felt empty by the end and not in the way that the writers probably intended. It felt like the game never really went anywhere and the pacing was made atrocious by the whole Abby bit although I did like the set pieces in her sections, the Island was pretty great but as I said before, a lot of the attempts to garner sympathy and make her more likeable fall flat and when I did start to like her, they just walked it back by making her an arse again. I feel like the whole Santa Barbara section was just a way to extend the runtime but the final fight with Abby was cool enough I suppose.

I think, overall, it was a story that didn't really need to be told, I get the impression that there was never meant to be a sequel to this game but they created one anyway because the first one was a huge success and this one felt hollow and forced because of it. They dreamt up a story, tried to emulate the emotional resonance of the first game and it just felt empty.

The game itself is great in it's own right but comparing it to the original kinda shows how flawed it is. It was meant to be this brutal and harrowing tale but it didn't really shake or move me at all, it just felt empty and I think the gameplay loop started to grate on me by the end. I feel like a game like this outstays it's welcome if it's too long and this game has far too much gameplay that feels like filler between it's big moments.

I hope they leave The Last Of Us alone now, they won't but I don't think we need another instalment in Ellie's story, we didn't need Part 2 on retrospect.

As a game in it's own right, it's an 9/10 but as a TLOU game, it's a 6/10.

I've not played either but I've skipped around in playthoughs. Maybe LoU2 should have been the flashbacks? Maybe they should make a 1.5?

[Tom4784]

I don't think they needed to do a second one after playing it. The first game ended perfectly.

[Toy Soldier]

Tonnes of spoilers ahead, but I'm going to assume anyone reading the thread at this point is aware that there'll be spoilers.

Just had the end credits roll; I loved it in the end. I did actually like Abby as a character and I think maybe that's vital to getting the full impact of the ending, so I guess if a lot of people didn't, maybe there was an overall narrative flaw there. It didn't affect me but if it affected so many then it's still a flaw.

I actually think psychologically some of it is really fascinating though. People struggle with it and struggle to find a connection to the Abby character because of what she did to Joel. But then if you look at the story of TLOU1 objectively... Joel pretty much deserved to die. It's understandable, at the very least as understandable as Ellie's revenge tale. But people were devastated about Joel - and I think that has a lot to do with him being the TLOU1 protagonist. It wasn't Joel who did those things it was YOU who did those things... And people give themselves a lot of leeway. I think that's what they were trying to explore by having you play Abby.

For me it paid off. I absolutely didn't want Ellie to kill Abby (or vice versa)... To the point where in that final fist fight at one point I forgot who I was supposed to be and tied to make Abby dodge Ellie's attack. And I was ****ing hammering buttons to try to save Abby when Ellie had her under water :joker:. I do however agree that none of Abby's original friends were likeable at all, except poor Alice :bawling:. Owen was just awful, ffs.

So yeah overall I massively enjoyed it.

Gameplay downsides... I agree that some of the gameplay segments felt like filler, and I also agree that the game was SLIGHTLY too long. I enjoyed the final hour or so a lot but some of the pointless exploration could have been cut from the lead-up. I did encounter a strange phenomenon though, where after playing Abby, in that final Ellie section I had become a stealth ninja. I dunno if I was just really in the zone but Ellie ****ed up like 50+ of those rattlers without getting hit once, she full on solid-snaked that place. It was a great section to be honest.

But yeah overall I think Ellie's story, at least as protagonist, has to be done now. She could be in it in terms of them still pursuing a cure? Any future TLOU needs a totally new protagonist though, focus on a totally different location maybe. It seemed pretty dubious that Abby's dad was the "only one" who could have made a cure... Surely just the only one that they knew of. There must be plenty of similarly-qualified people still alive out there somewhere?

Anyway, this was very long. 9/10 because it dragged once or twice and there were a few gameplay sections with "cheap deaths" that were more frustrating than fun, but overall I loved it.

[Toy Soldier]

Special mention, I feel like I need to add that from a technical standpoint , the Island section (when it's burning) is incredible. Definitely the pinnacle of PS4 in technical terms.