Wallowing in the misery of revenge, blood and gore
The Last of Us Part 2 is a big budget AAA sequel to a game that didn’t need one and features a brutal story that doesn’t know how to end. The graphics are highly polished with visuals out of a blockbuster movie. The narrative features expertly crafted cinematography and motion capture. The game is also extremely violent with depictions of gore, torture and dismemberment. The story is an emotionally draining experience and maintains a somber tone throughout the 30 or so hours it takes to complete.
As the name suggests The Last of Us Part 2 is the direct sequel to The Last of Us. The introduction immediately spoils the ending of the first game, so it is highly recommended you play the original game first. In fact even if you have played the first game I recommend brushing up on the story because Part 2 assumes you know about the Fireflies, WLF and the relationship between Joel and Ellie.
Part 2 starts four years later, with Joel and Ellie fully adapted to their new lives as townsfolk in Jackson, Wyoming. The relationship between Joel and Ellie is frayed and the previously inseparable duo are now actively avoiding each other. Joel confides to his brother Tommy about his decision to save Ellie from the Fireflies; while Ellie develops feelings for her friend Dina after a night out. The two pairs are part of a larger cohort responsible for patrolling the town’s perimeter to cull trespassing zombies.
Joel and Tommy don’t return from their patrol one day, prompting Ellie and the others to search for them. The perspective suddenly changes to a woman named Abby who seems unusually dedicated to tracking down Joel. Joel and Tommy stumble into Abby’s group after running from a horde of zombies. Abby shoots Joel in the leg and tortures him, while Tommy is knocked unconscious. She reveals to Joel that they are ex-Fireflies. Ellie tries to rescue Joel and is subdued, but not before witnessing his death. Abby, satisfied that Joel is dead, spares Tommy and Ellie. Ellie recovers and learns that Tommy has already left to hunt Abby. Ellie decides to pursue Abby as well but reluctantly allows Dina to join in her quest for revenge. The rest of the first half of the game involves Ellie and Dina finding Abby by following Tommy’s footsteps.
The gameplay is very similar to the original The Last of Us. It is a survival action game with an emphasis on stealth and combat with limited resources. Ellie plays similarly to Joel in the original The Last of Us but with better stealth and melee options. Ellie can avoid enemies by going prone under vehicles, structures and tall grass. She can actively dodge melee attacks with the press of the R1 button. There are also collectibles found in each level that can open new upgrade opportunities and unlock concept art in the Extras menu. Outside of combat there are numerous locked safes to unlock and crafting desks to upgrade weapons. The last notable feature are rope puzzles that involve throwing a rope or extension cord over obstacles to climb walls or power machines.
I am not a fan of the gameplay. Encounters feel like episodes of trial and error. It is far too easy to get killed. Clickers, direct shotgun blasts and explosions are one-hit kills. Ellie is often up against a swarm of zombies or a squad of soldiers. The game incentivizes the player to avoid combat and sneakily find the exit. Unfortunately, the combat arenas are far too open and it is difficult to figure out the objective without multiple repeated attempts. There is the option of methodically sneaking up and assassinating each and every enemy, but it makes encounters painfully long and boring.
Once an encounter is over, the scavenging phase begins. Due to the nature of the game, it is vital to look through every nook and cranny, to improve Ellie’s chances of survival. I absolutely abhor these moments. I don’t find it fun having Ellie wander around each room, rubbing herself on every piece of the environment just for collectibles. The game uses these opportunities for environmental storytelling but I didn’t soak in these experiences much. The “game” part of The Last of Us 2 encouraged me to run around mashing the Triangle button instead of observing the excellently detailed environments.
Ellie’s story of revenge is weak and one-note. A large portion of it is padded with a wild-goose-chase plot. I’m not expecting Ellie and Dina to be master detectives, but their line of deduction is laughable. The way they track down Tommy and Abby is the equivalent of following rumors from a cousin’s aunt’s brother-in-law’s best friend’s letter. Despite all that, the chemistry between Ellie and Dina is fantastic. The writing feels natural for a same-sex couple which is astonishingly rare for a video game of this budget. The motion capture is rendered with such fidelity that I had a hard time believing I was playing a video game. The visuals of seeing two characters kiss was extremely believable.
I will try my best not to spoil the game, but the second half has you play as Abby, the same Abby who tortured and killed Joel. Abby is much beefier than Ellie and her gameplay encourages an aggressive playstyle. Abby has stronger melee skills and access to heavy weaponry like assault rifles. She can also do stealth but not with the same finesse as Ellie since Abby needs to craft shivs to assassinate Clickers and takes longer to choke out enemies. Abby’s story takes place at the same time as Ellie’s story. Her story involves her group of friends dealing with the PTSD after Joel’s death as well as fighting against a religious cult known as the Scars.
The plot is extremely grim and constantly reminds players that revenge is bad. The story is cliche and hovers over familiar territory that despite there being a zombie apocalypse, the real monsters are the humans. There are also some progressive elements that may irk players. As mentioned before there are several same-sex romantic cutscenes. In addition, there is a trans-character, a woman with an extremely masculine build and a group of stereotypical red-necks called the Rattlers who keep people as slaves.
Last of Us Part 2 is an extremely polished game from a graphical and gameplay standpoint but wears out its welcome due to its length. Ironically despite the game’s length, numerous plotlines and characters never get fully developed as the spotlight is almost exclusively pointed at Ellie and Abby. The first Last of Us had a clear vision about a broken dad who lost his daughter and finds comfort in protecting a complete stranger. The Last of Us Part 2 in the meantime is rudderless; constantly wallowing in the misery of revenge, blood and gore.
