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The Last of Us Part II - Review Thread

Final predictions?

  • 95-99 (Same as Uncharted 2, The Last of Us)

    Votes: 639 46.6%

  • 90-94 (Same as Uncharted 4, Uncharted 3)

    Votes: 599 43.7%

  • 85-89

    Votes: 90 6.6%

  • 80-84

    Votes: 14 1.0%

  • 75-79

    Votes: 4 0.3%

  • <75

    Votes: 24 1.8%
  • Total voters
    1,370
  • Poll closed .
Osahi

Osahi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,929
TheLastYoshi said:
Seems like the one constant, even in the good reviews, is that the player has no agency over the characters.. I still think ND would be a better movie studio but that's just me.
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Like I said before in this topic. That's the storytelling style ND chooses, and it is as valid a choice as a game with multiple endings and choice driven scenes.

They tell a story with fully developed characters, but use gameplay on top of that to further pull you in. There is a great youtube video about how TLOU1 builds up towards the giraffes moment, and how it uses gaming language before that to make that moment emotionaly more hard hitting (basically Ellie as an NPC stops doing things you are conditioned to expect from her, telling you she hars her mind elsewhere and is in a dark place. By pushing her that deep and making you feel it too, the uplifting giraffes scènes drives the point home harder). TLOU2 does this too on many occassions and even on a broader level I can't get into due to the embargo. Even the ultimate scène is stronger because this is a game and not a movie.

This story could've worked as a tv-show too (it's that long), but I don't think it would've had the same impact.

(man, I can't wait untill the game is fully out and we can discuss the real ins and outs of the story and how it is told)
 
Devilgunman

Devilgunman

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,451
GameSpot criticism sounds weird. You never have control of how anything would play out in TLoU. That's why it's unique and beautiful.
 
Estro

Estro

Member
Jul 17, 2019
339
The Polygon review is enough to dissuade me from buying this at launch, it confirms a lot of the fears I had with the recent marketing. I loved the first game. It was harsh, but also perfectly balanced with real beautiful moments and endearing characters. This just seems relentlessly cruel just for the sake of it. I'm not in any hurry to beat a dog with a pipe.

I'm already sad for the hate Maddy Myers is going to recieve for being so honest about her experience with the game and sticking out. It's a brave review to post, she must have known how it was going to be recieved.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
10,257
Lake Titicaca
It seems that The Last of Us as a franchise is destined to wallow in 95-rated mediocrity and not much more. I'm sure Naughty Dog expected at least a 98 for this game.
 
jaymzi

jaymzi

Member
Jul 22, 2019
6,539
A 96 on metacritic, yet for some reason this thread feels like a review thread for a mid 80s game.
 
Hope

Hope

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
2,065
Camells said:
5610873019273 reviews with 10/10 scores and like 4-5 reviews with 8/10 scores "the game is just ok...too much violence i can't handle it *proceeds to play Doom*"
Never change...
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Well I think it's because of the leaks. It would probably some points higher if that wouldn't happen but it is what it is
 
Hagi

Hagi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,950
Dave said:
Seems like all the less than 10 reviews are people who are unsure on how they feel about the game.

Surely shouldn't be allowed to review it then...
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How does one know how they feel about something before experiencing it? review threads always bring out the dumbest of takes
 
JoeNut

JoeNut

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,482
UK
Can anyone recommend a review for the "I want to know nothing at all about the story" crowd? Cheers
 
fleet

fleet

Member
Jan 2, 2019
644
i would hate this game cause it looks sad, bleak, violent and hopelessness inducing. someone will love the game for the same reason. review scores are meaningless etc
 

Deleted member 2595

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,475
I actually think even a 93 or 94 is very high in this climate. Critics this gen have been relatively scathing.

TheLastYoshi said:
I still think ND would be a better movie studio but that's just me.
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Total bollocks, sorry.

In the last 3 months, while under lockdown, I have introduced two non-gamer room mates to Naughty Dog's games. These are people who literally never played a videogame, barring perhaps Spyro on a sibling's console in 1996 when they were very young. They had no memory, interest, or nostalgia for games. And they were both film-buffs with cinema subscriptions who watched every Oscar-winning release every year, etc.

They were absolutely blown away by The Last of Us and Uncharted 4. Absolutely blown away; it was a formative experience for them.

Common phrases I heard while they played:
"Wow, I can just go there?"
"The feeling of being this guy is so empowering. I'm this big, tough, scary man."
"Yes! I beat him! I actually got better!"
"Would I have missed that?" (Answer: yes)
"This is so much more intense than a movie."

Maybe you never got this sensation while playing their games, but I also would hazard a guess that you are a seasoned or "hardcore" gamer who has already played tens or hundreds of games and set your expectations for what a "good videogame" is and what you expect from it. I'd hazard that anything outside of the framework you've built over years, maybe decades, of gaming will not fit your vision of what a game is. (And that is fine, by the way.)

But after watching these non-gamers try ND's games, it was clear that ND's titles are absolutely great videogames even if player-agency and reactivity isn't a priority at a high-level.

Even if a videogame is linear and non-dynamic, the symbolic act of both controlling and watching the content on screen is powerful and immediately separates the medium from cinema. You may be desensitized to this fact, but it is a fact. The player becomes both actor and audience in a videogame, immersing them and embodying them in the world more than any medium except maybe literature, which is cognitive embodyment. Playing a protagonist on-screen differentiates these experiences entirely from having a gamepad in your hands and
 
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AllChan7

AllChan7

Tries to be a positive role model
Member
Apr 30, 2019
3,670
This is reviewing amazinly but no one should feel surprised that some can't take or enjoy the violence and brutality

I think this game will be discussed about for a LOT of reasons amongst the general gaming community. It'll be a lot of interesting opinions surrounding it and its themes.
 
Vito

Vito

One Winged Slayer - Formerly Undead Fantasy
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,045
Damn, dropped to 95.

Is 96 still possible?
 
Swiggins

Swiggins

was promised a tag
Member
Apr 10, 2018
11,445
vestan said:
yupppppp, at this point i'd rather not bother playing this on my base ps4

ps5 is not that far either, at the very least TLOU2 and GOT will be fresh to me
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Assuming LoU2 backwards compat on launch (pretty safe bet), will it be the first game you play on the system, or do you have your eye on something else?
 
PS Dog

PS Dog

Member
Mar 24, 2018
236
ada.jpg
 
MrCibb

MrCibb

Member
Dec 12, 2018
5,349
UK
Never doubted. Great job ND, you've made me book the Friday AND Monday off just to make sure I've got the time.

Very excited to play this. The violence won't bother me but I know my lass is not going to enjoy it. She got upset in the first one where Ellie kills the rabbit.
 
Armadilo

Armadilo

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,877
Also lol at all those people here that wanted it to fail when the leaks came out and thought negative of it,

Naughty Gods always deliver and keep pushing the games industry forward, I'll buy it on the PS5 though
 
Dave

Dave

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,338
supercommodore said:
So it wasn't sarcasm...

This is such a dumb take as people comment on violence and content across all media. If you want games to be treated as art then people can comment on the content, whether it is real or not. So according to you people can't complain about excessive violence, sexual violence or abuse in TV and films because they aren't real?
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Are you comparing sexual abuse being portrayed vividly in a TV show compared to killing a dog made of pixels? Not really comparable. What you said can trigger horrendous flashbacks for some.

And I'm sure killing pixelated dogs is sad for some, I can get it...but I just don't really understand it. If you are that offended or affected by it just don't play it.
 
Winstano

Winstano

Editor-in-chief at nextgenbase.com
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
1,828
Freezasaurus said:
I'm interested in seeing how I react playing through the game. I'm generally fine with violence, but some of these reviews are painting the game as being unnecessarily grimdark. I have no doubt the game is mechanically sound, but I'm extremely curious now to see if the violence is "that bad."
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It's brutal. You see bones deform, you see genuinely disgusting lacerations, and you see so much blood and other stuff that it's genuinely uncomfortable at points. BUT it's all earned. It doesn't feel like it's violent for the sake of it.
 
TheLastYoshi

TheLastYoshi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
877
Mass_Pincup said:
Have you even played their games?

These kind of take seems baffling to me because the gameplay and level design are some of the best things in their games and the industry.
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I've literally played all their games, I am not shitting on their games, I explained this in a different post but for me, ND is so good at storytelling that I end up rushing through the gameplay because I just want to get to the next major beat/cutscene.
 
Kemono

Kemono

▲ Legend ▲
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,669
tkato said:
You know it's possible it's just not his cup of tea?
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And that's fine. He could hate it for all i care but i'm just a bit bummed that he tries to manipulate his viewers in such a crude way. There was no need to evoke star wars and game of thrones. The way he framed it feeds into the viewpoint of certain groups that decided long ago that this game is shit.

I'm not a fan of the new star wars trilogy and the 8th season of game of thrones but i feel like i was slowly pushed into a viewpoint i didn't make myself.

You can criticise the game, the story, etc. however you want. But to suggest this game is having an agenda by showing "the" two biggest examples in modern fiction is a bit too on the nose for me.
 
EatChildren

EatChildren

Wonder from Down Under
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,029
The criticism towards exaggerated violence and arguably unjustified, comical brutal human behaviour comes not from obliviousness to systemic and heirarchal authoritarianism and the dehumanisation it has lead to in human civilisation, but the lack of evidence to suggest humans regress to murderous, animalistic monsters in Naughty Dog's survivalist premise. It opens a real conversation as to whether such framing of humans, that are inherently communal, is actually believable or instead outrageously exaggerated, and whether or not that gives brevity to the portrayal of questionable violence and human actions or instead presents as superficial torture porn that provides an incredibly bland, surface level misunderstanding of human behaviour masquerading as insight and depth.

I haven't played the game and I dont know. But that'll make for interesting post mortoms.
 
Gold Arsene

Gold Arsene

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
30,757
Dave said:
Seems like all the less than 10 reviews are people who are unsure on how they feel about the game.

Surely shouldn't be allowed to review it then...
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Why the fuck shouldn't they? Do you think everyone who plays the game will be sure about it after they play? Probably not. What makes these people opinions less worthy of being recognized besides not scoring your precious game a 10/10?
 
Kalik

Kalik

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
4,523
the Ars review mentioned that the PS4 Pro version sounded like a jet engine in parts...an article from WSJ a few weeks ago also mentioned it sounding as loud as an air conditioner...I'm going to wait for the PS5 Enhanced version and try to avoid all spoilers
 
CognitiveAtrophy

CognitiveAtrophy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,063
Wow, the game's great. What a shocking turn of events.

So, I suppose this is the official start of GoT concern season? Good hunting, people.
 
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