In 2013 Naughty Dog released The Last of US for the PlayStation 3. Being one of the most impressive PS3 games, it is no surprise this game received a sequel in 2020. The Last of Us Part II follows up with Joel and Ellie have settled down and living a peaceful life. As this game takes place five years later, seeing Ellie grown up and happy felt amazing. After watching her go through so much in the first game, it was nice seeing that she had a happy life for a bit.
Story
A fun flashback between Joel and Ellie
Being only a week old as of writing this article, spoilers will be at a minimum. Five years after the events of the first game, Joel and Ellie are back in Jackson living in a nice community. However, things change when people Joel crossed in the past comeback for revenge. This leads Ellie to Seattle for that same reason; to get revenge on those same people. The death of Joel disjointedness many fans. Leading to many negative reviews following a leak of the game. Personally, from a storyline perspective, Joel crossed way too many people/groups in the first game. Eventually, someone was bound to come after him for revenge. While it would have been nice for Joel to live out a peaceful life, this does seem like the right way to end his character.
Combat/Stealth
The Last of Us Part II took what was great about the first game and built upon it. With new options for stealth combat, taking out enemies one at a time never felt more satisfying. Lying down and hiding in tall grass makes it so much easier to position Ellie properly for the kill. Sneaking up on them or shooting them with the bow; stealth is almost the best approach for most situations. But that would be boring if that were it. Many groups often travel with dogs to pick up the scent of the intruder. This adds a bit of challenge to the game as the player is forced to either get rid of the dog or make sure the dog does not pick up a scent.
Customizing guns to help in combat
Outside of stealth, the combat feels somewhat like the first game. Shoot the enemy, throw items, and punch them. It is a little sad that engaging enemies did not change too much but it never really felt like there was much to improve on to begin with. Survivors play similar to how they did and the infected are exactly the same as well. Runners and Stalkers try to swarm the player, while Clickers and Bloaters still one shot the player. The only new additions are the new types of infected that are immune to most melee attacks and stealth kills. Really the focus of the combat this game focuses on the use of stealth. And with the new enemies in the game, it is important for the player to find balance between stealth and engaging.
Visually
A fun location to visit
Visually, this game looks even better than the last game. While the snow filled areas of Jackson look incredible. Naughty Dog outdid themselves recreating and imagining Seattle in a post-apocalyptic setting. While there are many areas that ruins; to someone who grew up near Seattle, it was fairly accurate. There were multiple points throughout this game where the environment looked extremely like a location in real life. It is amazing seeing these how much this series has evolved since the first game.
Despite the negative reviews of The Last of Us Part II, this game holds up well to the original. While the storyline is a bit weaker in comparison to the first game, it still does a great job of capturing the characters and what they go through. Gameplay and visually, this game got even better in comparison. This is a game every PS4 owner should look into if they have the time.
