The Last of Us Part 2 |OT| Play Phase

Legend · Jun 21, 2020, 03:06 PM

Quote from: Xevross on Jun 21, 2020, 09:54 AMNice nice. The pacing of the story is garbage but pacing of gameplay and encounters is phenomenal, it's really weird.

I think I decided it's a 9/10 for me. It's not on the level of the first game at all and I think U4 was also better but not by too much.

Read quite a lot of the spoiler thread on Era. Seems that more people are disappointed than not when they finish it, but it could just be that people who are disappointed are wanting to go to the spoiler thread and talk about it.

I think it helps in my case that I noticed some of its issues early on. Things just got worse/more "chaotic" a bit.

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Xevross · Jun 21, 2020, 03:49 PM

Quote from: Legend on Jun 21, 2020, 03:06 PMI think it helps in my case that I noticed some of its issues early on. Things just got worse/more "chaotic" a bit.

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What did you think of Abby?

I ended up liking her more than Ellie. When it jumped to her as a kid at the zoo, so freaking good.

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Xevross · Jun 21, 2020, 05:30 PM

I've been thinking and discussing more about the game, what exactly I did and didn't like. I think I let some of my negative emotions run a bit too strong, and I also realised a lot of those negative emotions are a positive for the game rather than a negative, and its a seriously impressive feat that the game got me to feel those feelings.

Its probably going to take me a while to process everything with this game, but I'm back to leaning more towards a 10/10 than a 9/10 for it overall. I probably most agree with giving it a 9.5/10 on a 20 point scale, like a lot of reviews did. I'm certain its not as good as the first game, but maybe it is better than Uncharted 4... idk. They're pretty close in my mind, both with quite different flaws.

Legend · Jun 21, 2020, 06:37 PM

Quote from: Xevross on Jun 21, 2020, 03:49 PM
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I thought the jump was so bad. I'd been waiting for the story to do something for ages and then finally there's confrontation but the game hard cuts back in time.

The time spent with Abby was great and I did empathise with her strongly. I never did hate her, Joel was an bumb and I felt he probably deserved it. I was sad that Ellie went after Abby again at the end and I was begging the game to not make me kill her. I was very glad when Ellie stopped.

Oveeall the story is great and I love the idea of playing half and half and seeing both sides. I just think the execution and pacing of the story was absolutely terrible. I didn't like playing as Abby just because I wanted to get back as Ellie in the present as soon as possible, the past just dragged on for ages. I didn't care as much about some characters because I knew they died. The time skip a year later was weird and I think the final chapter just felt weirdly rushed. The execution being poor meant I didn't get as emotionally invested as I should, and in the end I felt mostly indifferent to the story and these characters. I almost wish this story didn't happen. TLOU should have been left alone. I cared so much about Joel and Ellie after the first game. Now I just dislike Ellie and don't care about seeing her again and obviously Joel is gone. The new characters were okay but didn't get enough development. Lev and Dina are probably the only 2 characters left that I actually give a shame about and might want to know what happened to them.

EDIT: coming back, the jump back in time felt horrible when it happened and I didn't like it for the first hour, but then the build up back to it was so good and probably made it all worth it.

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<br><div style="margin:20px; margin-top:5px"><div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px"><b>Spoiler</b> for <i>Hidden</i>: <input type="button" value="Show" style="width:60px;font-size:10px;margin:0px;padding:0px;" onClick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.value = 'Hide'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.value = 'Show'; }"></div><div class="alt2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 6px; border: 1px inset;"><div style="display: none;">I expected the Abby moment to be a lot shorter. Jumping back to her as a kid was visually stunning and felt like a great way to give Jesse's death some time to sink in. His death was so incredibly unexpected that my draw literally dropped haha.<br><br>When it then switched to Abby on day one, I started getting frustrated that Abby was taking up so much time. I just wanted to get back to the scene with Ellie!<br><br>However as more and more time went on, I kinda started really embracing Abby as the character and was enjoying those moments a lot. Like the sky bridge scene was great! It was a bit too effective for me though because by the time the game finally made it back to Ellie, I was pretty much only viewing the game from her perspective.<br><br><br>I kinda hated all the cuts and jumps once the game reached the farm but I liked it as a fakout ending thanks to U4. I was really thinking it was just going to copy that game and end with Ellie at peace with her family. Then her PTSD flashback happened, which I thought worked perfectly thanks to the same thing happening with Abby.<br><br><br><br><br>Never really got why people were talking about the game being over the top dark and hard to play. It covered lots of brutal moments but felt similar to the first in that regard. Just a way less positive ending.<br><br><br></div></div></div><br><br>

Quote from: Xevross on Jun 21, 2020, 05:30 PMI've been thinking and discussing more about the game, what exactly I did and didn't like. I think I let some of my negative emotions run a bit too strong, and I also realised a lot of those negative emotions are a positive for the game rather than a negative, and its a seriously impressive feat that the game got me to feel those feelings.

Its probably going to take me a while to process everything with this game, but I'm back to leaning more towards a 10/10 than a 9/10 for it overall. I probably most agree with giving it a 9.5/10 on a 20 point scale, like a lot of reviews did. I'm certain its not as good as the first game, but maybe it is better than Uncharted 4... idk. They're pretty close in my mind, both with quite different flaws.

It's definitely a lot to think about. I need to look up the trophies and see if I want the plat. I bet there is a ton of stuff I missed.

Specifically any time I was fighting humans that hadn't wronged me, I tried to sneak past them. Was cool that the game made me care about them as individuals instead of just digital targets.

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Xevross · Jun 21, 2020, 06:49 PM

Quote from: Legend on Jun 21, 2020, 06:37 PM
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I expected the Abby moment to be a lot shorter. Jumping back to her as a kid was visually stunning and felt like a great way to give Jesse's death some time to sink in. His death was so incredibly unexpected that my draw literally dropped haha.

When it then switched to Abby on day one, I started getting frustrated that Abby was taking up so much time. I just wanted to get back to the scene with Ellie!

However as more and more time went on, I kinda started really embracing Abby as the character and was enjoying those moments a lot. Like the sky bridge scene was great! It was a bit too effective for me though because by the time the game finally made it back to Ellie, I was pretty much only viewing the game from her perspective.

I kinda hated all the cuts and jumps once the game reached the farm but I liked it as a fakout ending thanks to U4. I was really thinking it was just going to copy that game and end with Ellie at peace with her family. Then her PTSD flashback happened, which I thought worked perfectly thanks to the same thing happening with Abby.

Never really got why people were talking about the game being over the top dark and hard to play. It covered lots of brutal moments but felt similar to the first in that regard. Just a way less positive ending.

It's definitely a lot to think about. I need to look up the trophies and see if I want the plat. I bet there is a ton of stuff I missed.

Specifically any time I was fighting humans that hadn't wronged me, I tried to sneak past them. Was cool that the game made me care about them as individuals instead of just digital targets.

Spoiler for Hidden:
Loved all their dialogue. They'd be talking about pets, friends, etc. and they'd have names that other NPCs would use. Incredible.

@ the first spoiler tag - agree agree agree agree agree. I felt the same with everything. The game really isn't as brutal as some made it out to be. I was expecting something on the level that I'd never seen before, something truly harrowing that felt absolutely horrible. But nah, its brutal and gory sure but didn't feel any worse than many video games have been in the past. Was really weird, there was a point halfway through where I suddenly remembered all the talk about the brutal nature and I just thought "oh yeah, that's weird its felt pretty normal to me". Its exaxtly like you said.

And yeah since it wasn't that brutal it just felt like a normal video game to me and I was fine killing all the enemies just to make the game more fun. Sneaking all the way through an encounter is not my style and I don't find that enjoyable at all, I think I did it only once all game. Also I think there was only three encounters all game where it got hot and I just legged it to the end, and at least two of those it seemed like thats supposed to happen.

Legend · Jun 21, 2020, 07:05 PM

Quote from: Xevross on Jun 21, 2020, 06:49 PM@ the first spoiler tag - agree agree agree agree agree. I felt the same with everything. The game really isn't as brutal as some made it out to be. I was expecting something on the level that I'd never seen before, something truly harrowing that felt absolutely horrible. But nah, its brutal and gory sure but didn't feel any worse than many video games have been in the past. Was really weird, there was a point halfway through where I suddenly remembered all the talk about the brutal nature and I just thought "oh yeah, that's weird its felt pretty normal to me". Its exaxtly like you said.

And yeah since it wasn't that brutal it just felt like a normal video game to me and I was fine killing all the enemies just to make the game more fun. Sneaking all the way through an encounter is not my style and I don't find that enjoyable at all, I think I did it only once all game. Also I think there was only three encounters all game where it got hot and I just legged it to the end, and at least two of those it seemed like thats supposed to happen.

Which encounters?

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Also I haven't googled it, but wtf was up with...

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Xevross · Jun 21, 2020, 07:09 PM

Quote from: Legend on Jun 21, 2020, 07:05 PMWhich encounters?
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Rat king was really fun running from, and then a hard fight.

Ran out of the radio building.

Don't remember any others.

Also I haven't googled it, but wtf was up with...

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The space needle being in the wrong spot.

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Xevross · Jun 21, 2020, 07:10 PM

Man, the discourse of this game on social media is really, really negative. Seems the majority of (vocal) people are hating it.

Legend · Jun 21, 2020, 07:49 PM

The player reaction is just so screwed up. There are lots of racists and bigots hating it and there are people disliking it for genuine reasons.

I'd assume the majority are liking it but only time will tell.

On that note though, this is an amazingly inclusive game. It is one of the largest games in our industry yet is still pushing things forward.

the-pi-guy · Jun 21, 2020, 08:24 PM

Quote from: Legend on Jun 21, 2020, 07:49 PMThe player reaction is just so screwed up. There are lots of racists and bigots hating it and there are people disliking it for genuine reasons.

I'd assume the majority are liking it but only time will tell.

On that note though, this is an amazingly inclusive game. It is one of the largest games in our industry yet is still pushing things forward.

Honestly this is a big reason why I want to finish it asap.

Xevross · Jun 21, 2020, 08:44 PM

Quote from: Legend on Jun 21, 2020, 07:49 PMThe player reaction is just so screwed up. There are lots of racists and bigots hating it and there are people disliking it for genuine reasons.

I'd assume the majority are liking it but only time will tell.

On that note though, this is an amazingly inclusive game. It is one of the largest games in our industry yet is still pushing things forward.

I love, so so much, that a massive selling game has a gay female lead and an interesting trans character. I hope this is a catalyst for much better LGBTQ+ representation going forwards.

Its a shame that non-white representation isn't great in this game, it could also have really captured the BLM movement.

DerNebel · Jun 21, 2020, 10:50 PM

Quote from: Xevross on Jun 21, 2020, 07:10 PMMan, the discourse of this game on social media is really, really negative. Seems the majority of (vocal) people are hating it.

Here's the thing about that imo. We all know the internet wants to hate this, so that hate is clearly being amplified. It was just deleted by mods, but when I just went to reddits Games subreddit there was another thread about a youtuber, that's usually never posted (or at least upvoted) on there, rising to the top of their frontpage because, surprise surprise he was critical of TLOU2. This shame is currently everywhere and what this does is create a completely toxic environment for people who like the game to talk about that. I still haven't beaten the game, but should be getting close (at almost 28 hours, don't know if you guys are quick or I'm just slow).

Now maybe the ending will turn my entire opinion around and I will start hating the game, I doubt it but who knows, but even if I continue liking the game, I will sure as hell not bother going on social media or reddit or wherever to talk to people about that, because right now what's the fudgy point? You'll just be met with a wave of hate and shaming points that you'll be expected to argue and that's nothing short of exhausting.

The amount of dumb complaints I've seen online about this game is just staggering, but arguing against that is like talking to a hate spewing wall. It's just waste of time.

Also something that all those people who claim to hate the game and who keep shitting on how garbage it is should maybe keep in mind is that a game must be doing something right, if it pulls you in enough to play like 20 hours plus in a matter of 2-3 days. But hey maybe it's giving those people, who keep saying how garbage the game is too much credit, to assume they actually played what they are complaining about.

Xevross · Jun 21, 2020, 11:00 PM

Just deciding to gather all of my thoughts through scoring of lots of different categories.

Encounter design 10/10
General wider level design 9/10
Exploration & rewards 9/10
Gameplay pacing 10/10
Action sequences 10/10
Tension building and horror moments 10/10
Enemy and ally AI 10/10
World design, lore & background 9/10
Skills and upgrade systems 8/10
Crafting, tools and weaponry 9/10
Gameplay variety 10/10
Controls, fluidity & fun to play 10/10

Overall gameplay and game systems 10/10

Graphical quality 11/10
Attention to detail 11/10
Sound design 10/10
Soundtrack 10/10
Environment design 10/10
Animations 10/10
Enemies, NPC and character design 10/10
Level of polish 10/10

Overall design and production values 10/10

Voice acting 11/10
Motion capture & acting & facial animations 11/10
Dialogue quality 9/10
Characters 7/10
Character development within the game 5/10
Emotional delivery and execution of big moments 6/10
Factions, motivations and major plot events 7/10
Story structure and plot progression pacing 2/10
Deeper messaging, themes and lasting legacy 9/10
Diversity, representation and inclusivity 9/10
General plot quality & emotional impact 8/10

Overall characters, story and emotional delivery 7.5/10

Overall game 9.6/10 (masterpiece)

Spoiler for rough ratings for first game:

Mmm_fish_tacos · Jun 22, 2020, 12:06 AM

These sections with the new bloaters pisses me off.

Legend · Jun 22, 2020, 01:34 AM

End game spoilers

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