The Last of Us Part II - PS4

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This game has been a HOT topic in the gaming community and everybody has had something to say. I'll admit I have a lot to say also.

I absolutely adore the first game in the series, and so I was more excited for this release than I've been for any other. The first 10-15 hours did not disappoint at all. It was perhaps my favorite hours of a single-player video gaming I've ever experienced. The gameplay is fantastic, the graphics are stunning and story is bold, gripping and emotional. The acting is probably the best ever for a video game. I was completely taken in. From here the story makes another bold move (that I don't want to give away) that I appreciated, but can't say I enjoyed. All the drama is taken off the characters you are attached to and the spotlight shifts elsewhere. I love the idea that they were going for, but I didn't like the end result. The story really started to drag and this portion of the game felt too long, in my opinion, and by the time you get back to your beloved characters the momentum is lost. I still think this portion is fantastic; it just doesn't keep up with the initial hours.

This game had a lot to say, maybe too much, and it got a little heavy handed at times. Still, the pacing and the emotional beats the game took are second to none besides perhaps its predecessor. The story didn't make me happy, but it seems wrong to be mad at a game for not telling the story that I wanted it to tell. The story was still an important and valuable look into the human spirit that was worth experiencing.

I've read a dozen reviews on this game, both positive and negative, and I agree with points made by all of them. This game is incredibly bleak and cynical, abhorrently violent and altogether hard to swallow. But it is also an artistic masterpiece that I will be thinking about for a long time. I feel it surpasses the first game in many ways, but doesn't hold onto that for long enough to be considered another perfect game.