The Last of Us Part II - PlayStation 4

I'm putting 5 stars but my actual scoring would be about 4.8/5 or so. Here's why:STORY:This game has one of the best stories I've ever encountered, with characters so real, flawed, and relatable it soars above RDR2 (a favorite of mine). Intertwined with combat and stealth obstacles you can approach in a myriad of ways is a world and story that really confronts the way you view reality, both in game and in real life.The Last of Us Part 2 does not give you easy or tropey satisfactions found in many triple A games today, but instead issues a challenge to how you will handle a web of moral and emotional questions. I had to stop playing for a little while to process the incredible complexities and raw emotions that this firehose of a game was drenching me with. The Last of Us Part 2 is a true tour de force in gaming with this hard to swallow, but incredibly necessary rollercoaster narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat for hours upon hours.GAMEPLAY:Very similar to the original but with remarkable improvements. The game is still linear with strategic points to duck and cover behind in fights and little notes and trinkets left for you to find and read for world building. Ammo and crafting supplies are still rare and require you to scavenge the entire world to survive your next encounter with the Infected or aggressive humans. BUT, this game will reward you in spades if you give that extra 2% in world exploration.In addition to new enemies not seen in the first game, the AI of TLOU2 has improved tenfold. Some enemies more readily see you from far off, while others quietly stalk you and mimic your movement as you hunt them. You can rise to these new challenges with improved stealth abilities. No longer must you crouch behind a plastic chair and hope nothing sees you; just go prone and crawl under the chair into a pile of grass and disappear for good.My 4.8/5 is due to a small gameplay issue. Some actions which required a single button press (pull trigger, crouch, interact, etc) would drop the input. This happened so frequently that by the time I finished the game, I was button mashing for every little interaction, because losing the input and not performing said action in a crucial moment would always end in a dead Ellie. I believe it was the software and not my controller, because I've never had these issues with other games and the same controller.TIDBIT:If you've been reading negative reviews for this game and are on the fence about buying this game, don't be. There is nothing controversial about it. Most of the one star reviews are trolls. All online complaints I've seen honestly only appear to exist because people either weren't paying attention or need to have all story spoon fed to them. This game has incredible nuance that is usually only seen in novels, so the tone deaf will not enjoy it. I do also believe its refusal to be feel-good and follow worn out paths made frustrated people lash out with negative reviews. You will not feel good when you finish this game. And that's the point of the moral confrontations.Finally, I believe there is another source of controversy. It shouldn't be, but sadly it reflects the nature of our culture today. Forgiveness. It doesn't always feel good, but that doesn't make it less necessary. If you cannot forgive or at least try to see things eye to eye, you will likely feel the way the one star trolls did.That or you don't like Asians, lesbians, or transgender people, in which case you've got some bigger fish to fry. If people like the three I listed will make you mad just by being on screen, you won't enjoy this game. Thankfully this game is not preachy about minorities, they simply get to exist and be their own people, as it should be.All in all, a great game I would highly recommend. Just don't lose those inputs, and make sure you have a box of tissues nearby!

As someone who purchased this game with high expectations, I can confirm that I was NOT disappointed with this sequel. This game delivers some of the best visuals on the PS4 to date along with very nuanced stealth and action gameplay that feels great to play. The enemy variety and awareness is very fun to play through. The enemies communicate very effectively and call out your position and flank you and rush you. I found the gameplay and visuals to be at the highest level. The story was exciting and visceral but also makes sure to give you plenty of moments to slow down and take in the scenery or focus on the character dialogue. From a pure video game sense “Is this fun to play and is the story engaging and interesting?” Yes, 100% yes.STORYThe story has been the topic of discussion and anger for some gamers. I sincerely do not understand being mad or angry at a game developer for telling a different story then what you expected. This is their game and is their story to tell as they see fit. I am not saying you have to love it or think its the best game ever made. I thought it was very intriguing to play both view points and thought it was interesting through out. If you find yourself mad at the game director or studio for not delivering exactly what you wanted, you may need to reevaluate your relationship with video games. I am a life long gamer, male, 34 years old, and consider myself to lean heavily on the conservative side when it comes to politics. I don’t feel like everything worked or 100% landed when it comes to certain choices they make with characters, but I also don’t hate the game by any means. I think the fact that this game asks you to play in the shoes of a character with different views or who made certain bad choices is refreshing. You get to see how the other character ended up where they did doing the thing they did.At the end of the game, I ended up thinking BOTH characters were terrible people who hurt those closest to them by focusing selfishly on revenge. I think that it says a lot about our society today that (I assume they are kids) are sending death threats and racial slurs to the game developers/game director. If you don’t like the game or story then by all means don’t buy it or play it. I don’t understand this culture that wants to YELL and SCREAM against every single thing that you disagree with. As an American, I think it is very sad that we are so divided and so hateful against other people who disagree on certain views/politics. Again, it is 100% ok to disagree or disagree strongly with another view point or politics but its not OK to stand back and shout that the opposing view is coming from a place of HATE or VIOLENCE.In conclusion, the gameplay and visuals are absolutely stunning. The game creators and artists all did an amazing job creating this world. The actors portraying the characters all did an excellent job, top notch stuff. The story had a few hits and a few misses for me. I feel like the ending was a bit drawn out and overstayed its welcome. They did not stick the landing with the ending in my opinion. As a whole, I can recommend this game 100% for those who enjoy action/survival horror and stealth gameplay. The story caused me to think about my own biases and think about how the other person might have done something wrong but I can still have empathy or sympathy for them. Taking all aspects into consideration this is a 10/10 game and different people will draw different conclusions about the story. At the end of the day, I encourage you to think about your own biases and consider for a moment that the people you strongly disagree with are PEOPLE and are leading their own lives and have their own problems and traumas they are trying to overcome. We should start treating our fellow man with kindness and respect instead of making them the villain because they disagree.