The Last of Us Part II Reviews
The Last of Us Part II's core mechanics are refined to such a degree that I’d be remiss to say it isn’t sublime. This, in addition to its incredible graphical achievements and brutally impactful story, make it a once-in-a-generation epic. Games like this don’t come along often, and we’ll be talking about it for years to come.
The journey itself was, to say the least, emotionally exhausting. This is not a game that I will play several times a year. This is not a game for those looking for a happy ending. This is not a game for those looking for an inspiring story of redemption or love. This story, simply put, is a torture-filled journey through two character’s own personal Hell. Again, the story is most definitely not for everyone, but I highly recommend at least giving this one full play through before making a final decision. As with any divisive title, this is one that should not be passed over.
The Last of Us Part II is a gut punch in the best way.
When the first instalment of Naughty Dog’s gripping juggernaut The Last Of Us hit the shelves in 2013, people didn’t expect it to flourish into a historic title, an opus worthy of the highest acclaim. It became a game-changer, and railed against the grain, toppling any other game that appeared that year. From its beginning to its hard-hitting conclusion, it took players through the emotions and connected them to its dark-tinged underbelly. This was because of its cathartic story-line, a masterminded plot, brimming in brightly lit anecdotes.
The Last of Us Part 2 is a brutal tale that is not easy to digest, but the result is an experience that will stay with us for a long time to come.
The Last of Us: Part 2 is one of the most emotionally provoking ,and ultimately, one of the greatest games of this generation
The gameplay is functional. It isn’t grossly offensive, it just is the bare minimum to get by. It does suffer greatly from the obtrusive narrative and forced walking sequences which are far too long, frequent and unskippable. There is new game plus, but the experience just fails to hold attention after the first time.
The Last of Us Part II is a technical marvel of game design whose achievements can be completely overshadowed by a player’s reception of its story. While I sit comfortably in the camp of those who thoroughly enjoyed (if that is the right word as the story is often deliberately uncomfortable) the direction taken by Neil Druckmann and his team at Naughty Dog, I can see how people can walk away having had a completely different experience.
When it comes down to it, The Last of Us Part II is the most near-perfect game I’ve played. If you’ve played the original, this is a must-play game on every level. If you haven’t, go back and play the first game.
Excellent gameplay and visuals help elevate a bloated and poorly paced story.
It had been 7 years to get the follow up to TLOU and this was absolutely worth the wait. The leaps that Naughty Dog took with the story makes you feel almost every emotion you have ever felt in your life. It was hard to put this game down sometimes because I was always wanting to know what was around the next corner. I am also super impressed that Naughty Dog did so many things to make this game accesibile to anyone that wanted to experience it. I love that we are seeing more and more studios doing this and Naughty Dog knocked it out of the park with their effort. Also, just remember, this is only a game. It’s fine to not like it because you didn't care for the story and such, but to hate it for sexual preferences of certain characters, or other outlandish things, is ridiculous. If you find yourself getting frustrated, you could always go to your closest driving range and work on that short game. Enjoy.
The Last of Us Part II is a technical marvel, one of the best looking games of this gen with a phenomenal soundtrack and sound design and a gameplay loop where every encounter is suffocating and extremely satisfying. Its narrative doesn't always stick the landing, however, it is still a memorable tale about conflict and bonds between flawed human beings on a world which lacks humanity.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Last of Us - Part II was eagerly awaited, is, as expected, very successful and enormously controversial. Either way, the title is a milestone in the history of video games and rightly so. Nevertheless, as so often, it is a matter of taste whether you like the game or a certain aspect of it. There are reasons why some things are viewed so critically and sometimes even negatively, especially with this game. In my opinion, it's partly due to the grandiose predecessor, which managed to masterfully narrate a rather simple scenario of an apocalypse, make it playable and thus directly experienceable and also establish a wonderful character duo, which is extremely popular. In addition, this game is simply so damn realistic. We all know the term "playable film" and know some great genre representatives. But where we often have to deal with long cutscenes and heaps of quick time events, here we are given permanent control, at least felt. Because we can enter certain situations in different ways and defend ourselves with different weapons, we like to forget that we still follow a given path and go where they want us to go. Without a flashing arrow, without penetrating markings, only with minimalist support and following our playful instincts. There are no distorted representations here, heroes or villains in capes, enemies with distorted and frightening appearances. Even if the kill count in some sections feels as high as in Call of Duty, it feels different. Even eliminating an infected person sometimes feels "wrong". And it is for this feeling that I say "Everything done right! This game is the way it is and that is good. Not everyone has to like it in the end, that's the way it is with movies, with books and why should it be different with this form of storytelling. Apart from the fact that The Last of Us - Part II was a great game experience for me, I think it's basically worth a look and anything but lost time. "A profound orgy of violence"
Review in German | Read full review
Naughty Dog took the first The Last of Us and improved it in The Last of Us Part 2. The game is an excellent action-adventure experience, that mixes stealth, action and horror components into a truly involving video-game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
How far would you go to get revenge? How much would you sacrifice for forgiveness? How do you deal with guilt when it eats you from inside? Is there a line you won’t cross, or is everything fair game to make someone else pay for your pain? None of these are easy questions with simple answers, and The Last of Us Part II doesn’t really offer a definitive answer, either. It can’t, and if it did, it would ring hollow. Instead we’re left with the wreckage of two lives spurred on by vengeance and the hope that, maybe, there is closure for the worst of us.
The Last Of Us II is an improvement on the first in nearly every way while still keeping what made the first game special. Story and characters are well done as expected and the game plays and feels amazing. In keeping with the spirit of the first game, The Last of Us Part II has become one of the best games of this generation.
The Last of Us Part II's purposely bleak, pessimistic narrative spares no one, and offers a deeply engrossing tale of vengeance that grabs and never lets go. The production values, and overall attention to detail are insane
What The Last of Us Part II accomplishes is quite interesting: in the middle of this audiovisual masterpiece hides an extraordinarily dark, increasingly intense and at the same time extremely touching story, which - instead of luring with superficial themes - reveals a cycle of playable self-destruction, from which the player has to liberate himself together with his character. Exciting, right down to the last minute.
Review in German | Read full review
Between its nuanced story, consistently fresh gameplay, and bleeding-edge visuals, The Last of Us Part II stands among the greats in the action-adventure genre.