MPaarstt2erpiece
The Last of Us Part 2
DEVELOPER
Naughty Dog
aster Response Agency (a government-ruled militaristic force seen in the first game) has been usurped by a new faction - which in turn, is waging war against another group of cultists. It’s absolute chaos, and you can bet that the Infected aren’t watching from the sidelines either.
In typical Naughty Dog fashion, environmental storytelling is heavy everywhere you go, making exploration a much more enticing affair. Levels are huge and sprawling compared to the first game’s tendency towards linearity, with massive open-world environments peppered throughout the game. These areas are extremely well-designed and encourage you to wander off the beaten path - even if it’s just to follow a chain of letters between a husband and his sick wife. As you might imagine, that story doesn’t end well for either of them.
These are the bits I loved the most. The world is so rich and full of history, I would constantly walk into ramshackle cabins or streets littered with bodies and wonder, “What happened here?”
As a playable character, Ellie is a clear upgrade from Joel - with a nimbleness that allows her to navigate environments in entirely different ways. For example, she can go prone and crawl under vehicles, or squeeze through cracked walls and fallen bookshelves.
Enemy AI has been given quite the upgrade too, posing a challenge that only ramps up as you make your way through the story. Human enemies can be almost annoyingly alert on higher difficulties. Infected such as Runners and Clickers remain as dangerous as they’ve always been, but there’re also multiple new enemy types, such as the Shambler, an acid spraying bullet sponge.
Weapons feel better than the previous game, and the crafting system has undergone a huge upgrade. Scavenging parts allows you to physically change how your weapons look and perform in combat. Where Joel only had six skills in total to unlock, Ellie has multiple rows of upgrades.
This is categorically the biggest and longest game Naughty Dog has ever made. Every time I felt like the game had outdone itself, it would outdo itself again. A part of me is still in disbelief at what they’ve accomplished here.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about The Last of Us Part 2 is its diverse accessibility options, which specifically includes settings for players of all abilities - focusing on fine-motor skills, low vision and impaired hearing. Theoretically, you could play through the entire game with your eyes closed.
Difficulty options don’t just range from easy to hard anymore. Players can now finetune how much damage Ellie takes, along with the behaviour of enemy AI, how involved her companions are in combat, how stealth works and the availability of resources in the game world. The options go this deep on every aspect of gameplay. I’ve never seen anything like it; it’s truly industry-leading stuff.
Those who loved the first game’s music