USA TODAY International Edition
What to know about ‘ The Last of Us Part II’
What better way to escape the realworld horrors of a pandemic than to play a video game based on a more terrifying and stressful outbreak?
“The Last of Us Part II,” launching Friday for the PlayStation 4, drops video game players into a post- apocalyptic USA suffering through a cataclysmic fungal outbreak. Once thriving cities have faded, replaced with small clusters of survivors, rotting buildings and a variety of zombie- like “infected” monsters.
The game is best described as an action survival experience. Resources are scarce, so every bullet and health pack you use carries greater value. Scouring buildings for supplies is as important as figuring out how to get past armed enemies or fast- moving zombies.
Many critics crowned the original game, 2013’ s “The Last of Us,” the year’s best video game. So the anticipation for a sequel has been immeasurably high.
I played “The Last of Us Part II.” Here’s what you need to know about the series’ second chapter:
Refresh my memory ( SPOILERS)
Without giving everything away, the 2013 game takes place 20 years into the pandemic. Joel meets Ellie, 14, a girl born during the outbreak, and they establish a father- daughter relationship. Joel learns Ellie has developed an immunity to the fungal infection, leading the duo across the country in hopes of creating a potential cure.
Where are we now?
The game takes place five years after the conclusion of the first game. Ellie is a young adult, living in a settlement in Jackson, Wyoming, with many others, including Joel. Ellie and Joel, along with some other characters from the first game, patrol the settlement to protect it from the “infected” and bandits. Unlike the first game, which you play mostly as Joel, Ellie is the central character.
How good is the story?
This will sound vague in the interest of not spoiling things: Ellie is not only dealing with the ramifications of hosting a rare immunity to this infection but is also carrying the weight of what happens at the end of the first game. Add to that the events that play out in this new installment, and you empathize with Ellie, who has endured a hard life at such a young age.
Players never feel fully removed from the narrative. Developers at studio Naughty Dog weaved nonplayable cut scenes and action elegantly. If Ellie is traveling with a companion, players will get bits of the story through conversation between characters. There’s so much story to discover through exploring by finding random notes and memos hidden everywhere.
What’s it like?
LIke the first game, Part II focuses on two elements: managing your resources and approaching your enemies with care. When crouched down, players can enter a Listen mode where outlines of “infected” or human foes appear, a visual representation of hearing footsteps or other sounds.
When you’re not fighting, you are scavenging for gear and items. Players find scissors, rubbing alcohol, rags and other items that can be crafted into ammo, health kits and other important pieces of gear. There’s medicine you can find to augment your skills and a workbench to upgrade weapons. All these tasks take time and require a safe space. During one section, I carelessly started upgrading my hunting rifle only to get ambushed by several armed enemies.
What enemies do players face?
One of the primary forces Ellie encounters is the Washington Liberation Front, or WLF ( characters refer to them as “wolves”). This militia is armed with weapons ranging from baseball bats to larger guns. Then there are various types of “infected,” each of which require different tactics to eliminate. Runners are straightforward: They attack quickly and directly, trying to claw and/ or bite your face off. Clickers are slower and find you through sound because they’re blind. But the second they grab you, you’re dead. Giant bloaters spray choking spores.
Even though you must approach humans differently from the infected, they’re both surprisingly smart. When the human enemies find you, they don’t just wait you out. They will flank your position and surround you. Beware, you will be penalized for playing recklessly.
So how good is Part II?
Naughty Dog proves yet again it is an incredible video game storyteller, instilling a sense of panic and dread in ways few games have managed.