There are hub-style areas where you can explore optional buildings around Seattle, but the majority of the game is linear - tailored maps with multiple routes through ruined buildings, via underground train stations, and lush, overgrown parks. You see a landmark, you head towards it, and you have pockets of adventure along the way. ThereРІР‚в„ўs a structural pattern thatРІР‚в„ўs similar to other Naughty Dog games, of course.

It also does things IРІР‚в„ўve never seen before, in ways only video games can. The dialogue has an almost surgical precision to it. It might be Naughty DogРІР‚в„ўs biggest game, but itРІР‚в„ўs the studioРІР‚в„ўs leanest script - youРІР‚в„ўre trusted to understand subtext. It manages to be hopeful, bleak, funny, sad, peaceful, and frightening, running the gamut of human emotion, but masterfully paced out so youРІР‚в„ўre never overwhelmed.Р”В®very character is complex and human. At the same time, it jumps back and forth from the past to the present, introducing characters you initially hate before making you fall in love with them. The main story takes place over three days, as opposed to the four seasons structure of the original. She doesnРІР‚в„ўt curse under her breath when people get curb stomped anymore - violence is normalised, and this is just an ordinary day.

She gets her backpack, grabs her pistol, and cocks the slider with a yawn. It is the morning after the winter dance and Ellie's getting ready for patrol. The world is stuffed with little details like this that enrich the story and reward your curiosity. On his bedside table sits a pair of reading glasses and a book, An IdiotРІР‚в„ўs Guide to Space - his way of attempting to rekindle their paternal relationship. In JoelРІР‚в„ўs cabin, thereРІР‚в„ўs woodwork tables, wooden carvings, and family photos. Sketches and posters litter the walls of her room. She listens to music on a cassette player, and a lava lamp bubbles away on her desk. Joel occasionally visits her cabin to tell her dad jokes. We play as Ellie four years on from the lie, living some semblance of a normal life in the walled town of Jackson. ItРІР‚в„ўs a story about facing the consequences of your actions, how everyone finds their inner strength in a different place, and how revenge can spiral out of control until you lose everything. Where the original game opened with explosions, this prologue is more understated, poignant. But he stripped away her agency, and he knows heРІР‚в„ўs no hero. Three syllables explain how Joel justifies himself. РІР‚СљI saved her,РІР‚Сњ he says as the camera cuts to a bloody hospital corridor filled with bodies. It opens with Joel talking to his brother, Tommy. When it ends, it imprints the same satisfaction of a story well told, packaged within Naughty DogРІР‚в„ўs best game. Conversations that youРІР‚в„ўve forgotten take on new meaning, beloved characters become more nuanced. This is a companion piece that manages to introduce new characters and themes while also making the original story stronger simply by existing. The Last of Us Part 2 deals with the consequences of both the killings and the lie.Р”Р‡ans of the original might be concerned that forcing a story with such a perfect ending to continue would tarnish the originalРІР‚в„ўs legacy. When she wakes, he says they just ran some tests and discharged her. He assaults the hospital, guns down the surgeons, and escapes with Ellie still sedated. Once they reach the Fireflies - a group who claim they can fashion a cure from EllieРІР‚в„ўs DNA - Joel discovers the procedure will kill her.

Last of us 2 review