Discussion Critics love The Last of Us: Part II. Users don't.

[Paladin]

Moderator Note: This thread may contain spoilers. If you wish to post a spoiler, PLEASE use the spoiler BBCode! Refusal to do so may result in your post being edited.

It's been barely a day since The Last of Us: Part II was released, but it already seems to be attracting heat among the gaming populace.
While critics are giving it scores of 95-100, users don't see the same appeal. So far, the game has attracted a score of 3.6, or Generally Unfavorable on Metacritic after 37,941 total reviews (of which 25,296 are negative.) It also doesn't take much work to find YouTube videos or news articles criticizing the game.

Many of these criticisms are levied against the game's overall story. Without mentioning spoilers, there are several events in-story that have caused uproar and anger.

What's your opinion on this sort of thing? Do you agree with the reviews, or do you disagree with them? Do you believe that the users are criticizing in a good way, or simply throwing criticism at the first thing they see?

More importantly, do you think that The Last of Us: Part II is still a good game? Or have the reviews caused you to think about it a bit more?

SPOILER WARNING: These links contain spoilers. Many of the reviews are already spoilered, but this is just a disclaimer that, yes, your game experience may be spoiled by visiting these links.

Spoiler: Reviews

Metacritic Reviews
IMDB User Reviews
Reddit posts
YouTube search query
Kotaku article on review-bombing

 

[Ash]

I read that some of the reviews weren't real (from the fans). It seems that some of the reviews were posted very quickly after the game launched and it seems almost impossible for some to have already finished the game by then.

 

[Talk Depression]

I read that some of the reviews weren't real (from the fans). It seems that some of the reviews were posted very quickly after the game launched and it seems almost impossible for some to have already finished the game by then.

This does not suprise me in the slightest. I never ever believe reviews for this reason, I just feel like 90% of the time they are fabricated.

 

[Deleted member 269]

I haven't played it yet, however a friend told me that a lot of feedback from reviews are saying its very disturbing in some scenes and that its made gamers not play it?

He is half way through the game without finding any of them claims above and has enjoyed it.

 

[Paul Phoenix]

The game is a violent offering, and for that reason, I don't like its plot. Visually, the game is impressive, and I hope the PS5 continues to raise the bar with gaming. The gameplay is also fine, for the most part. Sometimes though, you have to die to figure out what you should have did right, which seems awfully dirty. For example, at the start as Abby, the Infected come running right at you. You're giving no real indication of where she has to flee, at that moment. So anyone trying to do the whole game without dying once - I wish you the best!

However, I play games for their story too, and this one is just too brutal to be classed as being good in any capacity. I honestly felt sad after finishing it. The story is best summed up as being grim, or bleak.

 

[Demon_skeith]

This is why we can't have half life 3

but I think time will tell if people enjoyed it or not.

 

[Nova]

I heard a lot of people are not happy with the gameplay aspects of it. Story trail is okayish considering it is meant for the survival and horror pleasing one. I don't think community has to be happy with every new game that comes out. But this one seems pretty okay to me but sales speak the reality.

 

[Macho Man Randy Savage]

I heard a lot of people are not happy with the gameplay aspects of it. Story trail is okayish considering it is meant for the survival and horror pleasing one. I don't think community has to be happy with every new game that comes out. But this one seems pretty okay to me but sales speak the reality.

I would like if the likes of metacritic had it's users have to connect their platform ID to review a game. The username doesn't need to be public but it could cut down on ridiculous review scores. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but how anyone can claim The Last of Us Part II or any game is a 0 beggars belief. A zero score would mean that it does not work. You may hate the story and that's fine but the game functions and I had zero crashes completing it so it is at least higher than a 0. The game plays slightly better than the first with a few extra moves so if the original was a masterpiece, the issue is not with gameplay.

The leaks ruined it. It wouldn't have had the backlash had you discovered it all in the same time frame. The people offended by the "SJW" parts made it a bigger monster than it was because they had a few months without seeing the full picture. The original TLOU worked well as there was subtle parts to other characters. Bill was gay, but they didn't bash you over the head with it and the same for Ellie. You find out Riley is a girl and not a boy at the last cutscene. If two months prior to the PS3 release of TLOU, it was revealed you played part of the game as a gay character and there was a section where you meet a gay character and see his lover there would be pitchforks. If the leaks didn't come out the damage wouldn't have been as bad. Those outraged by TLOU2 had two months free hand to build the hate around the game.

 

[Paul Phoenix]

The story is torture. That isn't to say the game is otherwise unimpressive. I think giving how everything plays out, they just did the fans a major disservice. The trailers and stuff were also misleading. It was as if Neil didn't want any fans to know about Abby or that Joel wasn't the central focal point. But God, you have to play as that cow for a huge majority of the game. Nobody feels sorry for her. ?

 

[Paladin]

After going back on reading some reviews and watching a few gameplay videos on Youtube, I can say this:
Spoilered to protect important story events.

• The graphics really are beautiful, and I love the accessibility mode. It's clear that Naughty Dog are trying to attract the biggest audience they can. It's also good that they are trying to welcome the niche of gamers who need additional help or are vision-impaired.
• I really, really hate spending most of the game playing as Joel's murderer, who you don't even get to kill at the end. Why.
• Joel's death is really pointless. The first time I saw it, I thought it was a sick joke. I don't think the actual way that he died was the problem. The problem is just how ridiculously OOC Naughty Dog makes him. Why would he introduce himself to people he's never met, when in the last game he ran over someone for doubting them?
• That scene between Owen and Abby. You saw it, I saw it, doesn't change the fact that it's basically animated sex.. It's utterly pointless and ultimately detracts from the entire game. It may not be complete fanservice (or fan dis-service), but that doesn't change the fact that it feels incredibly shoehorned in. The first time I saw it, I winced in disgust and wished I could skip it. Why isn't it skippable?
• Ellie kills everyone except for the person who murdered Joel, and then lets her live!!! There were no words to describe just how baffling and dazing that scene was. This game has Ellie go on a revenge plot, kill hundreds, but stops short at her worst enemy?

Anyway, if I had to throw in a review, I'd praise the graphics and express my disgust at the story. It really isn't the kind of quality I'd expect from the people who made The Last Of Us, which was 100x better than this.
And that's my two cents. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

 

[Nova]

The leaks ruined it.

Pretty much. However the LGBTQ found this game pretty interesting and they are pushign for it. And they demand more characters which are of their community. So leaks kind of ruined to the core communtiy but they found new community where they accepted the new games as it is. Overall reviews now are coming okayish.

 

[Paul Phoenix]

Don't click the spoiler if you haven't finished the game.

Spoiler: Oh. ?

Dina's baby is named after Joel and Jesse.

 

[FaceHugger]

I enjoyed the story a lot. I think it was brave of Naughty Dog to take the risks they did. It goes without saying it's a beatiful game in every visual and audible way. The gameplay is fine, they just improved what was already there from the first game.

Regarding the conclusion, I do understand the motivations of the two characters involved. The final flashback, followed by

Spoiler

our hero's walk into the uncertain future, was touching.

 

[Slugs]

I enjoyed the game, but not as much of the first one. Not so much because of the content of the twists but more how it was presented. I think it would have been a better game if they literally swapped the first and second halves

Spoiler

imagine if they marketed the game as a new story within the TLOU universe. You’re playing as a new woman on her revenge quest, then you find out as the game progresses that you’re taking revenge on Joel. Have the first half of the game be the journey to Jackson to hunt down Joel and slowly unravel the details as you go. Have the next quarter be the current Abby half we have but condensed, then have the last quarter be playing as Ellie in the epilogue that exists currently (post theatre fight)

I’m not a writer so my suggestion ovbviously isn’t perfect. I just think playing as Ellie would have been abetter twist.

 

[FaceHugger]

I enjoyed the game, but not as much of the first one. Not so much because of the content of the twists but more how it was presented. I think it would have been a better game if they literally swapped the first and second halves

Spoiler

imagine if they marketed the game as a new story within the TLOU universe. You’re playing as a new woman on her revenge quest, then you find out as the game progresses that you’re taking revenge on Joel. Have the first half of the game be the journey to Jackson to hunt down Joel and slowly unravel the details as you go. Have the next quarter be the current Abby half we have but condensed, then have the last quarter be playing as Ellie in the epilogue that exists currently (post theatre fight)

I’m not a writer so my suggestion ovbviously isn’t perfect. I just think playing as Ellie would have been abetter twist.

That sounds like it could have worked, I like your idea. From ND's perspective, they probably wanted to stick to the main characters everyone was already familiar with before introducing the plot twists. Not just for continuity's sake, but from a marketing perspective (everyone wanted more Ellie and Joel).

 

[Slugs]

That sounds like it could have worked, I like your idea. From ND's perspective, they probably wanted to stick to the main characters everyone was already familiar with before introducing the plot twists. Not just for continuity's sake, but from a marketing perspective (everyone wanted more Ellie and Joel).

I know but TLOU was a big enough success that I think any game marketed as a sequel, regardless of who the player character was, would have done well. Maybe that’s naive of me though and maybe I’m underestimating the number of people that would have lost interest if Joel wasn’t in the marketing. One of my favourite things about TLOU was the ending and how it wasn’t a cliffhanger begging for a sequel. It had an Inception-like ending that was very open to debate but with no obvious follow on required.

I dunno, I don’t have any problems with the story they told I just think it could have been done better. And given the response from people about “the twist” I think it would have been Received way more positively if it were flipped.

 

[Griffin]

Don't click the spoiler if you haven't finished the game.

Spoiler: Oh. ?

Dina's baby is named after Joel and Jesse.

I have not played the game but I also dont care about spoilers but

Spoiler: Question

How can a baby be named after two people? first name, middle name?

 

[Paul Phoenix]

To answer your question, Griffin...

Spoiler: About the baby...

Dina's baby is named after Joel, and her late ex-boyfriend, Jesse. He's the Chinese looking guy who was dating Dina, before they broke up and Dina started a relationship with Ellie. Later on, Jesse assists Ellie in trying to find Tommy, Joel's brother, as Dina announces she's pregnant, and cannot continue to travel with Ellie. She stays at a theatre, and Jesse ends up killed by Abby who discovered their location, prior to the birth of his child.

 

[Ty_McDK]

So disclosure, I haven't played the game but I have watched a bunch of gameplay and story and I'm familiar with the general plot, how it ends etc. So take from this what you will.

TLoU2 to me comes off like Neil Druckman played Spec Ops: The Line, thought "hey I can do that too", and completely missed why it worked.

The thing which really anoys me about TLoU2, which isn't touched on much, is how the game is essentially a "fuck you" to the player.

Spoiler: very vague and nothing specific is mentioned, but just in case

The game constantly forces you as the player carry out horrendous actions, then snatches control away just in time for the person you're controlling to say "actually, I don't want to do this any more". So the character gets some kind of redemption while you as the player don't have that option. Versus Spec Ops where you and the character you controlled were equally culpable.

 

[Paul Phoenix]

Well, I have an image of Joel, Ellie and a giraffe as my desktop wallpaper on my (horrendously slow) refurbished laptop. It's unpleasant to look at it now, knowing what the sequel represents. ?

I just don't understand Naughty Dog. In fact, you know I am so distrusting of Capcom now as well. They have something great going, and they decide to fumble the ball. It's no wonder I moan about them all over the Internet. ?