With the PlayStation 5 release getting closer and closer, a lot of gamers are counting down the days to get their hands on the new piece of hardware. And yet, with the release of The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog proved that the PlayStation 4 is more than capable of delivering unforgettable moments. Yes, The Last of Us Part II truly delivers and it’s easily one of the best games of this generation. Let me explain.
The story unfolds
The story of The Last of Us is extremely important as it plays a huge part in the game. This isn’t just a brainless shooter where you advance from one point to another. In the world of The Last of Us, you’ll truly connect to the characters in ways unseen. Part II takes this to the next level by delivering a story that’s full of surprises from start to finish. Of course, I won’t spoil a single thing about the story as even the slightest spoiler might ruin the experience. What I do want to share, however, is how well this story is told.
There’s simply no other game on the market that had the same impact on me like this one. During my journey, I felt moments of joy, moments of rage, moments of disappointment, and moments where I questioned my own motives. Nothing is black or white in the harsh world of The Last of Us. There’s no pure evil and no pure good. As you can see in the trailers, the big theme of this sequel is personal revenge but it goes far further than just that. Yes, during the first half of the game, you’ll hunt down your enemies one by one and take them out with extreme violence. The more you advance, the more the story pushes you into doubt. What if your journey isn’t worth the struggle? What if what you’re doing isn’t any different from what your opponents are trying to achieve? The story and different playable characters add so much to the atmosphere and global experience that it’s simply unlike anything else. And in all honesty, there’s nothing that comes close to it. There’s no other game on the market that got me this involved in the characters and their backstory, you really have to experience it for yourselves to understand its full impact. And although the journey is filled with doubt, it’s worth pushing forward until the very last second.
Brutal, yet breathtaking
The story is masterfully written but it’s the world around it that really brings it to life. The Last of Us: Part II is without any doubt the best-looking game I ever played on my PlayStation 4 Pro. I paused my adventure on multiple occasions, just to let the environment sink in. Although the world has gone through a lot of pain and chaos since the first outbreak, there’s also a lot of beauty in it. Nature, for once, has fully taken over. It’s amazing to see how beautiful the destructed Seattle can be while wandering around in it. The amount of grass, the way the light breaks through the trees, the random animals jumping around, scared of the sounds you’re making. It’s all just so realistic and believable, unlike anything I’ve played on the system before. If people told me I was playing one of the first PlayStation 5 games, I would have believed them instantly. Everything is created with an incredible amount of love and eye for details. Just like the environments, the character designs are from an entirely different level and it really benefits the way you play the game.
Ellie never looked this realistic before and this goes further than just the looks. It really affects the gameplay too. Since realism is a big part of the game, you’ll run and dodge the enemies as you would do in real life. Ellie is extremely agile but hasn’t got any superhuman strengths. If she’s wandering around in empty dark supermarkets, she’ll have to be as quiet as possible if she wants to survive. The realism of the game really forces you to act like you would do in real life, never rushing things, and always taking care of yourself before you venture forward. The world of The Last of Us Part II is extremely brutal and the violence is as explicit as it gets and yet the realism is never that far out of reach. Thanks to this, you’ll get immersed into this breathtaking world in seconds and it won’t let you go until you reach the very end of your journey.
Think before you act
Not only the visuals feel like something that would belong to the next generation of consoles, but the gameplay also does as well. At first glance, this is just another third-person shooter with some environmental puzzles, in reality, it’s so much more. The game is all about surviving and it really pushes the genre into unknown territories. If you play on the normal difficulty setting, you’ll have a hard time to survive all your encounters. Ammo and supplies are scarce and if you don’t go looking for extra supplies in abandoned buildings, you’re dead in minutes. Exploration is a huge part of the game and Naughty Dog really made sure it’s worth your time. There’s no clear path and no best way to survive, you’ll just need to explore, adapt, and overcome. Just like everything else, this exploration feels extremely realistic and natural. There’s no giant compass on your screen, there aren’t a lot of visual indicators to show you where you need to go (unless you switch those on), it’s entirely up to you. You can for example ignore the abandoned buildings and go straight for your target which would lead to a much harder confrontation and even some missed story moments. The story and gameplay progress with you and adapt to your choices. If you decide to skip a certain building, you might miss out on a scene other players witnessed. Whatever you do, one thing’s for sure. You better prepare for a fight.
Throughout the game, you’ll be confronted with a lot of different enemies. The Infected got a couple of new species that won’t go down easily and the other human survivors aren’t always as kind and helpful as you would hope. The Infected are most dangerous in groups while even a duo of human enemies can easily take you out if you don’t pay attention. Because of the incredible artificial intelligence of your enemies, you’ll always need to think before you act. If you want to attack, you better have a plan B in mind if things go South. Ammo is scarce and taking them out in melee combat can be rather tricky. The way enemies respond to you and your violence is, again, extremely natural and they’ll try to flank you or send in some dogs to track you down. It’s a hard and brutal world you live in and the combat really reflects this. You’re constantly on the move, constantly trying to outsmart your enemies. If you are forced to fight them one by one, you’re in for one of the best, if not the best, melee mechanic ever introduced in a game. It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting hordes or just smaller groups of enemies, this is one of the most fluent and brutally satisfying games currently on the market. Just remember it’s not for the faint of heart.
Take your time and play it your way
As you can already tell from this review, I loved every minute of this game and I even think it’s my new favorite game of the current console generation. If I want to give you a piece of advice before playing, it’s to take your time and enjoy the game your way. Naughty Dog made sure everybody can enjoy this game just the way they like it thanks to the massive amount of options. At its core, this is a really challenging and even hard game to finish. It’s a harsh world and nothing comes for free unless you choose to play it on an easier setting to discover the emotional story. It’s amazing to see how much development time went into those options, really allowing gamers to tweak the settings to their preferences so the journey remains enjoyable for everyone. It’s not a game that’s meant to be rushed, it’s a game that’s meant to be enjoyed. The world of The Last of Us Part II is filled with details and places you simply need to discover to understand the full impact of the story. Without exploration, you’ll miss out on tons of emotional letters, giving different insights into the events and so much more. If you play it as it’s meant to be played, I promise you, this is one of the best games you’ll ever play in your life and it’s worth every second of your time.
Conclusion:
Naughty Dog really did the impossible and delivered a game that surpasses everything I wished for. It feels like something I would play on the next-generation of consoles and surprised me every time I continued my adventure. The emotional story, the breathtaking visuals, the moral conflicts, the artificial intelligence… Everything about the game is created to deliver an unforgettable journey and experience. There’s nothing on the market that does what The Last of Us Part II does and it should be played by everybody. Don’t hesitate, play this game and understand the true meaning of immersion.
