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PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 11:52 pm 
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** MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD **

Gamers are a lot extremely hard to satisfy these days. This is the first game where I've watched people not only shut the game down forever after a particular point early on, but also destroy their game disc. That's some pretty heavy disappointment, and that level of dissatisfaction seems to be echoing throughout the internet right now. But, I don't understand it, and here's why:

Major Contention 1: Joel is Killed

This is the deal-breaker for a lot of people, and it's one of the first events in the game. Joel ham-handedly gives up his identity to strangers, and without even asking his surname, they open fire. The level of confidence is what's astounding here, not the fact that he willingly gave himself up. But, in a time when forms of identification no longer exist, how exactly would you identify someone you don't know by appearance? The fact is, Joel has to die -- to pay for the decision he made, and to set the revenge story in motion. If there was no revenge story, this is just another zombie survival game. The only way this was going to happen is if he gave himself up. And yes, Ellie has to witness it. She has to know who she's fighting. And yes, Ellie has to be set free. Otherwise, no Ellie, and no game. The fact they were allowed to live says that his killers have a sense of morality, and that they had only one real intention. Possibly even more so than Joel himself...

Major Contention 2: Forced to Play as the Antagonist

As if watching her kill the beloved Joel weren't enough, players are forced to play as Abby throughout the game. Why is this? Why would you make me care about someone I now deeply despise, and against the games' protagonists? This game's message is to illustrate moral relativism, and being forced to take the side of the opposition is necessary in helping to realize that neither party is wrong. That is to say, between Abby and Ellie. Viewed in this light, we see the only true antagonist is the now-deceased Joel. At the moment of his death, the story could have ended with Ellie and Abby shaking hands, winking, and Ellie saying, "Fair play." But, again, no revenge story, no game.

Major Contention 3: She's a Man!

Some people have expressed their disdain for the game being so laden with SJW and PC politics, and before I came to a certain realization, I was on board with them. Without going into too much detail, in short, Abby is built like a fucking tank. The mind can't help but immediately start to speculate about certain preferences in her personal life, and we begin to assume. Eventually, our initial assumptions are proven wrong, and the mind recoils in disbelief once again. We just don't get it. I didn't either, until I thought about it, and that's when it made perfect sense. Abby's androgynous appearance is the literal representation of moral relativism. The point of all this relativism is to show us what it's like when we are literally made to walk in someone else's shoes, to see their point of view, to feel what they feel. This is an extremely important lesson to learn in life.

Major Contention 4: SHE LET HER GO?!?!

For those that stuck around for it, the game ends with an inevitable fight to the death between Abby and Ellie. Perhaps the only redeeming factor for the naysayers is that Ellie defeats Abby, albeit not in the most thorough way possible as many would have liked. For these people, the ending was a complete farce and let-down, along with the rest of the game. For me, I don't think it could have ended more wonderfully. Abby doesn't want to fight, but Ellie has to do something to avenge Joel. So, she takes pieces of her with a knife, stabs her, comes close to drowning her. She makes her pay, but only just enough. Had she actually killed her, Ellie would have joined the ranks of antagonist alongside Joel. But she doesn't, and therefore is awarded redemption, seals her rightful place as heroine, and gains enlightenment via the necessary existence of Abby. Ellie is immune to the diseases which plague the world, those of which are trapped in an immortal existence of being able to hear but not see, and that fact was beautifully represented here.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." -- Mahatma Ghandi

The Last of Us II:

Story: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 10/10

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Last edited by XooZQ on Thu Jun 25, 2020 10:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:54 pm 
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Wait, this is a video game? It sounds like a Lifetime movie.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:08 pm 
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omen285 wrote:
Wait, this is a video game? It sounds like a Lifetime movie.


Indeed, it is a game! And, the acting is so much better than anything I've ever seen before. Unlike that huge, steaming pile of garbage that was the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I really didn't mind so much that there were a lot of cutscenes in this game, because the story was interesting and compelling. Instead of a giant cringe-fest, it enrages you, scares you, makes you laugh and cry: all the things a good story should do.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:16 pm 
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XooZQ wrote:
omen285 wrote:
Wait, this is a video game? It sounds like a Lifetime movie.


Indeed, it is a game! And, the acting is so much better than anything I've ever seen before. Unlike that huge, steaming pile of garbage that was the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I really didn't mind so much that there were a lot of cutscenes in this game, because the story was interesting and compelling. Instead of a giant cringe-fest, it enrages you, scares you, makes you laugh and cry: all the things a good story should do.



i just looked up a video review, the graphics and all the romance scenes, when did games get so much depth, cool!

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:21 pm 
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MACHO MA'AM ABBY SAVAGE.

As someone who liked TLoU1 and wanted to see those stories built upon. This "sequel" is a streaming pile of garbage. I for one am glad the leaks came out and have no inclination to touch/finish any Let's Plays.

Granted if this was a stand alone game and not a sequel my reaction would probably be much more lax.

SuBvErTiNg ExPeCtAtIoNs is worst movement to hit entertainment(movies, games, TV) in a LONG time.

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Last edited by Kazen on Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:23 pm 
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Kazen wrote:
MACHO MA'AM ABBY SAVAGE.

As someone who liked TLoU1 and wanted to see those stories built upon. This "sequel" is a streaming pile of garbage. I for one am glad the leaks came out and have no inclination to touch/finish any Let's Plays.

Granted if this was a stand alone game and not a sequel my reaction would probably be much more lax.


Care to elaborate why you don't like it?

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:27 pm 
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XooZQ wrote:
Kazen wrote:
MACHO MA'AM ABBY SAVAGE.

As someone who liked TLoU1 and wanted to see those stories built upon. This "sequel" is a streaming pile of garbage. I for one am glad the leaks came out and have no inclination to touch/finish any Let's Plays.

Granted if this was a stand alone game and not a sequel my reaction would probably be much more lax.


Care to elaborate why you don't like it?


This video explains my thoughts pretty well:

https://youtu.be/OcfMkVjWZ5s

Basically, the first game created these storylines and moments and made you feel for the characters. The sequel shits on that in the first few hours.

Edit: I'll add that the developer's rules for all reviewers said you can't even mention the last 10-12 hours of gameplay/story is ultra scummy.

_________________
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This society is really tryin me, ain't no hide and seek
I hide to be far from anxiety, I need my space,
I need my privacy, I need some signs please,
You're all too loud you don't speak quietly, opinions violently.
Deft/Drop


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:33 pm 
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Kazen wrote:
MACHO MA'AM ABBY SAVAGE.

As someone who liked TLoU1 and wanted to see those stories built upon. This "sequel" is a streaming pile of garbage. I for one am glad the leaks came out and have no inclination to touch/finish any Let's Plays.

Granted if this was a stand alone game and not a sequel my reaction would probably be much more lax.

SuBvErTiNg ExPeCtAtIoNs is worst movement to hit entertainment(movies, games, TV) in a LONG time.


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:21 am 
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:lol: Well, I had a post typed up but then this shit website deleted it all so fuck it.

TL;Don'tfeelliketypingitallagain:

Troy Baker (Joel's voice actor) put it best imo:

"If we have done our job right, people will question everything. I want [players] to be able to challenge their own ideas about what this game is, what this world is, who the characters are – everything. I want people to go in open-minded to this story, and allow Joel and Ellie to tell their story – not the story that people think that they want to be told. If people go in open-minded to this thing, I think they will have a completely different experience than if they go in close-minded."

Avoided all spoilers and leaks prior to playing the game and I really enjoyed it. Still think the anti SJW crowd hate towards this game isn't justified. I'm a sucker for tragic stories (Berserk fanboy here) so I actually enjoyed for what it was too, though admittedly there were a few plot holes for sure. Graphics second to none I've seen on consoles at least. I'd still recommend people play the game.

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PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:45 am 
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Tex wrote:
:lol: Well, I had a post typed up but then this shit website deleted it all so fuck it.

TL;Don'tfeelliketypingitallagain:

Troy Baker (Joel's voice actor) put it best imo:

"If we have done our job right, people will question everything. I want [players] to be able to challenge their own ideas about what this game is, what this world is, who the characters are – everything. I want people to go in open-minded to this story, and allow Joel and Ellie to tell their story – not the story that people think that they want to be told. If people go in open-minded to this thing, I think they will have a completely different experience than if they go in close-minded."

Avoided all spoilers and leaks prior to playing the game and I really enjoyed it. Still think the anti SJW crowd hate towards this game isn't justified. I'm a sucker for tragic stories (Berserk fanboy here) so I actually enjoyed for what it was too, though admittedly there were a few plot holes for sure. Graphics second to none I've seen on consoles at least. I'd still recommend people play the game.


I always C&P after every paragraph just in case I lose it somehow lol.

A lot of people are going hard on the plot holes, and I don't really see any inconsistencies. Maybe I'm blind. At any rate, there's almost no tale of fiction that doesn't have some kind of bullshit going on to make it work. When Butch just so happens to run into Marcellus in the middle of some random street; When a hurricane hits, and Forrest Gump's boat is the only one left standing; when a billionaire in a bat suit becomes a highly successful vigilante...

We give all these movies a pass, and I think the reason is because what we expected to happen is what happens, for the most part. But, the power of fiction is that you can make the highly improbable happen. Even so, for a video game, this is far and away the best story and acting I've ever experienced in 35 years of gaming. You can tell they really tried to make it more than just killing zombies, and I think that has to be respected.

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