Naughty Dog Responds to the Last of Us Part II Leaks (this is NOT a spoiler thread)

Calling it a chore is a bit more flavorful than I'd call it lol but TLOU and Uncharted do not feature engaging gameplay. You play them for the experience, the story, the graphics, the animation, these things. Obviously some people will still enjoy it because it's not aggressively bad, but I really think it's too bad ND has been stuck doing this shallow gameplay design for over 15 years now. Maybe if this game doesn't drop to such unanimous praise it will lead to some change.
TLoU has far more engaging and deeper gameplay than any Uncharted ever did.

Playing with limited supplies, having to make every shot count, the constant consideration of how to utilize resources effectively in a dynamically evolving situation (Molotov or health? Nail or smoke bomb? Shank or melee upgrade?), utilizing a seamless on the fly crafting system that doesn't pause to let you catch your breath, and investing in weapon and ability upgrades.

Combine all of these elements with incredibly competent presentation, attention to detail and sound design that reinforced a feeling of desperation and an inevitable end constantly nipping at your heels, and TLoU offers some of the most engaging, heart-pounding, and exhilarating encounter design I've yet to see in a game. I've played the game to death for its gameplay and find one of its greatest faults was not including an arena mode where you could set up goals and limitations to do over and over again.

Yes it has flaws as all games do, the stealth wasn't stealth at all, the AI often lacked, but to say that people only play TLoU for its story as someone mentioned is laughably ridiculous. When it's firing on all cylinders, it has very solid gameplay.
 
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I knew it. None of them are like the twist in TLOU2, they're still "person dear/somewhat related to who you started as the main character takes up the cape and carries on the story".
Godfather like TLOU2 would be like

"second half is Ba*****'s pov after he does something to S and A", Alien would be "rest of the movie is "A after he does something to R as he tries to bring the alien back home while escaping the crew" etc.

TLOU2 would be what you described if a certain scene with the protagonists happened early in the game and Dina was the playable protagonist. It ain't.
I dont know spoilers for the game so im not going tomread however those are instances of bait and switch classic style, another would be mgs2 because Raiden has no affiliation with snake
 
Playing with limited supplies, having to make every shot count, the constant consideration of how to utilize resources effectively in a dynamically evolving situation (Molotov or health? Nail or smoke bomb? Shank or melee upgrade?), utilizing a seamless on the fly crafting system that doesn't pause to let you catch your breath, and investing in weapon and ability upgrades.

Combine all of these elements with incredibly competent presentation, attention to detail and sound design that reinforced a feeling of desperation and an inevitable end constantly nipping at your heels, and TLoU offers some of the most engaging, heart-pounding, and exhilarating encounter design I've yet to see in a game.

Sure, but not for its gameplay and that is my point. Resource management is the only thing you mentioned that is actually gameplay related, everything else is abstract and presentation related. Which is fine if you enjoy it and I guess building shit on the fly could be an interesting hook, although I can't see how navigating some menus would increase the tension. Let me give you an example of what I mean: managing inventory in real time is also present in the Souls series, but you do that on top of all of the other gameplay mechanics which you have to mindful of at all times. TLOU is a relatively automatized cover shooter with increasingly linear exploration, broken up by uninteractive long story segments, which feature a lot of tedious walking and moronic puzzles.

You know why you never see any highly skilled gameplay video with guy doing acrobatic stunts you didn't think were possible? Or why you never hear about any secret area? Or why people's highlights are always about cutscenes moments or getting emotional over finding some giraffes? Because the game isn't focused on gameplay. It isn't bad and it's fine if you like, it's not like I'm spewing some objective truth here. It's just that it's frustrating to me personally that ND hasn't done a gameplay focused title since Jak 3, which is why their games have gotten progressively more and more uninteresting to me.
 
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Sure, but not for its gameplay and that is my point. Resource management is the only thing you mentioned that is actually gameplay related, everything else is abstract and presentation related. Which is fine if you enjoy it and I guess building shit on the fly could be an interesting hook, although I can't see how navigating some menus would increase the tension. Let me give you an example of what I mean: managing inventory in real time is also present in the Souls series, but you do that on top of all of the other gameplay mechanics which you have to mindful of at all times. TLOU is a relatively automatized cover shooter with increasingly linear exploration, broken up by uninteractive long story segments, which feature a lot of tedious walking and moronic puzzles.

You know why you never see any highly skilled gameplay video with guy doing acrobatic stunts you didn't think were possible? Or why you never hear about any secret area? Or why people's highlights are always about cutscenes moments or getting emotional over finding some giraffes? Because the game isn't focused on gameplay. It isn't bad and it's fine if you like, it's not like I'm spewing some objective truth here. It's just that it's frustrating to me personally that ND hasn't done a gameplay focused title since Jak 3, which is why their games have gotten progressively more and more uninteresting to me.
Because the game and Joels character wasnt designed to be acrobatic, Joel is a straight up ruthless killer, he wasnt designed for flips and stunts, no flips just fists. His play style whilst most people prob play stealth, other people go John Wick in the game


I would consider this by judging your enemies, distance and patterns to be very skilled gameplay for a game like this, esp adspting on the fly in a grounded game like this.
 
Because the game and Joels character wasnt designed to be acrobatic, Joel is a straight up ruthless killer, he wasnt designed for flips and stunts, no flips just fists. His play style whilst most people prob play stealth, other people go John Wick in the game


I would consider this by judging your enemies, distance and patterns to be very skilled gameplay for a game like this, esp adspting on the fly in a grounded game like this.


It's hard to play like this because ammo is so scarce, and I see a lot of automated takedowns and running circles around the AI. I do get that TLOU playing like Max Payne would be jarring considering what they're going for and I respect that dedication to delivering their vision. Joel feels like a relatively common man by gaming character standards. However, they could branch out lol. I get what you said about TLOU not playing like an Uncharted game, but I honestly see refinement rather than departure. And I could do with some departure.

What I'm saying is, do the story heavy games but also give me my fucking Jak 4.
 
It's hard to play like this because ammo is so scarce, and I see a lot of automated takedowns and running circles around the AI. I do get that TLOU playing like Max Payne would be jarring considering what they're going for and I respect that dedication to delivering their vision. Joel feels like a relatively common man by gaming character standards. However, they could branch out lol. I get what you said about TLOU not playing like an Uncharted game, but I honestly see refinement rather than departure. And I could do with some departure.

What I'm saying is, do the story heavy games but also give me my fucking Jak 4.
Sadly their next project might be a nee fps IP, but i do hope they return in some fashion to a Jak or even a successor to it
 
Yikes. Think about all the amazing content you're missing out on by forever dismissing something based on seconds or minutes of exposure. You've never given a song another chance after a few years? You've never watched an amazing movie with a terrible trailer? Open yourself up, my dude.

Waiting to experience the final product to make a judgement sounds like the opposite of a lemming. Buying into the knee jerk reaction mob and refusing an experience outright? Now that seems very lemming-y. Of course, it's your money. Spend it as you please! TREAT. YO. SELF.

None of us have the time or resources to experience everything. We all make choices.
 
Just realized I mixed you up with the other guy lol similar avatars.
No problem man
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After reading the leaks and laughing at some of the memes, I'm still not completely sure what to make of it all. It seems like there's still a heavy amount of stuff being assumed.

I'll keep my torch lit and my pitchfork sharpened, but I'm not getting out of my chair to join the crowd just yet.
 
Not reading any spoilers at all. Dont need a response to this.

But I LOVE how everyone is so up in arms and divided. Sounds like it pissed a lot of sensitive ponies off, or is very controversial. Makes me even more anxious to dive in for myself.
 
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