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[THEAP99]

Just platinum'ed the game. These are my final closing thoughts:

I game for memorable experiences like this. This game pushed the envelope in so many ways and I loved nearly every second of it. Specifically the absolutely tense & blood-filled combat, & the very mature and adult-like dark narrative, I truly loved it all!

Truly A new standard!

I easily put it over the first game (first game is still good, but this is way better) now after a 2nd playthrough. It shits on the first game in pretty much every aspect, except comfort food. This game is for mature adults, and many just can't handle it sadly.

I don't know if I put it over Uncharted 4 yet, but it's certainly in the top 2 best Naughty Dog games ever for me. It's also easily in my top 3 favorite Sony games from this generation. It's just simply a special game that from start to finish, maintains its amazing quality 24/7.

It will no doubt be cherished as time goes on and go down in history as one of the greats!

Thank you to everyone involved. This is a once in a generation type of experience. God bless you all!

 

[Valentino]

I already feel like it's iconic and in the gaming history books.

I'm loving my 2nd playthrough even more. Listening to the WLF, the Seriphites, and other NPC's talk in the gameplay segments about moments and scenarios you wouldn't have cared about or even thought had any significant meaning on your first time round. Loooooove this game and it's details!

 

[G-Bus]

Bit of a way into day 3. Decided to look up the chapters to see how far I am and figure that's about halfway?

Gameplay is kinda meh. It's fun at times and just a bit too much at others. Maybe a few less enemies here and there would have been nice. Enjoy fighting the infected more than people. Except bloaters. Fuck those things.

Story is what keeps me going. Really enjoying that even if it is a bit predictable. The darkness of it all is great. It's kept me on the edge more than once with the tension. So much that I've turned it off or opted not to play that night.

Can already tell it's going to overstay it's welcome and end up being too long for me. Thankfully the story is good enough for me to push through.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Yahtzee's review is out on youtube (has some spoilers but he warns you when he gets to them):



Unsurprisingly he didn't like the game. He also didn't like the first one for those wondering

 

[Keihart]

I feel that ND games this gen would have benefited of an arcade mode.
Like just reuse the same encounters but change a little the enemy placement, maybe one or two enemy closets here and there to make it a little harder in some and then string them all together and some score system.
It would be a fun, low effort way of adding replay-ability without changing the mechanics.

 

[Woggleman]

Anybody betting in Vegas that Yahtzee wouldn't like the game won two cents. Honestly he doesn't seem to like anything.

 

[Keihart]

Anybody betting in Vegas that Yahtzee wouldn't like the game won two cents. Honestly he doesn't seem to like anything.

that's the joke isn't it?
He also had to rush it through a weekend, i can see how soul draining must be playing this game in a weekend, at the fastest you'll spend like 3 eight hour days, and the game it's not rainbows and sunshine.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Anybody betting in Vegas that Yahtzee wouldn't like the game won two cents. Honestly he doesn't seem to like anything.

He tends to really dislike mainstream AAA due to all their sameness, but there's still plenty of games he viewed positively such as Undertale, Papers Please, Return of the obra dinn, Spec Ops the lIne, Disco Elysium, Dark Souls, among many others.

 

[Keihart]

I'm personally looking forward to ThorHighHeels's "so i've been playing..." review, i love how that channel review games.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

I'm personally looking forward to ThorHighHeels's "so i've been playing..." review, i love how that channel review games.

Spoiler

This GIF just made me realize that the beheading mechanic that is demonstrated in one of the gameplay trailers is not in the game...or is it?

 

[Keihart]

Spoiler

This GIF just made me realize that the beheading mechanic that is demonstrated in one of the gameplay trailers is not in the game...or is it?

idk , i guess i'll try later, haven't kill those with the machete.
Keep in mind that the executions seem to be different than a regular strike.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

idk , i guess i'll try later, haven't kill those with the machete.
Keep in mind that the executions seem to be different than a regular strike.

I think that we would have seen footage of it from a walkthrough or other type of YouTube video by now.

 

[evanft]

Finished it earlier this week. I played it on mostly hard with the following tweaks:

• Allies moderate so they actually do stuff
• Resources moderate because I like having options for encounters
• Weapon sway turned off. This made the shooting feel sooooooooooo much better. Wish I had done this from the very start instead of waiting until I was near the end to try it
• Turned off the ability for allies to get grabbed. I'm not going to babysit some shitty AI companion

I think I'll wait to see if there's a 60 fps patch on PS5 before giving it a second playthrough.

 

[JeloSWE]

Finished it earlier this week. I played it on mostly hard with the following tweaks:

• Allies moderate so they actually do stuff
• Resources moderate because I like having options for encounters
• Weapon sway turned off. This made the shooting feel sooooooooooo much better. Wish I had done this from the very start instead of waiting until I was near the end to try it
• Turned off the ability for allies to get grabbed. I'm not going to babysit some shitty AI companion

I think I'll wait to see if there's a 60 fps patch on PS5 before giving it a second playthrough.

I want to replay it so badly but I have to waiting for that 60fps experience.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Spoiler

 

[DonJorginho]

5th Playthrough completed, now onto Arkham Knight

 

[Bartski]

idk , i guess i'll try later, haven't kill those with the machete.
Keep in mind that the executions seem to be different than a regular strike.

nah, the machete has the longest melee finisher looking close to that trailer but ultimately it's a double strike to the neck, no beheading

 

[Woggleman]

5th Playthrough completed, now onto Arkham Knight

Fifth? I am on my second.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ELL4gv

 

[Fbh]

Still not done (damn you guys finish games fast).
So far I definitely think the game takes a nosedive in the second half. The pacing is so slow, the story has become completely uninteresting and IMO it just starts to feel stretched out. I enjoy the gameplay but I think it fits better with a shorter 10-15 hours story. After the 20th samey dark room with the same infected walking around and the 30th samey human encounter it starts to get monotonous, and the enemy variety isn't very good.

 

[bishopcruz]

Still not done (damn you guys finish games fast).
So far I definitely think the game takes a nosedive in the second half. The pacing is so slow, the story has become completely uninteresting and IMO it just starts to feel stretched out. I enjoy the gameplay but I think it fits better with a shorter 10-15 hours story. After the 20th samey dark room with the same infected walking around and the 30th samey human encounter it starts to get monotonous, and the enemy variety very good.

This doesn't get discussed enough but even though Philidelphia dragged a bit in TLoU1, Seattle is just the worst. It starts out ok, but it is 20 hours of the same stuff over and over again, with the occasional respite of the final section. And the story is padded out to almost pure absurdity.; Ellie has about 1 day worth of material stretched out to 3, Abby has maybe 2.

 

[Keihart]

Still not done (damn you guys finish games fast).
So far I definitely think the game takes a nosedive in the second half. The pacing is so slow, the story has become completely uninteresting and IMO it just starts to feel stretched out. I enjoy the gameplay but I think it fits better with a shorter 10-15 hours story. After the 20th samey dark room with the same infected walking around and the 30th samey human encounter it starts to get monotonous, and the enemy variety very good.

i kinda wish the game had 30 encounters, but the total it's way smaller D:

 

[Geki-D]

This GIF just made me realize that the beheading mechanic that is demonstrated in one of the gameplay trailers is not in the game...or is it?

I don't recall anyone being beheaded by Ellie in the trailer. The gameplay reveal execution is in the game, however:

 

[Fbh]

This doesn't get discussed enough but even though Philidelphia dragged a bit in TLoU1, Seattle is just the worst. It starts out ok, but it is 20 hours of the same stuff over and over again, with the occasional respite of the final section. And the story is padded out to almost pure absurdity.; Ellie has about 1 day worth of material stretched out to 3, Abby has maybe 2.

Yep.
In a way it sort of reminds me of FF7 Remake, where you could also tell the devs were trying to stretch out a lot of areas. Though overall I think 7 Remake did a better job thanks to more varied locations, more enemy variety and more gameplay variety (playing with different characters, trying out new materia builds and abilities, etc).

i kinda wish the game had 30 encounters, but the total it's way smaller D:

Ok yeah 30 might be exaggerating.
Just saying I think TLOU1 had better pacing and since it's shorter it remained enjoyable all the way through without feeling repetitive or monotonous.

 

[Keihart]

Yep.
In a way it sort of reminds me of FF7 Remake, where you could also tell the devs were trying to stretch out a lot of areas. Though overall I think 7 Remake did a better job thanks to more varied locations, more enemy variety and more gameplay variety (playing with different characters, trying out new materia builds and abilities, etc).




Ok yeah 30 might be exaggerating.
Just saying I think TLOU1 had better pacing and since it's shorter it remained enjoyable all the way through without feeling repetitive or monotonous.

Yeah, i think TLoU1 was way easier to go through because it's more linear and shorter, i mean. In TLoU2 they rely heavily in dialogue and notes during exploration and combat to flesh out the world and characters, there are very few cut scenes considering the total run of the game.

I think the game would of benefited of some chapters structure to give players a signal that it's time to put the controller down. I just kept the game suspended so i didn't burn out and had some rest every 2 or 3 hours.

 

[bishopcruz]

Yeah, i think TLoU1 was way easier to go through because it's more linear and shorter, i mean. In TLoU2 they rely heavily in dialogue and notes during exploration and combat to flesh out the world and characters, there are very few cut scenes considering the total run of the game.

I think the game would of benefited of some chapters structure to give players a signal that it's time to put the controller down. I just kept the game suspended so i didn't burn out and had some rest every 2 or 3 hours.

Well according to Druckmann the game was supposed to be hub-based early on, with the first part being in Jackson and starring Abby, then moving on to Seattle, then Santa Barbara. If they were broken up better I think it would have worked. The intro is painfully rushed, and Seattle is now the only real area in the game, and it has way too much shoved into it, but too little of actual consequence. Santa Barbara is rushed as well, but it is of such high quality that it is by far my favorite part of the game both story and gameplay-wise.

 

[Keihart]

Well according to Druckmann the game was supposed to be hub-based early on, with the first part being in Jackson and starring Abby, then moving on to Seattle, then Santa Barbara. If they were broken up better I think it would have worked. The intro is painfully rushed, and Seattle is now the only real area in the game, and it has way too much shoved into it, but too little of actual consequence. Santa Barbara is rushed as well, but it is of such high quality that it is by far my favorite part of the game both story and gameplay-wise.

i enjoy Santa Barbara because they finally say "fuck it, here are some mustache twirling villains, go use your explosive arrows" and god knows i had a full stack of them saved up and enough to craft more.

 

[Danjin44]

I thought I finished the game when...... Ellie living peacefully with Dina and the baby but I guess there is still little bit of game left. Overall I’m enjoying the game and yeah some story elements I didn’t liked but not to the point of get angry about it like some people did.

But I definitely enjoyed FFVIIR much more.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

I don't recall anyone being beheaded by Ellie in the trailer. The gameplay reveal execution is in the game, however:

I had thought that Ellie beheaded someone at 10:49 in the following video, but now that I watch it again, I realize that I misrecalled what she actually does.

 

[evanft]

i enjoy Santa Barbara because they finally say "fuck it, here are some mustache twirling villains, go use your explosive arrows" and god knows i had a full stack of them saved up and enough to craft more.

Aw yeah I went full Rambo mode on those guys. During the very first encounter when there's three of them talking while you're behind a short wall I just tossed a molotov and burned all three. Then I set a trap mine to catch the dog and its handler as soon as they came around the corner to investigate. In the resort interior area I played predator the best I could but once things went to shit it was time for big boom.

 

[TexMex]

That’s a wrap. Loved it.

 

[Vroadstar]

5th Playthrough completed, now onto Arkham Knight

I bought it day 1 and haven't even completed it due to workload and now buying GoT day 1 too

 

[GymWolf]

i enjoy Santa Barbara because they finally say "fuck it, here are some mustache twirling villains, go use your explosive arrows" and god knows i had a full stack of them saved up and enough to craft more.

Lol same, i used more explosives in the last part that in the entire game...

 

[nowhat]

nvm.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Check this out, guys and gals.

 

[EviLore]

Finished.

Hmm.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Finished.

Hmm.

What did you think?

 

[tassletine]

Just platinum'ed the game. These are my final closing thoughts:

I game for memorable experiences like this. This game pushed the envelope in so many ways and I loved nearly every second of it. Specifically the absolutely tense & blood-filled combat, & the very mature and adult-like dark narrative, I truly loved it all!

Truly A new standard!

I easily put it over the first game (first game is still good, but this is way better) now after a 2nd playthrough. It shits on the first game in pretty much every aspect, except comfort food. This game is for mature adults, and many just can't handle it sadly.

I don't know if I put it over Uncharted 4 yet, but it's certainly in the top 2 best Naughty Dog games ever for me. It's also easily in my top 3 favorite Sony games from this generation. It's just simply a special game that from start to finish, maintains its amazing quality 24/7.

It will no doubt be cherished as time goes on and go down in history as one of the greats!

Thank you to everyone involved. This is a once in a generation type of experience. God bless you all!

What exactly about this story is for mature adults? I'm almost 50 and I found it to be pretty immature.

 

[EviLore]

What did you think?

I never got over my dislike of playing as Abby, or cared about her comrades at all, which turned out to be a problem. It was satisfying to pulverize her in the epilogue, but letting her live...nah, there’s no letting her live after what transpired.

It’s a well-made game, but if it hadn’t been ideologically motivated throughout, it surely would’ve pulled me in and fully emotionally invested like the first one instead of pushing me away numerous times with shattered suspension of disbelief and awkward politics.

The SB section really came together though, highlight of the game, so it closed out on a high note.

 

[J3nga]

I never got over my dislike of playing as Abby, or cared about her comrades at all, which turned out to be a problem. It was satisfying to pulverize her in the epilogue, but letting her live...nah, there’s no letting her live after what transpired.

It’s a well-made game, but if it hadn’t been ideologically motivated throughout, it surely would’ve pulled me in and fully emotionally invested like the first one instead of pushing me away numerous times with shattered suspension of disbelief and awkward politics.

The SB section really came together though, highlight of the game, so it closed out on a high note.

I think the direction is a miss here, it would've been better if the events have been played out in a different order. I played the game twice by now, 2nd time going in "open-minded" thinking maybe story will improve on me, the conclusion I've drawn for myself that it's an okay game, in some aspects very mediocre in some really amazing, but overall not great not terrible experience and that is a shame, it could've been a lot better.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

I never got over my dislike of playing as Abby, or cared about her comrades at all, which turned out to be a problem. It was satisfying to pulverize her in the epilogue, but letting her live...nah, there’s no letting her live after what transpired.

It’s a well-made game, but if it hadn’t been ideologically motivated throughout, it surely would’ve pulled me in and fully emotionally invested like the first one instead of pushing me away numerous times with shattered suspension of disbelief and awkward politics.

The SB section really came together though, highlight of the game, so it closed out on a high note.

I'm not happy about the outcomes of certain events but find them to be realistic and poignant; a good story doesn't necessarily give you what you want but conveys a lesson and impacts you emotionally.

Spoiler

While I liked Joel, I understand that in a post-apocalyptic, lawless world, it's realistic that he'd be the target of revenge.

Also, even though we - the audience - may think that Joel's rescue of Ellie from the Fireflies' hospital was moral, it's understandable that Abby doesn't agree; as a member of the Fireflies, her philosophy was that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (i.e. Ellie's right to decide to sacrifice herself). So, it's understandable that she'd want revenge against Joel for killing her father despite the reason for which Joel killed him.

As for Ellie's ultimate decision to not kill Abby, I think that it makes sense because doing so would have been pointless, as it would not have brought Joel back or otherwise changed anything. Ellie realized this and decided to let go of her lust for revenge; there's also Abby's mercuful decisions to spare her twice and to spare Dina and Tommy (before he killed Manny).

 

[peetfeet]

I never got over my dislike of playing as Abby, or cared about her comrades at all, which turned out to be a problem. It was satisfying to pulverize her in the epilogue, but letting her live...nah, there’s no letting her live after what transpired.

It’s a well-made game, but if it hadn’t been ideologically motivated throughout, it surely would’ve pulled me in and fully emotionally invested like the first one instead of pushing me away numerous times with shattered suspension of disbelief and awkward politics.

The SB section really came together though, highlight of the game, so it closed out on a high note.

Pretty much my thoughts on all points. Couldn’t care less about what was happening as I played Abby, Enjoyed the gung ho gameplay as her but kept hoping section after section that I would then go back to Playing Ellie. Hated the fact that they were trying so hard to make you like Abby while demonising Ellie at the same time. I wasn’t having any of it lol.
It would have been a lot better in a different order and having the watershed moment far into the second half of the game instead of at the beginning.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

Her strung up on that pole seemed like the perfect moment to shotgun blast her in the face.

But no... This entire quest to find her only to let her go.. I would have made other decisions.

 

[AV]

The SB section really came together though, highlight of the game, so it closed out on a high note.

I can't believe they sidelined the most interestingly horrifying enemies to one small section of the epilogue. Dealing with them could have been a real meaty chunk of the main story. Instead, Ellie barely seems interested in who are objectively the most evil people in the game.

 

[Spukc]

That’s a wrap. Loved it.

good boyo

 

[EviLore]

I'm not happy about the outcomes of certain events but find them to be realistic and poignant; a good story doesn't necessarily give you what you want but conveys a lesson and impacts you emotionally.

Spoiler

While I liked Joel, I understand that in a post-apocalyptic, lawless world, it's realistic that he'd be the target of revenge.

Also, even though we - the audience - may think that Joel's rescue of Ellie from the Fireflies' hospital was moral, it's understandable that Abby doesn't agree; as a member of the Fireflies, her philosophy was that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (i.e. Ellie's right to decide to sacrifice herself). So, it's understandable that she'd want revenge against Joel for killing her father despite the reason for which Joel killed him.

As for Ellie's ultimate decision to not kill Abby, I think that it makes sense because doing so would have been pointless, as it would not have brought Joel back or otherwise changed anything. Ellie realized this and decided to let go of her lust for revenge; there's also Abby's mercuful decisions to spare her twice and to spare Dina and Tommy (before he killed Manny).

I don't think it makes much sense, no. Life isn't worth much in TLOU2, and both characters will gladly murder anyone who stands in their way. As the players, we have so much blood on our hands at that point. Ellie has a thousand times more motivation to kill Abby than the randos she takes out, or Abby's friends she chases to the ends of the earth. Unlike Joel's arc in the first game, there is little to work with for Ellie's humanity to change course on the road to the finale. If Druckmann wanted it to hit properly, he should've lengthened the prairie house section several times over and shown the prospect of a happy, peaceful life seriously affecting Ellie on the journey to SB. The narrative falls flat instead.

 

[Clear]

Pretty much my thoughts on all points. Couldn’t care less about what was happening as I played Abby, Enjoyed the gung ho gameplay as her but kept hoping section after section that I would then go back to Playing Ellie. Hated the fact that they were trying so hard to make you like Abby while demonising Ellie at the same time. I wasn’t having any of it lol.
It would have been a lot better in a different order and having the watershed moment far into the second half of the game instead of at the beginning.

Sorry, got to disagree with this.

First of all there's a really weird thing going on where the exact same sorts of behavior Joel is either shown directly or implied to be capable of using routinely in the first game, now apparently demonize characters in the second?

There's a really striking moral double-standard at work here that basically says that if you like the person, then torture and murder are fine. Ironically this is the exact mindset that most every character in the sequel operates under.

I mean, every act of brutality in the game is justified in the sense that its done for survival, to save a comrade, or for a cause shared by the person's friends/peers/community.

I just find it interesting how some people seemingly cannot get past Joel's death, especially as revenge isn't really what the game is about.

 

[EviLore]

I can't believe they sidelined the most interestingly horrifying enemies to one small section of the epilogue. Dealing with them could have been a real meaty chunk of the main story. Instead, Ellie barely seems interested in who are objectively the most evil people in the game.

Yep. It's immediately so much more harrowing and personal than the Scars vs Wolves central conflict, or Abby relationship drama (my eyes...), or a fourth of the game dealing with Lev destroying her cultist family's lives by coming out as trans. SB is where I felt the strongest TLOU vibes. Would've been a much stronger narrative with those guys having greater emphasis.

 

[AV]

especially as revenge isn't really what the game is about.

The game is almost entirely about revenge, even if it's about condemning or criticising it. A game about forgiveness is very much still a game about revenge. The vast majority of the story happens simply because people want their revenge.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

I don't think it makes much sense, no. Life isn't worth much in TLOU2, and both characters will gladly murder anyone who stands in their way. As the players, we have so much blood on our hands at that point. Ellie has a thousand times more motivation to kill Abby than the randos she takes out, or Abby's friends she chases to the ends of the earth. Unlike Joel's arc in the first game, there is little to work with for Ellie's humanity to change course on the road to the finale. If Druckmann wanted it to hit properly, he should've lengthened the prairie house section several times over and shown the prospect of a happy, peaceful life seriously affecting Ellie on the journey to SB. The narrative falls flat instead.

Spoiler

Ellie kills everyone whom she kills in self defense or out of necessity or because they'd die anyway.

1. She kills Nora after Nora inhales spores, which means that - in a way - she shows Nora mercy by killing her; otherwise Nora would become a mindless and ever-hungry infected, animated corpse. Also, she needs Nora to provide Abby's whereabouts.
2. She kills Owen and Mel in self defense. While she's holding them at gunpoint solely to deter them from attacking her while she demands that they provide Abby's whereabouts, they make the foolish decision to attack her, which requires her to defend herself.
3. She kills Jordan in order to prevent him from killing Dina.
4. Every NPC that she kills while the player controls her is someone who would kill her or attempts to kill her simply for trying to pass through a particular area.

I personally think that the sequence that takes at the prarie house is long enough to convey the point that Ellie should have been grateful for Abby's mercy and the subsequent happy life that she could live with Dina and JJ, while also conveying the point that she couldn't help but go after Abby again due to PTSD.