• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

When will a game surpass TLOU 2's combat? The combat feels next gen.

Represent.

Represent(ative) of bad opinions
I'm on my 3rd playthrough of this masterpiece and have never appreciated it more, 4 years into a new generation.

The visceral, intense and fucking brutal combat has yet to be even challenged.

4 Years into the gen. Releases from several heavy hitters studios, and no one is coming close?

This games combat is just pure insanity, and with the 4K Remaster, its even easier to appreciate, and harder to deny.

If you think another 3rd person shooter game has better combat, you're simply wrong.

This game fucking nails:

- Insane brutality
- Best hit detection in the medium.
- Best animation in the industry, making the 2 things above even more impressive.
- Incredible sound effects
- Perfect FOV
- Brilliant and aggressive AI
- Small visual details that add to the overall combat experience

Look at this fucking insane hit reaction. I shoot his leg, it falls off realistically, he falls to the ground, I shoot his head off - He gargles. FUCK!


Another example of absolute god tier hit reaction. It REALLY adds to the combat.
I shoot her leg, she falls, holding that same leg in pain, screaming. I shoot her head with a pistol. Ultra real headshot. You CAN SEE HER TOUNGE as the only remaining identifiable feature when I walk in close.


The camera is super close, making encounters like this way more intense. Again. INSANE hit reaction even in melee combat. Enemies react to every. single. hit. Ellie wipes the blood off her face mid combat, another enemy appears, beautiful hit reaction when I hit it in its neck and it falls to the ground.


Freaking blood and chunks of flesh falling from the ceiling and walls after I blow someone to bits.


Enemies are aggressive as fuck on higher difficulties. Fluid and beautiful animation just brings it all together.


Small but IMPACTFUL details - The fucking blood splatter colors the rays of light

4xL8oz.gif


I have been playing on Grounded mode with no HUD and .. Good lord..

All gameplay shots below. My own screenshots. Dont mind the PS5 image compression, looks better on my OLED.


You hit a mf in the head with a machete, their head splits right where you hit them. Their body slumps, eyes roll back slowly. Not a QTE. Pure raw gameplay

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129011131.jpg

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129010630.jpg


Blood splatter all over your hands, look at the intensity on her face. Yes, this adds to the overall combat experience.

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129021126.jpg


Enemies blow up very fucking nicely,

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129031310.jpg


Blood splatter, fantastic facial animations in combat

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240127020704.jpg


Just an untouchable combination of realism, animation, hit reaction, being visceral as fuck, realistic gore, unrivalled intensity, tension, etc.

Its not about the difficulty of stringing some flashy combo together with cookie cutter hit reaction and no substance.

Its about feeling like your character fucking hates the opponent, and anything in their way will get fucking mangled. Feeling like a killing machine, yet a vulnerable one. No other game comes close to putting all of this together, not to mention perfect controls.

At the expense of looking like a psychopath with all this gore, here is a gif of a puppy to end my thread.

3c8023d7b1f1266a87d262fc2ecbb5ed.gif
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
Rdr2 is pretty close (the shooting, the melee is a bit weak), superior for some things, inferior for others, dead island 2 has way better gore than both (maybe a bit more stylized) and a more more precise\localized damage.

Just talking about the look, tlou2 obviously is way more fluid to play.

You should really play darktide dude, first person wise it' probably the best meaty combat we had this gen.

What tlou2 does best it's looking\sounding villent in a super realistic way, sound design and gruesome micro-details, every dude who praise this game this much should be in a some FBI list 🕺

We need tlou3 for a nextgen overhaul, if they do another unchy or new ip they are not gonna use their violence tech because the tone is gonna be different.
 
Last edited:

MiguelItUp

Member
I think the gore looks awesome for sure, and I think the combat is as solid as the first game with a few improvements for sure. But IMO it doesn't feel like the be all end all thus far. Then again, I wouldn't be able to tell you what I think is right off the top of my head.
 

Represent.

Represent(ative) of bad opinions
Rdr2 is pretty close (the shooting, the melee is a bit weak), superior for some things, inferior for others, dead island 2 has way better gore than both (maybe a bit more stylized) and a more more precise\localized damage.

Just talking about the look, tlou2 obviously is way more fluid to play.

You should really play darkside dude, first person wise it' probably the best we had this gen.

What tlou2 does best it's looking\sounding villent in a super realistic way, sound design and gruesome micro-details, every dude who praise this game this much should be in a some FBI list 🕺

We need tlou3 for a nextgen overhaul, if they do another unchy or new ip they are not gonna use their violence tech because the tone is gonna be different.
yes I constantly find myself saying "fuck" when I play this lol it i quite brutal, but wouldnt have it any other way.

I forgot about RDR 2, that was great too - but just felt piss poor to play in comparison. Have not tried darkside yet
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
Since represent laughed at my rdr2 post...



If you can't notice that rdr2 is the closest thing to tlou2 in term of trying to depict realistic violence with weighty ragdoll and care for microdetails you should see an optometrist buddy.

Edit: oh ok you were not laughing at the comparison, yeah of course tlou2 feels way better to play (but i don't dislike heavy arthur during exploration and quite moments)
 
Last edited:

T4keD0wN

Member
Space Marine 2, coming out 9.9.2024

3rd person and shooter dont mix well, thats not to say they cant be impressive on the technical side, but its pretty rare for them to play well or be fun. TLOU2 is one of the very few games which happen to be good at both of those things.
I dont think its going to be surpassed when it comes to tech/detail any time soon, not even by GTA6, but when it comes to "fun factor" its arguable (some people had more fun with Max Payne 2 for example).
 
Last edited:

Represent.

Represent(ative) of bad opinions
Since represent laughed at my rdr2 post...



If you can't notice that rdr2 is the closest thing to tlou2 in term of trying to depict realistic violence with weighty ragdoll and care for microdetails you should see an optometrist buddy.

Edit: oh ok you were not laughing at the comparison, yeah of course tlou2 feels way better to play.

I was actually laughing at your FBI comment :messenger_smirking:

this is great, RDR 2 is the only competition, just doesnt play half as smooth
 
I'm on my 3rd playthrough of this masterpiece and have never appreciated it more, 4 years into a new generation.

The visceral, intense and fucking brutal combat has yet to be even challenged.

4 Years into the gen. Releases from several heavy hitters studios, and no one is coming close?

This games combat is just pure insanity, and with the 4K Remaster, its even easier to appreciate, and harder to deny.

If you think another 3rd person shooter game has better combat, you're simply wrong.

This game fucking nails:

- Insane brutality
- Best hit detection in the medium.
- Best animation in the industry, making the 2 things above even more impressive.
- Incredible sound effects
- Perfect FOV
- Brilliant and aggressive AI
- Small visual details that add to the overall combat experience

Look at this fucking insane hit reaction. I shoot his leg, it falls off realistically, he falls to the ground, I shoot his head off - He gargles. FUCK!


Another example of absolute god tier hit reaction. It REALLY adds to the combat.
I shoot her leg, she falls, holding that same leg in pain, screaming. I shoot her head with a pistol. Ultra real headshot. You CAN SEE HER TOUNGE as the only remaining identifiable feature when I walk in close.


The camera is super close, making encounters like this way more intense. Again. INSANE hit reaction even in melee combat. Enemies react to every. single. hit. Ellie wipes the blood off her face mid combat, another enemy appears, beautiful hit reaction when I hit it in its neck and it falls to the ground.


Freaking blood and chunks of flesh falling from the ceiling and walls after I blow someone to bits.


Enemies are aggressive as fuck on higher difficulties. Fluid and beautiful animation just brings it all together.


Small but IMPACTFUL details - The fucking blood splatter colors the rays of light

4xL8oz.gif


I have been playing on Grounded mode with no HUD and .. Good lord..

All gameplay shots below. My own screenshots. Dont mind the PS5 image compression, looks better on my OLED.


You hit a mf in the head with a machete, their head splits right where you hit them. Their body slumps, eyes roll back slowly. Not a QTE. Pure raw gameplay

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129011131.jpg

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129010630.jpg


Blood splatter all over your hands, look at the intensity on her face. Yes, this adds to the overall combat experience.

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129021126.jpg


Enemies blow up very fucking nicely,

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240129031310.jpg


Blood splatter, fantastic facial animations in combat

The-Last-of-Us-Part-II-Remastered-20240127020704.jpg


Just an untouchable combination of realism, animation, hit reaction, being visceral as fuck, realistic gore, unrivalled intensity, tension, etc.

Its not about the difficulty of stringing some flashy combo together with cookie cutter hit reaction and no substance.

Its about feeling like your character fucking hates the opponent, and anything in their way will get fucking mangled. Feeling like a killing machine, yet a vulnerable one. No other game comes close to putting all of this together, not to mention perfect controls.

At the expense of looking like a psychopath with all this gore, here is a gif of a puppy to end my thread.

3c8023d7b1f1266a87d262fc2ecbb5ed.gif

It's posts like this that make me think your tag is inappropriate.
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
I was actually laughing at your FBI comment :messenger_smirking:

this is great, RDR 2 is the only competition, just doesnt play half as smooth
Hopefully gta 6 is gonna play better.

I expect great things from the violence system in that game.
 
Last edited:

ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
It's not just the locomotion and visual-audio impact; it's the design. The levels are just... ugh. So good.
And there's still stuff to improve, but it's the most holistic game I've played in terms of fulfilling the best aspects of a genre. Really interested to see what ND does with a new IP and characters with different abilities/scale.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Many games surpassed TLOU II's combat years before TLOU II by a) not having massive input lag and b) prioritizing the player's actions over excessive animation.

TLOU II's combat is a visually sumptuous, sluggish mess.
This.

Flashy and cinematic does not equal deep and fluid.
Thats the thing when it comes to modern games. Sports games are the same with tons of follow through animations.

For some gamers, having maximum fast input is best gameplay since you got total control. Think of NBA Jam. For some gamers, some sluggish play with animations you got to go through for sake of realism and cinematics (like moving or driving for a lay up in NBA 2k) is better gameplay as it kind of replicates real life going through motions instead of turning on a dime.
 

SeraphJan

Member
Dunno, seems to be the healthy average as far a polish goes.


You can find this type of glitch for most game if you are actively looking for it, at least through my multiple playthroughs I never seem anyone of these.

However personal anecdote aside, most of the "glitches" CURATED on purpose in the video are not game breaking anyways.

I am also curious what game YOU considered to be worth of being "one of the most polished game", especially a game at this scope and this budget.
 
Last edited:
Agree, nothing touches it in terms of third person stealth sandbox. One of the only times where the visceral detail is a true narrative function, adding to the weight of choices you make as the main character.
I'm still baffled every time someone on here pretends TLoU2 is some cutscenes-only story fest. I criticize games like that constantly so I'd jump on it. The gameplay and level design are REALLY good and there are massive stretches of no-bullshit gameplay. The MGSV-style prone move, grass, hiding under vehicles, when they introduce water areas (mall is god-tier) and all feel really tight.

You can shit on their silly story elements but the gameplay is air-tight. Crank it to high difficulty and unlike most modern games, the gameplay only improves without cheap sponge bullshit. For all the "gameplay first" posters on here, it's baffling to see them get hung up on some dumb story elements.
 

Represent.

Represent(ative) of bad opinions
The combat is automated garbage and watered down for casuals actually. Many games have better combat.
The game is not automated and its the exact opposite of watered down. Everything is turned all the way the fuck up.

You're living in an alternate reality.

Just because it doesn't have super flashy anime ass style combos doesn't mean the combat is "watered down"
 
Last edited:

Guilty_AI

Member
You can find this type of glitch for most game if you are actively looking for it, at least through my multiple playthroughs I never seem anyone of these.

However personal anecdote aside, most of the "glitches" curated in the video are not game breaking anyways.
Which is why i said "healthy average". Certainly not "most polished game ever".
 
Top Bottom