I don't even particularly like the story but whatever you say.
Stop bothering man.
Just read the whole discussion with that user again, neverending downplaying of characteristics listed for decades as indication of good AI while providing zero alternatives, as if other (praised) games of similar genre around, some made years later, weren't fucking Resident Evils or Evil Within or Alan Wake 2.. I mean this in itself should be enough to see there's no point in engaging.
If some force is driving you to dismiss every aspect of a software featuring competent and compelling Grounded + AI (that you can read being described as
Extremely Smart everywhere outside of these virtual walls and
not in virtue of being perfect but simply compared to what other developers achieved) sadly generations above the competition for:
Humans, with variations based on type and faction
Tracker dogs
Regular infected
Stalkers
Clickers
Bloaters
Bosses
All needing entirely different approaches due to their distinctive traits and most of the time within the same encounter, there's no way around the fact that force is going to overpower
whatever argument you can possibly provide.
Trust me on that, I've been on countless TLOUII Threads, and if when it comes to shit on certain aspects of the narrative we're all buddies when it comes to praising objective quality it's always the same people refusing to concede, some of which, again, admittedly never even played the game.
By using that very same poster approach to discussion, this is what he enjoys playing and regard as impressive and realistic AI so just let him have his fun.
There's always the OT if you want to discuss the game with people sharing the same experience:
"That" moment for me was the first time Ellie meets the Seraphites. I've never felt truly hunted by AI enemies like that before or since. The way they whistle to each other, and you don't know exactly what they're communicating, but they are communicating and acting on that information, and it's all for the sake of malevolence towards you...intense.
Some quick tips for Grounded No Return with the goal of just surviving a run without cheats:
3. Assault: Human in grounded have John Wick aim, infected are always easier just due to no ranged attacks. Unless it's the invisible enemies mod, avoid at all cost. Assault against infected is universally the easiest type of an encounter, even if starting in combat.
5. Capture: honestly, this is grounded - forget about grabbing the safe in time. Not worth it - with this approach those are the easiest fights against human, unless its encounter 4 or 5 - there go against 6+ half of which are in combat and agressively go flanking your position. Makes more sense to keep it slow and leave the final enemy alive to collect all supplies in the level.
8. Human are programmed to see you aiming at them out of cover at distance, you have about one second to land a shot before they duck and start firing at you. Not the case in prone, so it's often a better idea to go prone and shoot them crawling next to a cover.
No feeling of living in an alternate reality there.
