SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
Though its narrative suffers from structural flaws, The Last of Us Part II remains a powerful and evocative story about the cycle of violence and hatred, with technically impressive gameplay to match.
It’s a testament to the staying power of The Last of Us’ ending that we’re still talking about it even now. The greatest accomplishment of its sequel is its brutal, uncompromising depiction of the reckoning that follows, and the dire consequences of a single act of selfishness that might have doomed all of humanity. The Last of Us Part II is a game of extraordinary darkness and extraordinary light, but not in equal measure, with flaws that undercut its narrative but ultimately do little to reduce its remarkable emotional power. Over the course of the game, its characters are swept away by grief and hatred on a search for vengeance that also threatens to consume the player. I’m still thinking about the indelible mark it’s left on my mind even a week after I finished it, and perhaps there’s no higher praise I can offer any piece of entertainment, whether movie, television show or game.
Set five years after the events of the first game, Joel and Ellie have settled in Jackson, Wyoming. Now mostly safe from the horrors plaguing the outside world, Ellie has begun to experience something resembling a normal life – routine work with newfound friends and a budding romance with a girl named Dina. But when a new enemy unexpectedly strikes and takes everything from her, Ellie vows revenge, journeying to the ruins of Seattle to hunt down those who wronged her. In so doing, she finds herself embroiled in a conflict between a new, larger group of survivors known as the Wolves and the fanatical Seraphite cult as they wage war over control of the city.
Narrative is the key to these games, and I wish that Naughty Dog had tried to do something different. On paper, Part II is the very same revenge story that every form of entertainment, from films to games, have been telling for some time now. As such, it never manages to say anything that profound. Its message that revenge is ultimately self-destructive and that it never grants peace doesn’t come across as particularly novel or even that new. The developers’ obsession with the first game is hard to miss; it’s an understandable impulse since many of us are similarly obsessed with it and its characters, but it’s an unfortunate impulse nonetheless. Believing that everything you create is pure gold is a surefire way for any artist to undercut their own work. Part II strives to have us empathise with Ellie’s enemy Abby, but her actions at the beginning of the game turn us against her from the start. It’s representative of a muddled story structure made all the more perplexing given that even a simple reordering of certain scenes would improve the experience.
However, I’ve tried to stay conscious of the fact that it’s still a well-written game. I believe my criticisms above are fair, but they do little to detract from the fact that Part II has a rare kind of emotional power. It’s a story about revenge, grief and hatred, where both protagonist and antagonist embody the self-destructive nature of a search for vengeance. It goes further, possibly than any other game before it, in its efforts to humanise an adversary and to make them seem like more than just evil, and to a certain extent, it even succeeds. Nor does it flinch in its portrayal of violence and the terror of trauma, and there are many, many extraordinary moments beyond counting that are purely gut-wrenching and utterly heartbreaking. Initially, I was onboard with Ellie’s mission, but it wasn’t long before I began to grow uncomfortable with the severity of her actions. But the game always made sure that I understood why she had done them, even if I disagreed with the lengths she went to. Part II honours the way the first game included characters who were morally grey figures, and gave us rare glimpses of hope and light amidst the darkness.
The cast anchor all this in place with high-quality performances, equalling if not surpassing some of the best performance work that’s gone into TV shows and movies. Ashley Johnson’s performance is particularly noteworthy, and it’s instrumental in transforming the game into a compelling and complex character study of Ellie, as a traumatised young woman lashing out in grief and lingering anger about the things she’s been robbed of. Laura Bailey’s performance as Abby is enough to transform the character from hated enemy into a flawed human being, fostering doubts about Ellie’s quest to hunt her down. These characters inhabit a world that’s both beautiful and dangerous. Luckily, Part II resists the temptation to make its levels massive, instead opting to use the extra space to give the player a bit more room to explore and move around. The game’s stunning graphics and lighting produce some incredible sights and sequences, bringing to life a world that’s being reclaimed by nature and sunken even further into decay over the five years since the first game. Baked into it is some fantastic environmental storytelling, with secrets and collectibles giving form to side stories that make this world feel real.
It’s also a brutal place, and if there’s one thing I can praise unreservedly, it’s the gameplay, which has been considerably polished and upgraded since the first game. Combat encounters feel much more hectic and deadly, and there’s an impressive sense of flow between stealth and combat, thanks to a new set of animations. Combat continues no matter what happens; if Ellie is knocked on her back by a gunshot, she can fire off a headshot on her back before scrambling for cover for example. Another noticeable change is to the verticality of the levels, fitting Ellie, who proves to be more agile than Joel is in the first game. There’s more room for her to jump, to climb, to go prone, to squeeze through and under gaps, and to take advantage of larger spaces for stealth and combat. Both are viable options, though more often than not I started off trying to be stealthy before something went sideways and bullets and arrows started flying and I had to desperately scramble for cover.
The potent enemy AI also produces challenging enemies that actually react to changes in their environment. They’ll split up into groups to search areas and try their hardest to flank you in combat. Human enemies from different factions also behave differently; the Wolves are more prone to using guns and overwhelming force, communicating vocally with their squads to root you out and surround you, while the Seraphites are fonder of bows and bladed weapons, and whistle in order to communicate. About the only thing that doesn’t work here is the way they shout each other’s names on finding bodies or seeing you kill their friends. Knowing their names paled in comparison to the fact that they were in between me and the exit, and I don’t think that’s the effect the developers were hoping to create.
The new Infected also pose a considerable threat; your first encounter with the new Shamblers is a memorable one to say the least. Part II also works to make returning infected more formidable and a little more terrifying. Runners will swarm you in hordes. Clickers scream as a form of psychological warfare. Bloaters will charge you and break through walls. Naughty Dog’s rehabilitation of the Stalkers, who appeared the least in the first game, had me jumping out of my skin as they actively tried to sneak up on Ellie and attack her from behind. It’s not just a matter of using your new weapons, craftable special ammo, and items like molotovs and stun bombs, although these do make themselves useful. There’s more skill and timing involved in Part II’s combat.
It’s not a perfect game by any means but, as odd as it is to say about a game that involves a lot of brutal violence and sudden death, I found my experience with Part II was a positive one and I’ve been genuinely surprised at the level of vitriol being levelled at it. While I share in some of the criticism over how the story is delivered, I don’t fault its direction, nor do I think that complaints about consistency of character hold any water. It’s frequently raw, emotionally powerful and thoroughly gripping, and perhaps best of all, it’s one of those rare sequels that justifies its own creation. Overall, high quality stuff from Naughty Dog once again, although I’d hope that they don’t get quite so caught up in their own hype for whatever they make next.
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