The Last of Us Parte II

“The Last of Us” manages to be again the title that does not bring any kind of innovation, but instead sums up an entire console generation by reaching its highest technical level. The gameplay is again a bit too monotonous for my likings, with little personality and sessions that drag a bit longer than needed, but the visuals, narrative, and characterization make it a must-play game for anyone who owns a Play Station 4.

The storyline itself is quite simple, but the complicated relationships between the characters and the total absence of absolute right and wrong make the narration so rich and engaging. Naughty Dog hardly brings anything new to the market, but is still miles ahead of other studios in terms of direction, writing, acting, and mise en scene. They are probably the only studio whose works could actually be compared to a film, also thanks to the extremely realistic character models and facial animations. The game areas are considerably vaster and detailed, even though the post-apocalyptic setting offers a restricted variety of backdrops. It’s not as monotonous as Part 1, but, especially indoors, it often feels like we have already been there before.

Honestly, the plot didn’t convince me much until we get to play as Abby, see what she went through and get to know more about the characters we had met along Ellie’s campaign portion. I actually wish they alternated shorter sessions with each character instead of dividing the whole thing into two huge chunks. I understand that they wanted to show us how people’s deaths do not affect us until we know who they are, but it felt kind of meaningless to empathize with the Wolves while we already know that they would all die in a matter of days. Abby’s flashbacks also kick in right before the climax, resulting in everyone rushing through her scenarios for the sake of finding out how the story continues. We could have started with Ellie looking for Abby without being told why, play Abby and Wolves’ story in parallel, feel bad for killing them during Ellie’s campaign, and then find out with a flashback that it all started with Abby killing Joel, or something like that.

Anyway, the game makes it a point about how hatred, thirst for revenge, and obsessions can literally consume someone, to the point that we end up taking distance from the characters we are playing towards the end. We understand both sides, yet we still have to keep mashing square and have them kill each other. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but Abby was a way more likable character than Ellie. Sure, it’s hard to see the Ellie we loved turning into a bitch, and it was painful to see our beloved Joel getting brutally tortured and killed, but he had it coming after all he did in Part I. He took away the only hope humanity had left, he butchered hundreds of people including Abby’s family, and Ellie even managed to finish the job by killing everyone else she loved. Sure, what Abby did was not that better, but at least she let Ellie and her friends go more than once, even after everything they did. Still, we shall not forget that if Abby managed to survive in the end, it’s only thanks to Ellie. As the journey was intensely long I am not ready to start another adventure right now, but the complexity of the characters definitely left me wanting for more in the future.