Let the game sink in a bit after you completed it before writing a final review. The ending can you leaves you a little conflicted. You probably already feel it. I think that was Naughty Dogs intention. To me some of the genius of the game is how they can drive some of the same emotions that the characters in the game are experiencing directly to the player. Enjoy smashing some snakes!!
Well said - first, that final area was a lot of fun. I enjoyed everything about it.
I've been filling my wife in as the game progressed because the writers touched on a LOT that is a fairly common topic of discussion in my family, so I'm pretty clear on the thoughts....and the conflicts. Mini review to follow.
Completed this gem today and I wanted to post a mini review, especially as I wasn't very invested in the game early on.
Addressing the leaks first. Nothing that is fodder for SJWs ever becomes gratuitous, or the focal point of the game. The games scope covers a number of people, all very different and like real world folks, they are who they are, and they are how they are. There is nothing here that should set off any crusades.
Overall score for me is a tentative 9/10. Reasons for that:
-The pacing leaves a bit to be desired and at certain points in the game left me feeling like there wasn't much point in pushing through another 20 hours of that.
-The counter balance to the pacing is the depth of the character development and the sheer intensity of a good deal of the game, especially from about the midway point on. In a word, Incredible.
-Melee combat is easier once you learn to run away to regroup, but I found several encounter where the camera seemed to have a mind of it's own. Ding for that, but when it did work, it worked well. The hits had weight and force, and there was never any doubt you were fighting for your life.
-Graphics/art/set pieces ....the levels are very linear, and yet in spite of that, there's a real sense of an open world that you traverse, searching for supplies and dealing with various enemies. Lots of love went into building this game's environments.
-The people are one of the real stars. Aside from huge name titles like The Witcher, I can't think of another game that acquainted me so intimately with the characters. They draw you in and make you feel for them, get angry at them, root for them and hope for them in a way that I've not really seen before. It's so easy to get fully immersed in their struggles.
-The Spoiler Part - Don't read unless you have beaten the game.
I've never felt a game character's struggle on a personal level. Ellie, as far as I was concerned, was the game's "Good guy (girl for you purists lol)" and this game challenged my conception of that.
Abby's entrance was everything you would think a villain would do, and yet as I got to know her and see the decisions she made - long story kept short, I was actually angry at the very end when I thought she was going to die. I was ready to trash the game if she died
Ellie pursued her gruesome revenge fueled quest until the bitter end, and while she made the "right choice" at the final moment, it cost her everything that she valued. I'm still not certain she had found peace at the end.
Keeping it short because there's just too much in the way of everything human in that game to talk about.
Zero regret purchase, Screw you Rat King thing my shoulder still hurts, and anyone being told do not buy on account of pre-release leaks, I encourage you to make up your own mind.
By my own admission, I am a pretty hardcore, old Prude, and I did not have any issues with it.
Lazy, now that you finished the end levels go back and watch the spoiler video I posted earlier. It kicks some major butt.
Your review was pretty spot on. Here of some of the scenes near the end that really impacted me:
Ellie, when she had her PTSD flashback in the barn. That was so well done and you just knew that the psychological scars she had were nowhere near healed yet.
Ellie and Joel discussing forgiveness in the end scene flashback. It made me realized how much impact he had on her and was there to save her in the very end.
Abbie hung on the pole and a shell of her former self. Her whole life just seemed so tragic leading up to that point. Her dedication to Lev was still so strong. It just fully cemented your feeling that enough is enough and she needs to be forgiven.
Pretty impressive that a game could fill a story with this much emotion. I hope the next sequel turns out to be a finale where these characters finally get some redemption (together).
Lazy, now that you finished the end levels go back and watch the spoiler video I posted earlier. It kicks some major butt.
Your review was pretty spot on. Here of some of the scenes near the end that really impacted me:
Ellie, when she had her PTSD flashback in the barn. That was so well done and you just knew that the psychological scars she had were nowhere near healed yet.
Ellie and Joel discussing forgiveness in the end scene flashback. It made me realized how much impact he had on her and was there to save her in the very end.
Abbie hung on the pole and a shell of her former self. Her whole life just seemed so tragic leading up to that point. Her dedication to Lev was still so strong. It just fully cemented your feeling that enough is enough and she needs to be forgiven.
Pretty impressive that a game could fill a story with this much emotion. I hope the next sequel turns out to be a finale where these characters finally get some redemption (together).
That video is insane. I have to question though, he knew where everyone was, even being able to sight an open doorway to wait for an enemy to walk through his line of sight. Impressive either way lol.
The points you spoilered are all points that got me too. The barn scene was just briliant. And her
flashbacks to Joel...nowhere in the 1st or 2nd games did either of them ever mention "Dad/Daughter" but c'mon, ya know? As a step Dad myself...I had the feels over that whole dynamic, especially Joel's influence on her, and her's on him.
Abby at the end, I was legitimately pissed. I even said to the screen "Don't you f'g do this!"
Abby held true to her convictions to the bitter end
So I heard you liked the rat king? For me the worst was me trying to drown Abby, controller shaking and thinking when the f will it end. Btw the ending is really sad as Ellie completely lost her connection to Joel and put his/her guitar down. I don’t know if there can be a sequel to this.
So I heard you liked the rat king? For me the worst was me trying to drown Abby, controller shaking and thinking when the f will it end. Btw the ending is really sad as Ellie completely lost her connection to Joel and put his/her guitar down. I don’t know if there can be a sequel to this.
I hated that whole final bit you're talking about. I'm not fond of any of it lol, but it's what they had to do to show just how messed up she was. Brilliant story telling.
I don't usually return to single player games, and if I do, it's years down the road. But man am I itching to start TLOU2 over again, even though it's got so many parts that are just (story) build-up and cut scenes! With two kids and plenty of games to play I might end up leaving a second playthrough for (much) later, but I'm definitely having signs of withdrawal.
I don't usually return to single player games, and if I do, it's years down the road. But man am I itching to start TLOU2 over again, even though it's got so many parts that are just (story) build-up and cut scenes! With two kids and plenty of games to play I might end up leaving a second playthrough for (much) later, but I'm definitely having signs of withdrawal.
I don't think I am going to finish the entire game a second time but I am 3/4 there on NewGame+. I find the custom difficulty settings that you get with NewGame+ are a lot of fun to play around with. It's pretty easy to upgrade all skills and all weapons fairly fast. So, I've sort of finished all of the experiments I could think of. Still need some filler time until Ghost of Tsushima launches so I will keep going. But, kind of going through the motions right now. It's still fun and such a great game. But the second time around on the story obviously isn't as compelling as the first time. I haven't done it yet. But you can go back and replay chapters. Some of the awesome moments may be worth experiencing a few more times.
I lied. Just finished my second play through. The final, final scene with the guitar leaning against the window was really a work of art. The music, the wind blowing the curtains, the peeled white paint, the amazing high quality guitar model. I have no idea how the PS4 can still do such amazing graphics.
I lied. Just finished my second play through. The final, final scene with the guitar leaning against the window was really a work of art. The music, the wind blowing the curtains, the peeled white paint, the amazing high quality guitar model. I have no idea how the PS4 can still do such amazing graphics.
Moderate is still fun but the enemies are much smarter And tougher on Hard. I think they cheat on Survivor so I preferred Hard myself. Once you start to feel like an encounter was too easy, bump it up again. They put a LOT of work into addressing the difficulty levels. There are probably like 16 different parameters that change when you change difficulty. Just off of the top of my head, they include things like: Enemy damage, enemy speed, enemy aggressiveness, enemy number, competence of your allies, how quickly enemies alert other enemies, availability of ammo, enemy awareness of surroundings, enemy grab mechanics, enemy attack speed, enemy vision, dog sensing abilities,... Difficulty dramatically changes the game. It’s really cool that in NewGame+ they give you the ability to tweak all of these different settings and create custom difficulty levels. I have had a lot of fun playing around with the settings and learning how it affects the game. It gave me a whole new respect for anyone that can beat the game using survivor mode. I honestly don’t know how they do it. I played for a while with enemy and stealth set to survivor+ and could rarely even sneak in a bow headshot without the entire enemy going into full red alert. Flanking and rushing me with melee while pinning me down with long rifles. Miss just one shot and you die. (I miss a lot). It was pretty impressive stuff. At times I felt they were too good as they never miss and just barrage you with attacks. The settings are supposed to be even more aggressive in NewGame+ so maybe Survivor isn’t as insane in the regular game. But i do have my full supply of upgraded weapons too.
Buy the Sony PlayStation Pulse Wireless Elite headset... positional sound allows you to listen to foot steps and voices which might be a little more difficult without it especially if there's other ambient sounds.
That and heavily doing stealth sneak past the enemy or stealth kills is how you beat survivor and higher mode...
Essentially because you can't rely on your guns or ammo... truest possible survival horror survival...
Buy the Sony PlayStation Pulse Wireless Elite headset... positional sound allows you to listen to foot steps and voices which might be a little more difficult without it especially if there's other ambient sounds.
That and heavily doing stealth sneak past the enemy or stealth kills is how you beat survivor and higher mode...
Essentially because you can't rely on your guns or ammo... truest possible survival horror survival...
I get that. That was my first play through. But, hiding in the grass doesn't even help that much on Survivor+ difficulty. On normal difficulty the enemies have to walk pretty close to you before they spot you. Survivor+ setting on stealth and they spot you from 25 feet away. You can't even easily kill silently with a bow unless the character is looking away as they will alert everyone to your presence before your bow is pulled back fully. Even when they are miles away. Stealth is not really the same at all. I cheated on new game+ and set resources to very light and all enemies and stealth to survivor+. Since I started with all my weapons it turned the whole experience into a run and gun fun-fest. Totally different than my first playthrough where I had to be super economical on resources and depend on stealth. It was a blast.
I'm actually surprised at how much I missed first time through. It's super gratifying to find more stuff, just like it will be awesome to face a certain encounter again with fully upgraded weapons that rat bastard
I went with the machete 
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