anyway going to play some more today definitely was wrong in terms of it does encourage stealth. Only weird thing has been someone will beg for their life and if you want to walk away it locks you on to them some lol. Good sound cues for stealth and a variety of ways to play with accessibility options

Definitely feel if I had played Last of Us 1 right before I would care more. Story focus on isn't propelling me forward just killing people in well designed stealth, action arenas . Definitely well designed. Not like Chaos Theory level of satisfaction but definitely some satisfaction to the stealth and appreciate the attempt

I am playing for first time and this is part stealth game but not like Hitman level load up replicability . get ya pacing varies for the story they have to tell. What would you replay on harder difficulty?

Coming from someone unaware of all the controversy surrounding it, I think this game is a masterpiece.

I finished my first playthrough yesterday with perma death (first game was a breeze, figured it’d be the same this time around). Second play through, I may do grounded or with cheats enabled.

Were you able to avoid spoilers?

Fortunately, yes. I was out of the loop from gaming for a long time until I got a PS5.
It’s only until I beat it that I went online to try figure out why the hate that I heard of the leaks and whatnot.

I do feel like running into spoilers would have lessened the emotional impact of the game though.

I had a gaming friend who would spoil games saying "you are never going to play them anyway " . Spoilers have ruined a lot of momentum but making my way through it Joel death didn't care about personally and you actually get a surprising amount of Joel time in Flashbacks

Wish she cared more about the cure or vaccine or immunity a little more in this game since she clearly knows it was a lie, but that is all set up for Game 3 with remaining fireflies. Flashbacks helping for sure. I could definitely see someone argue for sequential order versus flashbacks but has worked better than I expected so far

Been playing throughout the day

• So far its more The Last of Us why people got mad at this beyond the obvious reason I don't know. Someone that played Last of Us multiple times should overall like this

Ellie being alone for most of the time or not really showing much character outside of hate with Dina is a little bit where I could see how someone could be less hooked. Same way without Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite I think would give less of a f\*\*\* about killing all enemies

-Hordes and human enemies eventually to me at least become just going through the motions of killing to get to the next story point. Maybe would break it up with more boss like encounters in the beginning I know there are more towards the end

• Mashing Square a lot is annoying( for mandatory story parts) lol may turn on accessibility option .

-Think more people should enjoy game for what it is. Enjoyment of the game definitely more so than other games depends on how much you care about Joel and Ellie. If you view them just like any other or many other protagonist then ( example I couldn't tell you s*** about the wanderer, solid snake but loved the games mgs3 and shadow of the colossus )

• In short to each their own

I am 14 hours in Day 2 seattle seraphites so know I got a lot left

Yeah giving updates as I play so far its good mix of stealth and action refined. Definitely should be enjoyed by those who played Last of Us 1 many times. I only played it once. Enjoying for what it is. So far isn't my personal favorite of all time but understand how it could be someones

Marathoned this entire series and as a confirmed lover of Souls/Mario type game-games, these are both absolute masterpieces and some of the greatest achievements of the medium, as far as narrative-focused games go they're unparalleled and right up there with MGS in my opinion

I stayed away from discussions to avoid spoilers, which I managed to do for the most part, but it's really heartening to see so much love for Part 2 ITT, it's an incredible game and I was worried some of the backlash surrounding it would still be around, it's really cool to see how you're progressing through it @ShintaroKago and I totally agree that if you like the first game, the second is more of the same fundamental gameplay, it's baffling how it became such a big debacle

I feel closer to these characters than any from another game honestly, but some of Kojima's characters are up there for sure, the narrative is so well-accomplished and the gameplay's so immersive, it's so involving that it's hard to believe something can be this good at points

Also, gotta be said, Part 2 is the best-looking game I've ever played, and it was on PS4, insane

That would drive me insane​ 🙃 Luckily all my friends are only into 2K, CoD, Madden, etc. except for one and he feels the same way about spoilers as me.

I went straight from the TLOU remake to Part II so Joel’s death was more impactful to me; something about one of the last scenes of the first one where he’s running away with Ellie in his arms, calling her “baby girl”, idk

I think its also about when in life you play them. Its definitely an odd one to come back to for me after 1. Not gaming for a while 2. Knowing spoilers. 3. Not caring for the characters as deeply as some of you. For me they are protagonist yes they have more contextualization but not like more so than any other video game protagonist for me.

So far gameplay wise everything is better. Story wise I could understand how someone could like a more focused story of 1 with the vaccine and bouncing off the character of Joel. The character switch moment I haven't hit yet and that will open it up some but I don't see myself being too invested in Abby too. . I do like the world building and general central idea of how they would still benefit from a vaccine.

Game 3 is inevitable in many ways and playing it at launch no spoilers only true way. Can't wait til headphones issue gets fixed because sound and immersion key to the game. Wish it was coming to PC with Part 1 in one package but it is what it is. The gameplay loop for me is okay as in at times as I said I feel I am going through the motions.

Game 3 know it will still be cinematic more on rails ludonarrative experience but I just like games with choice or feeling of being able to ask someone else how they played a situation so the more they kind of give control to the player to do things in different ways the better I guess.

No major glaring s*** . I do understand how this plot and love triangles could work for some and bore others . Definitely feel more time could be spent breaking up the heavy tone with levity with Dina some how I just don't know how. Something that makes the revenge plotline and lengths Ellie is going feel worth the players time. The flashbacks with Joel and definitely helping towards that I guess .

Yeah no longer friends with that person inevitably. No spoilers the game would be a lot more interesting than it is even if I think the gameplay loop itself is still standard killing of most games. Example Red dead Redemption I am going in blind and much more to do and I still don't care about O Driscolls. When I first beat one I took the ending more as Joel lying to himself and Ellie so he can have a daughter. While at the same time since then I forgot how the fireflies knocked her out and didn't give her a choice. Also thought the vaccine was more 100%. Feel it could be more grey and interesting if Ellie knew that she would die going into the procedure. Who knows though. I know they work the fireflies back into the end of this story between Rattlers, WLF, Seraphites. With so many groups I do just miss simplicity of Fireflies and Fedra lol but I get it. Story is larger

I definitely think the way I played them affected my view of them, I never played the original or the remaster and somehow the few spoilers I did know were for Part 2, so I played the PS5 remake then 2 in rapid succession and it felt like a big cohesive experience in the vein of The Godfather Part 1 and 2, being fresh off of the first game really made me feel much more invested in the characters, they're also some of the most grounded and maturely-written characters in gaming IMO

I legit can't really engage with your criticisms without spoiling stuff, this isn't a cop out or anything, I just know that I would consider the kind of stuff I'm thinking of saying to be a spoiler if I hadn't finished it yet, I'd be very interested in knowing your thoughts once you finish the game though, it's the kind of thing where gameplay and story are so intertwined that it's hard to discuss the bigger picture without giving hints about the narrative

Oh I am going to keep going no need to address them yet. Just putting out where I am at now. Before getting farther in I questioned if stealth was done well enough. Its done to a stronger degree than I expected. The story itself I am not hugely invested where the moment I beat 1 I was just a different level of gaming was more consistent. Got it day 1 collectors edition.

Only part is where I possibly disagree with many is that I don't think characters need to be written this gritty, mature for me to care about their struggle or attach to their story. I think for some that works. For me some moments just become eyerolling or less enjoyable because the characters are written so serious, realistic. Not to say gaming is for fantasy or escapism. Rather it takes itself more serious than some of my favorite tv shows and movies.

I know much of the spoilers at this point a friend spoiled to a large degree then got curious. Still think they are strong gaming characters but thankful even in a dream world where every game could go this way that they won't. Just like variety. If someone has last of us 1 and 2 as their favorite gaming experiences of all time that is cool with me. Just different taste. If someone says last of us 2 is a terrible game not fitting or worthy of being made I think they are off there.

I certainly don't think the level of grit and darkness in the characters is necessary for me to engage with it, I've had genuine emotional reactions from games as light and happy as Super Mario Odyssey, I was mainly impressed at how grounded and non-gamey they were if that makes sense, like they won't always go with the most dramatic or extreme character move, even though there's a lot of extreme and dramatic moments, the quieter points where they have realistic discussions about smaller stuff really worked for me, I agree that a world where every game was like this would be miserable though, but I'm glad that Naughty Dog are going further in that direction than anyone else. I've seen some people say the game is too dark and edgy at points but honestly I never really felt that

As for the gameplay, do you use listen mode? I found in both 1 and 2 that the stealth becomes way more involving if you just don't use it and rely on your eyes and ears, thinking of doing a grounded difficulty playthrough for that reason. I agree that it's basically more of the same gameplay-wise but the improvements in enemy AI, more open environments, and the addition of crawling put it above 1 for me, there's more of a variety in how you can approach situations, I honestly hope they don't change too much for Part 3 because the idea of playing them all on PS5 as one big mega-game with consistent gameplay would be very cool IMO, it's a good formula that I think it'd be difficult to mess with too much

I dont use listen mode cause I didn't really like modes like that in other games especially stealth games which it kind of defeated point of. I mean the use of some gore, lynchings and other things as just meaningless back drops can at times feel edgy. I haven't seen edgy lines so far. Ellie to me sometimes feels too far gone or villain like . To the point of unrealistic. Yes I get the traumatic thing she saw changed her just her reaction to dead bodies, horse guts and more is just draining. To go from a charismatic soulful apocalyptic game to Ellie acting like a war veteran or mass shooter can be jarring. Especially cause she will get PTSD to things but none to the countless people we kill as her. Yes they deserve it in a way but its just jarring. Very little of me would want to return for a part 3 because I am definitely growing more tired of gameplay loop. It is well refined though .

I am now to Nora. Ellie still talking like the terminator . Gameplay been solid

this is also ironically how I feel about this plot

this post is a joke

SEATLLE DAY 3

Tommy's dumbass being the reason they stay out here and risk their lives

I now understand why y'all mentioned a Tommy DLC

16 hours in just want to beat it before RE4 Remake. Because once that drops I see myself as done

Just finished Part 2 for the first time and man....

Only problem I have with the story is everyone is a survival/killer god and can wipe out masses of people constantly. I did like how when you fight against Ellie, you see just how fearsome she is. But still... like when Abby got downed by a random neckbeard that Ellie got rid of somewhat easily, the "powercreep" is inconsistent. Yes, even though they are 'human' characters, there's some of that going on.

I was wrong about this game to call it engaging too much in gore in some senses. It works for killing enemies so it has weight. Sometimes it looks silly if they are clearly dead and you still hear their screams after but overall works. Going to keep going. Again wish I was more invested in Joel and Ellie because without that there is less of a hook for the misery. Not every game needs that hook if the content is just what it is Gears of War has that levity, Resident Evil 4, Bioshock Infinite even but in a dreary world it can be draining to play or "what's the point " besides to say I beat it.

In short nothing against it. I definitely understand why it exist. I do understand those that mentioned pacing. Sometimes so far I have been like what am I heading to then someone will be like to kill Nora . Feels like if each person she hunts down was a boss fight rather than a cutscene I would be more engaged personally.

I hope the game inspires others to create a strong narrative be it realistic , dark, grim or not in the medium. Although I personally don't ever want to play something exactly like this again.

That Hotline Miami reference made me want to play again.