The Last of Us Part II

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 161975 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84,950 out of 161975
  2. Mixed: 8,550 out of 161975
  3. Negative: 68,475 out of 161975
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  1. jlplatten
    Jun 23, 2020
    2
    This game is pleasant to the eyes and ears, but the brain stimulation is non-existant. The new characters are boring and the original characters thrown in the trash can. Original game you get to meet new interesting and charming characters to keep the pacing good. This game kicks you in the nuts early on to the point where you don't want to play anymore, but then drags and drags on.This game is pleasant to the eyes and ears, but the brain stimulation is non-existant. The new characters are boring and the original characters thrown in the trash can. Original game you get to meet new interesting and charming characters to keep the pacing good. This game kicks you in the nuts early on to the point where you don't want to play anymore, but then drags and drags on. Terrible game. Full of SJW agenda too which is eye rolling.… Expand
  2. jag2424
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. They ruined one of the best franchises ever. Never have I seen a story that is just so unbelievably bad. I gave the game a 1 for the graphics and audio but I will not force myself to suffer through this crap.… Expand
  3. vorph
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    How to take a masterpiece and smash it to pieces with poorly written story and meaningless characters.
  4. Herring
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    Depressing and pointless. I kind of see where they wanted to go with the story and what they wanted to achieve - circle of hatred and revenge and all that but the execution is just not there. There are games that can have a depressing story but still give you catharsis but this was not it. It was just emotional torture thru and thru, I wish I could erase this game from my memory.
  5. vandozza
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    It’s pretty but the story is terrible, not sure why the dev thought any of this was a good idea.
    2020 was a mistake.
  6. 00wolf
    Jun 23, 2020
    2
    I don't think the original TLOU is the exalted masterpiece many claim it to be. While the visuals were of high fidelity and looked great, for a PS3 game, and the characters of Joel and Ellie and their journey through the post-apocalyptic world is the game's strong point, I cannot give any praise to nearly everything else. I found the gun-play, stealth, crafting, and set piece interactionsI don't think the original TLOU is the exalted masterpiece many claim it to be. While the visuals were of high fidelity and looked great, for a PS3 game, and the characters of Joel and Ellie and their journey through the post-apocalyptic world is the game's strong point, I cannot give any praise to nearly everything else. I found the gun-play, stealth, crafting, and set piece interactions to be very boilerplate and just disengaging on the whole.

    The reason I bring this up is because TLOU Part II is, in nearly every aspect, worse than its predecessor. The main protagonists and general characters of the game's story are uninteresting and inferior to those of the original. The narrative is a mess with some segments feeling detached and unnecessary while the moral absolutism of characters' motivations and actions are simply at odds with the themes of revenge the game wishes to paint in shades of grey. The gameplay is largely the same affair from the original with minor superfluous enhancements and less brain-dead "puzzles."

    I went in not expecting much, or about something on par with the original, but somehow came away with a newfound sense of disgust and disappointment. Thankfully, I got a full refund at my local game shop as the clerk was sympathetic to my and others' plight.    … Expand
  7. bloodrizer
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    Stunning game, excellent storytelling that builds upon the unforgyving apocalypse. Top notche gameplay for the genre. Another masterpiece by Naughty Dog
  8. CloakNRun
    Jan 17, 2021
    2
    Why is Metacritic keeping this POS in the top spot on the new and notable for MONTHS now? The story is an abomination of cultural Marxism. The graphics are descent. The gameplay is nearly a clone of the old one so still descent. Metacritic I don't know what they are paying you but you need to get this off of your front page. You r credibility is going to zero.
  9. rygu
    Jul 18, 2020
    2
    Good graphics, pretty good music, awful storyline, obvious agenda to pander to leftists especially the SJW mob, who would pay $80 for this?
  10. AlphaRebel
    Jun 22, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What a let down from Naughty Dog, Technically a masterpiece but unfortunately the game they tacked it is a travesty to the first game. It actually might have worked had this been an original story but they write off a key character of the first game early on in order for focus on ruining the other key character with a terrible plot, and the tragic thing is it's written expressly to pander to a demographic who are are unappeasable and probably won't be interesting in buying this anyway.
    Given the disparity between the audience scores and the "critics" and how many of them posted pretty much exactly the same lines at the same time it's clear the game journo lists is alive and well.    … Expand
  11. joninemoni
    Jan 11, 2021
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The worst way to kill perhaps the best franchise of recent times. The best graphics checked, the best animations checked, the best sound work checked, the best physics you can see that they have experts in physics and mathematics checked, but what they have done with the fans making you play with a sociopath that ends up with the character perhaps more worked in the history of playstation and the political ideology that oozes through all its frames is something unforgivable cinema, literature, and tv are intoxicated by the ideology of fashion but not video games that ever ...… Expand
  12. lostoutlaw420
    Jun 23, 2020
    2
    I make this simple, the game graphic are great, the story is awful. it like having a Lamborghini, that doesn't drive, useless huh. If you are a fan of part one, you are going to hate this.
  13. SpiralC81
    Jul 1, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As I was about to write this review and check the spoiler box it occurred to me that it would have been really nice had Naughty Dog had warned us all that this game would not only ruin the series and guarantee little to no interest in further installments, it would spoil the entire beloved first game and best-loved character. This was very similar to what Star Wars had done Luke Skywalker.

    To start, it's fair to praise both the graphical beauty of this game and the ambitious vision for storytelling. Here, Naughty Dog tries to weave a complex tale about the pitfalls of vengeance with multiple perspectives and moral ambiguity.

    Unfortunately, this could have probably been accomplished without the myriad of questionable story-telling directions Naughty Dog ended up taking. Just to sum this up briefly, The most loved character was brutally murdered early in the game in an all too convenient chance meeting with a group who was hunting him down where he uncharacteristically let his guard down to a group of armed strangers. This is the oddity that is The Last of Us 2, a game that has grand storytelling ambitions but then falls into cheap McGuffins and plot holes at key moments. The game not only brutally kills of Joel, it rewrites his history, turning ultimately ruining the character of the first game as well which makes the entire affair that much more senseless. It doesn't help that the game then forces you to play as his wholly unlikable killer for half of the entire pointless experience. Manipulative tactics are employed to try and garner sympathy for Abby, but in the end, you still really want her to get what she has coming....and in that regard, this is never accomplished either. Of course, it's understood that Ellie "breaks the cycle of violence" by choosing to show mercy, but what then for the thousands of people she killed along the way to get to Abby? It seems like after all that sparing a single life, especially THAT life just does not carry the weight or message that is hoped and it leaves everything feeling pointless and nihilistic in the end.

    Reflecting back on the ending of that first amazing game, I always thought that it was a fitting point to end the story completely. We never really needed to come back and see how they were doing four years later. I'm just going to pretend this game never happened and I have zero interest in TLOU 3 should that ever be made.

    - Graphics are amazing
    - Gameplay is OK
    - Story is ambitious, yet a complete failure    … Expand
  14. Corwin
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After you murderizee your way to the end murder suddenly becomes bad mmkay.… Expand
  15. Juni221
    Jun 25, 2020
    2
    Completely trashes what was established in the first game in favor of pushing the director's strange self-fellating narratives. Giving it a two outta ten because they unintentionally gave people mountains of material for memes, and those are actually enjoyable products of effort ironically enough.
  16. ExMassEffectFan
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    This game is an extremely dark and unpleasant follow up to one of the best narrative games ever made. While the gameplay of the original was not especially great the narrative of Joel losing his daughter and then learning to love again when he meets Ellie was an uplifting and affirming story.

    This game is a hopeless and desperate tale that destroys beloved characters and revels in    This game is an extremely dark and unpleasant follow up to one of the best narrative games ever made. While the gameplay of the original was not especially great the narrative of Joel losing his daughter and then learning to love again when he meets Ellie was an uplifting and affirming story.

    This game is a hopeless and desperate tale that destroys beloved characters and revels in darkness and gory scenes. There are no redeeming qualities to the story and any technological achievements from the graphics are rendered irrelevant by a tale that no-one other than a serial killer would enjoy experiencing.

    Avoid at all costs and perhaps ask yourself why the critics were so unified in their praise when actual gamers hate it so much.    … Expand
  17. MrMoon360
    Jun 22, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. "I wish things were different. But they ain't."

    This game attempts to shock you with the killing of a beloved character, but this ultimately feels empty in execution. A revenge story with no pay off in the end and nothing profound to tell you through a dragged out narrative. Avoid at all costs. Just watch the game on YouTube.    … Expand
  18. jameshowlett89
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    No it's not bots, we're not bots.... We just didn't like it, simple. As beautiful as the game looks, the gameplay is lacking and no real improvements from the first game. The reason everyone hates it is cause it's a pretentious pile of crap and the director thought it was a good idea to kill off beloved characters to force his personal political agenda. Doesn't even deserve the 3 stars.No it's not bots, we're not bots.... We just didn't like it, simple. As beautiful as the game looks, the gameplay is lacking and no real improvements from the first game. The reason everyone hates it is cause it's a pretentious pile of crap and the director thought it was a good idea to kill off beloved characters to force his personal political agenda. Doesn't even deserve the 3 stars.
    Very sad. Imagine ur favorite game franchise. Halo, uncharted, mass effect, Zelda...ready? Now imagine some random turd you killed in a previous game had another ugly turd friend who shows up in ur favorite sequel, kills off ur favorite protagonist and now your told told you gotta play as that character for the rest of the game     … Expand
  19. Kcon
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This game stinks like rotten foot cheese, the story is utterly horrid, even though the gameplay is actually pretty good.

    I wanted a shooter, not a golfing game.
  20. ZeroX_CHN
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Best graphic quality and worst story. Every NPC has friends and families, Ellie and Abby didn’t care, and kill hundreds of them. Especially Abby kill WLF soldiers with no mercy. Why they all be nice at end? Ridiculous! Maybe Tlou3 will be Isaac’s child kill Abby for revenge?… Expand
  21. Ciecieji
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    I almost feel like there's nascent a class action suit against professional reviewers buried somewhere deep in this mess.
    But, In fairness I have played (slightly) worse, although not at this price...it's probably dollar for dollar the worst game I've ever played.
    Lots of people are saying that the "gameplay" was the same as the fist game, but while the mechanics felt the same, because    I almost feel like there's nascent a class action suit against professional reviewers buried somewhere deep in this mess.
    But, In fairness I have played (slightly) worse, although not at this price...it's probably dollar for dollar the worst game I've ever played.

    Lots of people are saying that the "gameplay" was the same as the fist game, but while the mechanics felt the same, because of the game you had to play I think it was FAR worse. I didn't have to herd sheep or ride a horse in a snowstorm in the first one, I wonder if people are grouping these absolutley tedious gameplay portions into "story" because they are so tedious that you can forget that you are in fact still actually "playing" the thing. In my mind, to say that the gameplay is on par with the first game simply because of mechanically similarties is kind of like saying that the gameplay of horse is the same as an NBA playoffs match.    … Expand
  22. ArchAngel-7-
    Jun 22, 2020
    2
    I LOVED the first one. It has been quite a while since a game has motivated me to leave a review either on Steam or Here. To start.....Great Graphics and improved game play mechanics. The environments are spectacular! HOWEVER, The Story is awful. Like many offerings these days it drips with new age propaganda plastered in your face. I am in disbelief that this was made by the same studioI LOVED the first one. It has been quite a while since a game has motivated me to leave a review either on Steam or Here. To start.....Great Graphics and improved game play mechanics. The environments are spectacular! HOWEVER, The Story is awful. Like many offerings these days it drips with new age propaganda plastered in your face. I am in disbelief that this was made by the same studio that made the first game. I had heard of some of the leaks before playing it and this did not deter me from purchasing it. I do not recommend this game unless you are only in it for the gameplay and NOT the story.… Expand
  23. Mikele
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    As is expected, it happen. Its sad but it is reponsability of the creators, maybe they dont understand after expend all this time and money wihout think.
  24. Crypto137
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    The Last of Us Part II is a product designed to appeal to masochists under the pretense of being fine art. While the presentation is at a high bar, as it is expected from Naughty Dog, all the essential parts are so awful that it irreparably ruins the entire experience. The story is a complete mess, the old characters are heavily butchered, the new cast is forced, uninteresting andThe Last of Us Part II is a product designed to appeal to masochists under the pretense of being fine art. While the presentation is at a high bar, as it is expected from Naughty Dog, all the essential parts are so awful that it irreparably ruins the entire experience. The story is a complete mess, the old characters are heavily butchered, the new cast is forced, uninteresting and downright annoying, and even the gameplay feels like it made one step forward and two steps back. The Last of Us Part II replaces all of the nuance the original game had with cliches, immersion-breaking pandering and desperate heavy-handed attempts at making the player feel emotions at the cost of the integrity of the experience.

    This product is a massive disappointment, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone other than the die-hard fans of the original game who want to see for themselves how bad it has really gotten.    … Expand
  25. articwind
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    It's bad game, that threw everything the first game built to the ground, they force you to make unreasonable decisions in the game and they even have the nerve to force you to see an unreasonable ending, revenge plots put of nowhere and forced inclusion make this one of the worst game of this generation
  26. NMorgan
    Sep 3, 2020
    2
    Most overhyped with some of the worst gameplay. I truly doubt that most reviewers have actually played the game.
  27. terminat2
    Jun 27, 2020
    2
    El juego es muy pobre en historia (muy pero que muy pobre), graficamente esta muy bien, pero en este tipo de juegos lo que interesa es la historia y la historia hace aguas por todos lados.
    No quiero decir spoilers , pero si te gusto el 1 , mejor no jueges el 2 porque te vas a ir con que se cae todo al piso.
    Que manera de tirar por la borda una saga.
  28. Doctor-J
    Jul 17, 2021
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What a massive disappointment this game is, forcing you to play half the game with a character that you don't give a damn about. I spent the first half of the game craving for more and the second half dragging myself through.… Expand
  29. OutlawTX
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    Fantastic graphics and decent gameplay are completely over shadowed by the garbage story. What Naughty Dog decided to not only do to the characters but what they did with the heart of the game is pure stupidity. The first game was a bleak, dark world with a light of humanity at its heart. This game just uses beloved characters to ram a cult ideology down your throat with zero humanity orFantastic graphics and decent gameplay are completely over shadowed by the garbage story. What Naughty Dog decided to not only do to the characters but what they did with the heart of the game is pure stupidity. The first game was a bleak, dark world with a light of humanity at its heart. This game just uses beloved characters to ram a cult ideology down your throat with zero humanity or heart aside from one flashback. It’s done with malice and hate, ending with hopelessness. All this game served to do for me is to insure I’ll never buy another Naughty Dog game again. These aren’t bots leaving bad scores, they’re actual people that buy games. I’d also bet a good portion didn’t buy the game but you know what? I bet they wanted to. That’s why they’re angry.… Expand
  30. Ins0mnia
    Jun 26, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Where do we start, this game is a mess. The storyline absolutely ruined my fun, it's lazy written and tries a bit to hard to be ''edgy''. IT's depressing as hell. Especially how they treat Joel is absolutely baffeling.

    The game play gets quickly boring, it's the same over and over again and barely an evolution of the previous.

    The music and grafix is beautiful tho. So points for that.    … Expand
  31. cwatz
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    Gameplay is solid. Immersive, tense, responsive and an upgrade from the previous title. Production is also excellent. Voice acting, animation and so forth.

    The story however is a catastrophe. Retcons of the first game, dull side characters, a laughable plot and an ending that is the complete opposite of the perfection from the first. The more I think about it, the more I wish    Gameplay is solid. Immersive, tense, responsive and an upgrade from the previous title. Production is also excellent. Voice acting, animation and so forth.

    The story however is a catastrophe. Retcons of the first game, dull side characters, a laughable plot and an ending that is the complete opposite of the perfection from the first.

    The more I think about it, the more I wish this game never existed, or certainly not with this cast.    … Expand
  32. spinbotlv1
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    Finished the game. Played for the whole week end. Now I can say: graphics and gameplay are top notch. Amazing. But the plot of this game it's incredibly stupid and boring. The worst plot ever created for a videogame. The last chapter and the end of this game is even worse. Characters and plot are upon the stupid. A videogame with great graphics and gameplay (thanks only to nd's graphicalFinished the game. Played for the whole week end. Now I can say: graphics and gameplay are top notch. Amazing. But the plot of this game it's incredibly stupid and boring. The worst plot ever created for a videogame. The last chapter and the end of this game is even worse. Characters and plot are upon the stupid. A videogame with great graphics and gameplay (thanks only to nd's graphical artists and coders ) wasted by a stupid plot written by a very bad writer.… Expand
  33. badirontree
    Jul 1, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is ok, Some things are repetitive, but the story is braindead...
    After 3 hours in and we were forced to play the one we hate , to see her side ...
    This is not The last of Us but a random shock and gore fest with not logic and reason ...    … Expand
  34. Codex
    Jul 2, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I really did not like this game. Sure it's beautiful and the animations were the best in the business. But it felt as hallow, and dumb as a blockbuster action movie. They really tried to replace Joel with Abby and it did not land with me. I really disliked more then half of this game. It was very difficult to push though to complete and left me wishing I hadn't played it. The first is the only game I recognize.… Expand
  35. Hecatom
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This game can be easily defined as "delusions of grandeur".
    After playing it is clear that the heart of the franchise was Amy Henning's writing and her ability to craft both interesting worlds and intersting characters,
    This game betrays all the characters by forcing them into a petty story of revenge that at many times forces them to act out of character in order to serve the    This game can be easily defined as "delusions of grandeur".
    After playing it is clear that the heart of the franchise was Amy Henning's writing and her ability to craft both interesting worlds and intersting characters,

    This game betrays all the characters by forcing them into a petty story of revenge that at many times forces them to act out of character in order to serve the narrative that ND wants to convey, even if it doesnt make sense for them to act the way they do.

    The gameplay hasnt really evolved from the old game, and the heavy focus on human enemies robs it of the interesting setup that the old game have.

    The graphics look great.

    Just by all of this i would give the game a 4 or 5, but given the drama on ND both in terms of workplace and the obvious dumb ideologies the CEO/Vice President has, and how they have permeated into the game, plus the clear bias that Sony has against other games on what they are not allowed to do while ND is allowed to do way more than that, i will give it a 2.

    Is clear this will be the last ND game i will be buying, and if sony keeps screwing up, even maybe the last console i buy from them    … Expand
  36. Redal86
    Jun 26, 2020
    2
    You can tell there was a lot of work put into this game, however a mixture of bad story telling and forced unwanted gameplay ruined the experience overall. The graphics are phenomenal and the gameplay was good sometimes. One thing I did not care for about gameplay is the long drawn out interactive dialogue that you are forced to sit and walk through .

    The storyline was cringe inducing to    You can tell there was a lot of work put into this game, however a mixture of bad story telling and forced unwanted gameplay ruined the experience overall. The graphics are phenomenal and the gameplay was good sometimes. One thing I did not care for about gameplay is the long drawn out interactive dialogue that you are forced to sit and walk through .

    The storyline was cringe inducing to say the least. The game does nothing to garden respect from it's fans of the previous game.    … Expand
  37. ShadeDark
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Cinematic, Gameplay, Music 9/10

    The first 2%-99% of the story 6/10, Idiot way to kill Joel, the most cautious man who survived the worst the apocalypse can throw at him, just suddenly say "hey, I'm Joel, I live just up here" Not Killing Abby = righteous hypocrite,-100/10    … Expand
  38. fffortune
    Jan 1, 2021
    2
    This game like its precursor stands and falls by its plot. And the plot here is not the eloquent, bitter-sweet journey that loops back on itself like in part one, rather it's an overbearingly manipulative suffer fest meant to drive home simple tropes about being blasé to violence and picking sides. The characters in part one were flawed but likable, here they devolve to just nasty. It's aThis game like its precursor stands and falls by its plot. And the plot here is not the eloquent, bitter-sweet journey that loops back on itself like in part one, rather it's an overbearingly manipulative suffer fest meant to drive home simple tropes about being blasé to violence and picking sides. The characters in part one were flawed but likable, here they devolve to just nasty. It's a meandering chore to play that draws on way too long with no emotional counterweight or narrative payoff. It's miserable.… Expand
  39. Arbusto
    Jun 26, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. We have bonded with Ellie in Last of Us 1, we continue that bond trough 40% of the Last of Us 2 but then a dev thought it would be a great idea to make us throw that bound on the trash and make us play with a character we hate trying to pull the "there is no black and white, but a lots of shades of grey" but in a very bad way. ".Not giving us a proper closure to a 20+ hours play and 7 years wait was not a good idea. And once for all, the gamers community are not homophobic, the lgbt community are already part of the gamers community. Its OK to have LGBT characters when their development is well built, the way it was done here was just: Here conservative society swallow this LGBT pill and shut up.… Expand
  40. krovosos111
    Jul 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I played 15 hours and I'll tell you, I don't want to play Abby, you just ruined the game. Erase that part from canon and bring Joel back.… Expand
  41. GentlemenWalrus
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    Strong 2 to a light 3. There is a lot of unwarranted criticism directed at the story, which is far from great, but nothing worse than a typical AAA game. What really soured me on my experience was the gameplay, which I felt became more and more of a chore as I laboured on. There is a point to be made that this was similar in TLoU, but where it felt then to be a necessity now it feels likeStrong 2 to a light 3. There is a lot of unwarranted criticism directed at the story, which is far from great, but nothing worse than a typical AAA game. What really soured me on my experience was the gameplay, which I felt became more and more of a chore as I laboured on. There is a point to be made that this was similar in TLoU, but where it felt then to be a necessity now it feels like a mockery. There is life and power and strength everywhere outside the player's grasp, and that is intensely frustrating and not well suited to the medium of games. I can't imagine anyone having a good time with this gameplay.… Expand
  42. voiders
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    I'm sad. Sad because The Last of us was one of the most amazing game and story that I ever played.
    Now Sony and ND only care about BS. A forced story in all aspects to take you to an ideology.
    I don't have problem with 2 girls kissing each other in a game or movie. Is not that the problem. The problem is when you write on propose all little things to convince you from something that    I'm sad. Sad because The Last of us was one of the most amazing game and story that I ever played.
    Now Sony and ND only care about BS. A forced story in all aspects to take you to an ideology.
    I don't have problem with 2 girls kissing each other in a game or movie. Is not that the problem.
    The problem is when you write on propose all little things to convince you from something that don't have anything about the game.

    You forget about the game. About everything to just play with stup** ideology.
    Even the director said "some fans from the first you hate the part 2, and I like that".

    Really? So now you will pay the cost.    … Expand
  43. CatsPawDigital
    Jul 24, 2020
    2
    "Such a Shame"

    The original Last of Us was a great game. Alas, The Last of Us part 2 is... not. When you set out to make a game that's controversial and divisive -as opposed to inclusive- this should not come as too much of a surprise. But "it's a bad game" isn't very helpful. Let's see if we can be more specific. I have 5 categories scored 0 to 2 and a personal experience    "Such a Shame"

    The original Last of Us was a great game. Alas, The Last of Us part 2 is... not. When you set out to make a game that's controversial and divisive -as opposed to inclusive- this should not come as too much of a surprise. But "it's a bad game" isn't very helpful. Let's see if we can be more specific.

    I have 5 categories scored 0 to 2 and a personal experience modifier that, depending on my experience playing can add or subtract up to 2, save that it can't reduce a score to 0 or raise it to 10.
    0= unacceptable
    1= acceptable
    2= excellent

    SOUND: 1. Nothing to write home about but no specific complaints. Nothing that stood out, nothing that caught my attention or that I found memorable or especially well-executed. Just... acceptable.

    GRAPHICS: 2. It's no Horizon Zero Dawn or Ghosts of Tsushima but it's still visually amazing and has a lot of character. As much as it annoys me given how awful the... actually that's another category. We'll get to that next. It looks really good.

    STORY: 0. And that's only because my scoring system does not allow anything lower. Everything else can be excellent but if you have a crappy story you'll still have a crappy game. I don't want to go into any specifics here because there's so much to hate that if I started I'd never get the review finished- but it suffices to say that it's amateurish, unpolished and makes very poor narrative choices. And I'm being as complimentary here as I can. The whole thing leaves me with a bad taste in my soul and -as a writer myself, not to mention a fan of the first game- highly offended.

    CONTROLS: 1. Essentially the same from the first game without any noticeable improvements. They work, but the issues the first game had were never corrected.

    EXECUTION: 0. This category describes how all the elements of the game come together. Remember how earlier I said that you can have great sound, great graphics, great controls and all that but if you have a crappy story you have a crappy game? Case in point. All the mechanics work, the sound is there and the graphics are gorgeous- but the story is utter garbage and therefore so is the game.

    PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: -2. And, once again, this is because the system I use will not allow me to subtract more. Where do I begin here? The 'rubbing-your-face-in-it' homosexuality was a huge turn-off for me. If it has been tastefully done it would be different but... that wasn't the case here. The fate of a certain central character from the first game is unforgivably cheap and unsatisfying, the idea of intentionally making a game to be divisive rather than inclusive rubs me the wrong way, the ham-fisted approach to storytelling... well, we talked about that earlier. And, frankly, the way Naughty Dog unethically and intentionally weaponized false copyright claims (though that obviously wasn't the game's fault) would have skewed my feelings against the game even if I would otherwise have absolutely *loved* it. Oh yes, and then there's the whole agenda-pushing thing. But enough of that. Let's calculate the final score.

    4 before my personal experience, which takes it down to 2. And, I wish to add, that number does not accurately communicate the contempt I have for this game's story. If it weren't for that, I'd be able to score this game a solid 7 to 8. Such a shame.    … Expand
  44. dumpster1845
    Jun 28, 2020
    2
    Played the game start to finish. I must admit I probably had unrealistic expectations for the sequel to my all-time favorite game, but I tried to keep an open mind and was all aboard for the continuation and evolution of the narrative from TLOU1. Unfortunately that’s exactly where I feel TLOU2 misses the mark: the narrative. Pros: 1) The game looks impeccable. It’s apparent why it tookPlayed the game start to finish. I must admit I probably had unrealistic expectations for the sequel to my all-time favorite game, but I tried to keep an open mind and was all aboard for the continuation and evolution of the narrative from TLOU1. Unfortunately that’s exactly where I feel TLOU2 misses the mark: the narrative. Pros: 1) The game looks impeccable. It’s apparent why it took Naughty Dog so long to release it. 2) Gameplay mechanics. Although I did find it a bit too easy to spam the Dodge button to avoid taking damage. 3) The score and sound of the game is superb. ND showed out with their best looking and sounding game to date. Cons: 1) I hated the game. So many reasons to list, none of which are unique to me based on other reviews. I’ll never play it again and it kind of breaks my heart to write this. 2) The game did so wrong by its portrayal of the characters I’d grown to love in the first game. I’m team Joel and Ellie to the end so this may be a personal bias. I didn’t like ‘Joel-the-Plot-Piece’, ‘Ellie-the-Monster’, ‘Tommy-the-Jerk’, and the immediate short-lived character arcs of the new folks I never cared about. 3) I didn’t like Abby, but I HATED playing as her. I feel the game cut the wrong corners to try to force the player to like her. The game tries too hard to get you to empathize with her. It’s the same feeling of skepticism you might feel when you meet someone for the first time, and they go out of their way to convince you how nice and honest of a person they are. As a player and spectator, it felt disingenuous. To be forced to play as a character I never cared about for so many hours is a disservice to the fan base. I lost count of how many times I said to myself “I don’t care what happens to any of these people.” Not what you want in a narrative and story-driven game. 4) So many plot holes it was impossible to suspend my disbelief enough to bridge the gap in my mind to stay engrossed in the story. Too many to list. One recurring one was ‘I’m going to risk my neck on this revenge mission but I’ll let you live at the last moment because.... reasons’. 5) HOLY SOCIAL JUSTICE AGENDA. It’s about as subtle as a golf club to the head. The game contrived every possible opportunity to push its political agenda that the intended impact actually had an impact antithetical to its desired goal. Not only in the main “themes” like orientation and exploring the struggles of gender non-binary characters (which I should probably clarify that like any entertainment theme or detail, I have no problem with if it’s done tastefully) but also in more subtle ways like walking over to random NPCs and listening to their conversations, or seeing a table at the WLF outpost at which a smaller woman beat a man in arm wrestling. Not that it couldn’t happen (it happens daily), but little things like that were so prevalent it was hard to take any of it seriously by the end. It was so prolific that I found myself rolling my eyes and shaking my head in a “Where’s Waldo” kind of game with myself every time I picked up on another spoon-feeding of subliminal wokeness. I could keep going but I doubt anyone even made it this far in my review. I’ll never play this game again. It should have never been made. Naughty Dog should have created a prequel or a spinoff IP because the first game was too perfect to try to follow it up. It was an impossible goal, but I don’t think they really gave it their best effort to create the best-possible game. I think Druckmann got way too smug with his creative license and totally ruined TLOU. This is proof that great graphics + money + time do not necessarily equal a great game. Final Score: 2.5/10… Expand
  45. Binoy
    Jun 27, 2020
    2
    Anyone who played the first game should stay away from this game. They destroyed all the first game's characters. (Include Spoilers*)

    1: They destroyed every main character in the first game. Both Ellie and Joel was dumbed down for this game. Joel was very cautious about strangers. He knew he has many enemies. Yet he went with some armed unknown group of people like an idiot and said    Anyone who played the first game should stay away from this game. They destroyed all the first game's characters. (Include Spoilers*)

    1: They destroyed every main character in the first game. Both Ellie and Joel was dumbed down for this game. Joel was very cautious about strangers. He knew he has many enemies. Yet he went with some armed unknown group of people like an idiot and said his real name out loud. Ellie was very smart in the first game. But in this, she made many dumb choices.

    2: They made Ellie look like a villain who is worse than Abby. Abby who killed Joel (who saved Abby's life) spared Ellie many times like a 'jesus' (for no reason) and Ellie just came for Abby again and again like a villain.

    3: Many decisions don't even make any sense. For example, When Abby learns that Ellie killed everyone else she loves, she again came for Ellie and killed Jesse and shoots Tommy. Then she spares Ellie again for no reason.

    4: Ellie then again come to kill Abby after Abby spares Ellie 2 times. And in order to do so, Ellie already killed hundreds of people and again killed many people that she even didn't know. And after she met with Abby, (and lost her fingers), she realises that "ReVeNgE BaD" and spares her. WTF? Some are saying it's because the revenge cycle ended there or Lev might come for Ellie. That's just **** Because this was started because Joel killed a guy at the hospital. And Abby wanted revenge. All the people Ellie killed for this also might have close relatives who want revenge. We feel for Abby only because we know her back story. The people Ellie killed for this might have a worse backstory.

    5: Where are the Zombies?

    A game like this (which many people say "walking simulator"), the story is the most important part and they destroyed the story.    … Expand
  46. HJRodrigo
    Jul 9, 2020
    2
    In terms of production quality (Graphics, animation, sound, music, and voice acting) the game is a 10 out of 10. In terms of gameplay it is a 5 out of 10, as it is kind of dated and a bit boring/repetitive at times. The story/writing is a 2 out 10... The reason I play this sort of game is for the story, so that is the reason for my final score. Unfortunately, like what happens with mostIn terms of production quality (Graphics, animation, sound, music, and voice acting) the game is a 10 out of 10. In terms of gameplay it is a 5 out of 10, as it is kind of dated and a bit boring/repetitive at times. The story/writing is a 2 out 10... The reason I play this sort of game is for the story, so that is the reason for my final score. Unfortunately, like what happens with most movies, the sequel fails to capture or properly utilize what it was that made us love/like the original. I can't go into details about the story without doing any spoilers, so I recommend either playing the game for yourself (Borrow the game. Don't buy the game) or looking at spoilers if you don't care about having plot points revealed.… Expand
  47. PrincessCadence
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    Gameplay has nothing strictly speaking wrong with it, except TLoU1 already did all of it and with better context and story. Graphics are inconsequential.

    A good video game either needs truly superlative gameplay to make you want to go through for the challenge's sake, or a great story to make you want trudge through it even if the gameplay isn't that great. Ideally both. But if your    Gameplay has nothing strictly speaking wrong with it, except TLoU1 already did all of it and with better context and story. Graphics are inconsequential.

    A good video game either needs truly superlative gameplay to make you want to go through for the challenge's sake, or a great story to make you want trudge through it even if the gameplay isn't that great. Ideally both. But if your gameplay's the usual action-adventure cookie-cutter stuff, and the story absolutely atrocious, the end result isn't going to be any good.

    This could be the greatest game ever made, and I'd still despise it because of the crunch development. That's what's p***ing me off the most about this game, the fact that a horrible, abusive practice went into making it and game journos are letting the man responsible get away with it with no consequences because he's hiding behind progressivism and using it as a defense for his actions. I never would've bought this game, it just never appealed to me, but I'll gladly drag it through the mud for normalizing crunch.    … Expand
  48. UFC76
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    Well made game with boring gameplay and one of the worst stories and bastardizations of a fan favorite character I’ve ever seen in a game.

    The political agenda is clear, and we don’t want it in our games.
  49. Smartchoy
    Jun 22, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The writer of TLOU2 would have written these films in the following way:

    -Avengers: At the end of Avengers Infinity war, Thanos decides not to snap because the journey made him a better person.
    - Harry Potter: Voldemort confesses he just wanted to have friends. He and harry become best friends, the end.
    - The Matrix: Neo Wakes up and realizes the whole thing was a dream.
    - Inglorious bastards: What Hitler did was just a mistake, he won't do it again. They all become friends.

    Great storytelling fellas    … Expand
  50. tayfatih
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There is spoiler
    joel is dead in front of ellie but after all all game , at ending we dont kill him killer , we realised him killer and game was finish but ellie never learn why joel is dead why they did this to joel , while playing game , game is want to empathy for why they killed joel but they could not (got 2 points from good graphics)    … Expand
  51. ShadowHawkPrime
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    Technically first rate, but the story is just not a fitting sequel to the prior game. At all.
  52. AlteraMoontail
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Killing off Joel like that this early in the game, the nasty sex scene, and plotless galore along with forcing to play as a character I have zero interest or investment in made this game unbearable.

    Graphics are amazing, but in these days and ages, messing up graphics is hard. Gameplay is solid and the areas looks great, just really pains to see the game fails so bad on story writing, characters and SJW politics inserted.

    If story was way better as well as the ending, and didn't have to play as Abby. I would rate the game a strong 8/10, but with current events and how Naughtydog has acted like with the DMCA takedowns and such, game is a 2/10.
    I can play a game easily if have subpar graphics and not the best gameplay, but **** up story and characters, is impossible to enjoy

    You had something amazing with TLOU1, but failed miserably with this game after 5-6 years development time. Oh next time, kick Anita Sarkeesian out.. She's videogame cancer    … Expand
  53. ManRammer
    Jun 23, 2020
    2
    The story just killed the game for me. The decisions that the main characters make are asinine. The new characters are as bland as a grain of rice on a paper plate in a snowstorm. Just classic morality of "bad things are bad" and a "revenge is bad".
  54. cypherhalo
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    Really disappointed by this one. While there is absolutely superb production quality in the acting, graphics, etc; and the combat is fortunately not changed much from the enjoyable combat in the first game, the story is just absolutely terrible. I think of this game like a coat that is super stylish and super comfortable, but smells like rotten eggs. Doesn't matter how stylish orReally disappointed by this one. While there is absolutely superb production quality in the acting, graphics, etc; and the combat is fortunately not changed much from the enjoyable combat in the first game, the story is just absolutely terrible. I think of this game like a coat that is super stylish and super comfortable, but smells like rotten eggs. Doesn't matter how stylish or comfortable the coat is, you wouldn't wear it. Same with this game, great production quality doesn't wash off the stink of a story that is relentlessly dreary, negative, cynical, that disrespects the characters you love from the first game, and has gigantic plot holes to boot. It's really a shame that Naughty Dog messed up the franchise like this, I'm shocked no one at Sony saw this coming and put the kibosh on it. For a company that has had so many good exclusives to mess up one this big is shocking. Get back in touch with gamers guys, actual real gamers.… Expand
  55. JagdCrab
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    Plot is moved purely by shock value.
    Any character bevelopment from a first part? Gone, snapped to oblivion to carry a "message" that contradicts itself.

    Graphics is pretty. But that's not what is expected from the game.
  56. heekof
    Jul 5, 2020
    2
    Poor story ! Very disappointed ! It felt like they overthink the story with no respect for the players
  57. oolevityoo
    Jul 1, 2020
    2
    The story, the way Naughty Dog (especially Neil Druckman) have handled this, and the weird unanimously high ratings by critics are unforgiveable and damaging to the gaming industry.

    Spare yourself the misery, accept TLOU1 as the end, then after reading the plot, watch a Let's Play. Don't support the game with your money, it's too divisive for that. This demonstrates is why the AAA    The story, the way Naughty Dog (especially Neil Druckman) have handled this, and the weird unanimously high ratings by critics are unforgiveable and damaging to the gaming industry.

    Spare yourself the misery, accept TLOU1 as the end, then after reading the plot, watch a Let's Play. Don't support the game with your money, it's too divisive for that. This demonstrates is why the AAA industry is failing to produce good games any more, their stories are so limited by social justice that indie games are more enjoyable.    … Expand
  58. Renegade99
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    The last Jedi of computer games. If you bought it, you have my sympathies.
  59. n_dhruvo
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Naughty dog has deceived us all. The game plays exactly plays like the 1st game, brings nothing new except for the “jump button.” And guess what? The jumping mechanism sucks. Naughty dog confirmed ellie was the only playable character but half way through YOU HAVE TO PLAY AS JOELS KILLER. The shehulk and her friends who kill joel, they force you to play as her. And the ending!! It makes zero sense!! Ellie kills all of abby’s friends and thousands of others to get to abby and guess what? When she finds abby they had a qte boss fight. Yes, the final boss fight is a QTE!!! She wins the fight and lets abby go after she had a flashback of joel. The end. Oh this game has some serious sjw propaganda and cringy moments. If u dont like sjw politics, STAY AWAY!!… Expand
  60. OptiBot
    Jun 24, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Why would you create a revenge plot that in the end has no revenge? It doesn't make sense to me. You kill off the character dynamic that made the first game so good for the sake of a revenge plot. Then, you let the person go? Huh? ???????????????? Are you dead in the brain? It's the most questionable writing ever. A third grader can write a better story.… Expand
  61. gazoza
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    This game delivers on graphics sound design and all other technical fronts, the actors also did a great job in delivering their assigned roles so props to them as well. Unfortunately, that is not enough to save this game from very low ratings. The story clearly was tailored around a certain political agenda and it is apparent that many of the positive user reviews are just bots.

    I    This game delivers on graphics sound design and all other technical fronts, the actors also did a great job in delivering their assigned roles so props to them as well. Unfortunately, that is not enough to save this game from very low ratings. The story clearly was tailored around a certain political agenda and it is apparent that many of the positive user reviews are just bots.

    I believe this game has been a huge disappointment for everyone involved and sadly ND actively tries to hide this fact.    … Expand
  62. Hellraiser3448
    Jun 27, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Unfortunately this game is horrible and it could have been great. The first game was great because of the relationship between Joel and Ellie that the player got to experience. It is strange that the developers did not understand that this was the reason for it's success. In the second game there is nothing of that kind. You basically play unlikeable characters (Abby) and also have to endure several very questionable and explicit depictions of gay scenes (you cannot imagine, hard to watch). The first game didn't throw this topic at you constantly and not to that extent, therefore it never bothered me.
    I basically just wanted to play a zombie game with a great story (like the first) - I bought my playstation 4 for the TLOU1 game and waited a long time for the second without checking the spoilers. Good luck to Naughty Dog with selling the next game to that niche market. Apperantly they forgot who their customers are and what they want.
    There are many more problems with this game. You can read them all in many other reviews. The IP is definetly dead after this. Maybe even the developer. Another franchise ruined :(
    Definetly not a "Must Play" for me.    … Expand
  63. striga
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    It's just not an enjoyable experience to play. There are movies and books which are much more powerful emotionally, but aren't pretentious enough to say they 'transcend mere entertainment'. The game-play is sorely disappointing and the story is heavy-handed, inconsistent, and ultimately non-nonsensical. What a disappointment.
  64. K2D
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    A chair with 2 out of its 4 legs can still be used as a chair.. You can say that, but it would be a disingenuous venture. This game is a technical master piece, but the plot points and writing falls flat due to unconvincing ideas and execution. It's riddled with contradictions and fallacies, while trying to change the nature original - delivering a shadow of past experiences. Lastly, theA chair with 2 out of its 4 legs can still be used as a chair.. You can say that, but it would be a disingenuous venture. This game is a technical master piece, but the plot points and writing falls flat due to unconvincing ideas and execution. It's riddled with contradictions and fallacies, while trying to change the nature original - delivering a shadow of past experiences. Lastly, the gameplay can be summed up comparably to the first game, only with less redeeming plot and story to make up for all the tragedy, and the violence cranked up to 11. Torturing yourself through mediocrity has never been better executed!… Expand
  65. bansheemaster
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The video game equivalent of The Last Jedi

    ***EARLY GAME SPOILERS ONLY***

    I was a major fan of the original game. I absolutely adored it. I beat it several times including once on the Grounded difficulty. I also bought the PS4 remaster edition. The atmosphere and storytelling were amazing and even though the gameplay was fairly minimalistic, I still had fun as well. I was looking forward to the sequel ever since they announced it. Nothing could stop me, not even the leaks which Naughty Dog assured me were "fake." Fast forward to yesterday. I managed to get my hands on the game a day early. Couldn't wait to get home and try it.

    Almost 10 minutes into the game, I realized something was wrong. The atmosphere and storytelling took a backseat to fairly simple "revenge" story. The characters no longer behaved like themselves anymore. It was as if they were written by a child - basic, filled with angst, no longer driven by anything except hatred. Ellie barely touches upon Joel's rescue of her at the conclusion of the previous game. Within 20 minutes, there's blatant progressivism propaganda - Ellie having an altercation with a "bigot." Sometime after that, we get bombarded with a lesbian sex scene. You guys do realize the setting is during the apocalypse, correct? Characters often at times get mad at each other for no reason like a teen drama and just like that, it's resolved like nothing ever happened There's a bunch of zigzagging through the story just to get to ultra violent scenes. Before I knew it, Joel was clubbed to death by angry transgender after having saved her life and spit on by a character resembling the lead designer.

    Is this a joke? Are they trolling me? Did I get the wrong copy? Why is there so much hatred, so much senseless violence, so much propaganda? Is it to desensitize me for something? Ellie swears revenge and the story keeps falling apart after that, which I won't spoil for you. There's plot convenience galore - stuff happens just to push the story along, not because it's spontaneous or anything like that. Gameplay hasn't changed much either - there's a jump button and that's pretty much it. The graphics could be better, they certainly are nowhere near as good as Horizon Zero Dawn or God of War. You can tell this from the "snow effects" where snow gets pushed in before the characters step on them. The textures could also use some work as well some of the lightning effects. The framerate chugs along at 30fps, sometimes dipping into the low 20s on my PS4Pro. I did notice a few glitches where characters get stuck and glued onto objects. This game has been in development since 2013 and 7 years later, it's still an aimless, buggy, edgy letdown. Upon further research I realized the lead designers behind the Last of Us 1 (Amy Hennig) were let go for some reason and the company has a whopping 70% turnover rate. Was there a coup at Naughty Dog? That explains the unfinished product I guess.

    In short, this is the single greatest video game disappointment I've ever played and I've played a bunch of terrible games - Duke Nukem Forever, Fallout 76 at launch, No Man's Sky at launch, Aliens Colonial Marines, and Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness. Nothing, absolutely nothing comes close by comparison. Hell, I was less disappointed with Game of Thrones season 8. Why on earth does this game have a 96 average? It has to be paid journalism. I refuse to believe that they played any more than an hour of this game and think it could be anything above a 5/10. I would sell this game on eBay to try and make some money back but I'd rather just toss it in the trash and save someone the suffering. Avoid this game like the plague. 0/10.    … Expand
  66. TheWolfSage
    Jul 8, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The best review I can give of this game is that the graphics department carried hard, while the narrative department has never made me feel less guilty about torturing a woman to death than this game did. I would genuinely rather skin Abby alive MYSELF than let this game exist as it does. I would rather hear an actual, living human being cry out for the sweet release of death than play this game again from its start, and I would STILL make them experience true suffering rather than live out the excruciatingly childish, very immature morals this story forces upon the player. I would legitimately rather have a 2 hour long cutscene of Ellie cutting the flesh away from Abby's bones than anything this game actually delivered on, EVER.… Expand
  67. SBSD
    Jul 1, 2020
    2
    The game had potential to be the masterpiece but it failed so badly, i never trust reviews to be honest not even user reviews until i play the game myself, so i experienced the whole journey of the PART 2, well sorry niel this one is a very bad written game was not expecting this game to be this bad on the story side i am still playing this game considering it not an sequel also because ofThe game had potential to be the masterpiece but it failed so badly, i never trust reviews to be honest not even user reviews until i play the game myself, so i experienced the whole journey of the PART 2, well sorry niel this one is a very bad written game was not expecting this game to be this bad on the story side i am still playing this game considering it not an sequel also because of the gameplay, the gameplay is polished not new i'd say! but still it's fun!
    Visually it's good not exactly what i've seen E3.
    So the only problem this game has is the story that's all IT"S BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I am giving a very bad rating just because of the story nothing else!    … Expand
  68. Demonidze
    Jun 25, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. there is alot of woke trash in the game, alot of gender and identity politics. the game isnt about telling a story of Ellie, its about pushing an agenda to you. 0/10 wouldnt touch it with a stick.

    RiP Joel, you died for nothing..

    hey at least the graphics are good! 2/10 final score    … Expand
  69. Rabidprimate
    Jun 23, 2020
    2
    The first game was a great story about mushroom zombies and redemption. This one is a tumblr reject story in a world with mushroom zombies. The gameplay is not much better than 2007 so mechanically its adequate but old. The story is horrible. You would think they would take from the end of the first and expand on taking the fight to the zombie and resolving the story but no. Its just aThe first game was a great story about mushroom zombies and redemption. This one is a tumblr reject story in a world with mushroom zombies. The gameplay is not much better than 2007 so mechanically its adequate but old. The story is horrible. You would think they would take from the end of the first and expand on taking the fight to the zombie and resolving the story but no. Its just a very bad story with no likable characters doing stuff that could be done in a game not called The Las of Us 2. Its like the story dosen't belong to the game and the game is an afterthought to the story. Below average experience will not play again.… Expand
  70. Deusex
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    The Last of Us 2 is basically just a bad movie that's $60. Gameplay is minimal compared to other games. Story is uninteresting and characters feel un relatable. Graphics are nice but that's about it.
  71. SubaqueousDream
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    I'm several hours in and so far it's leaving me exhausted... it's as though the developers are punishing me for loving the first game. Maybe releasing such a tonally bleak and misery-centric game during 2020 wasn't the best move. If you play games primarily to have fun then I suggest avoiding this one. I'm going to return my copy. The marketing was very deceitful and I don't know if I canI'm several hours in and so far it's leaving me exhausted... it's as though the developers are punishing me for loving the first game. Maybe releasing such a tonally bleak and misery-centric game during 2020 wasn't the best move. If you play games primarily to have fun then I suggest avoiding this one. I'm going to return my copy. The marketing was very deceitful and I don't know if I can trust Sony again after this.… Expand
  72. lordserpentus
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I hate writing this, but I really didnt expect such a horrible story after all these years of development. While there were a some good moments, the should have been named PLOT HOLES! the game feels like another developer made it but didn't!! The game play is the same after almost a decade, environment puzzles are basically gone. So remove story from the table and you are left with the shallow game play that will have you looking for some other game. and the story is horrible, who wants to really play a game where the hero is subjected to such treatment.… Expand
  73. Darkmoon99
    Jun 28, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I originally wasn't going to get this right away because I like to wait for sales when I buy games but a friend got it and I tried playing it to see what the big deal was. Sadly, I have to agree with some of the other reviewers. This comes off more as a poorly written fan-fiction riddled with plot-holes and contrivances where they shoe-horned in culture-war issues to make a statement than a real attempt at an engaging and interesting story-line like the first one. I'm very disappointed since I actually enjoyed The Last of Us and this was presented as a continuation of Joel & Ellie's story. SPOILER: It isn't! They kill off Joel near the very beginning and replace him with a woke character to pander to the SJW crowd.

    I don't understand why game companies feel the need to virtue-signal their "wokeness" to people whom a vast majority of won't buy the game anyway. Why do this? Why not just make the games that a majority of gamers actually want to play? Catering to a select (and noisy) minority who rarely if ever buy your product is a very poor way to run a business and a great way to drive away those of us who buy games because we enjoy escaping from reality for a while to have fun. We don't want our entertainment to be a part of that which is constantly shoving the culture-war in our faces. STOP IT!! We are not your congregation or looking to be converted to/from your religion! In any case, I'm barely giving this a 2 out of ten and that is solely for the graphics quality being pretty good, but graphics can't carry a crap story that won't let you escape the damned culture-war that is tearing this country apart.    … Expand
  74. Arkeden
    Jun 22, 2020
    2
    I just finished the game this morning. If I were blind to everything Naughty Dog as a company has done up untill this point and solely focused on The Last of Us 2 (TLOU2) game, I’d give the game a 6/10.

    [POSITIVE] It’s an okay game. Excellent ground-breaking in-game UI customization, modifications, and difficulty settings. Excellent beautiful environments, great graphics, and slightly    I just finished the game this morning. If I were blind to everything Naughty Dog as a company has done up untill this point and solely focused on The Last of Us 2 (TLOU2) game, I’d give the game a 6/10.

    [POSITIVE] It’s an okay game. Excellent ground-breaking in-game UI customization, modifications, and difficulty settings. Excellent beautiful environments, great graphics, and slightly better controls than the previous game (wish they would have done more with stealth options, but). And the flashback scenes are by far the absolute best part of the game! And if I’m being honest, I’d prefer if the entire TLOU2 was just those flashbacks.

    [NEGATIVE] The story and characters. TLOU2 tries way too hard to be art, so much so, that it sacrifices the elements of morality for it. It tries numerous times to disturb you without ever earning it. Characters a badly built, poorly written and fleshed-out, and most of the time are out of character (e.g., Joel). Ellie and Dina’s dialogue interactions are poorly constructed, often leading to their “love” scenes feeling unbelievable, fake, and forced. The game uses cheap, artificial, manipulative story mechanics, instead of intelligent or thoughtful characterization to garner sympathy for the character of Abby despite her being the textbook literal definition of a mass-murdering sociopath (she doesn’t/can’t feel sympathy or regret, she doesn’t have morals, and she doesn’t have or can maintain loyalty). Finally, the sex scene looks like it was made by someone who has never had sex before or who has never had consensual sex in their life (you know, forget things like foreplay, condoms, or lube. Just bite the pillow and ram that sucker in dry). Never mind the fact that Neil Druckmann inserted himself in the game for self-gravitas.

    I said I would have given this game a 6/10. However, Naughty Dog has recently done the following:
    1) Mislead TLOU fans by swapping out models and stories in the trailers for the current in-game models and story.
    2) Mass unwarranted/illegal DMCA take-downs by Muso Unlimited on all media platforms for any person who so much as even dares mention the game allowed before it was released.
    3) Bribing critics for 5-star overly positive review bombings before the game was released (FYI the Xbox and PlayStation store had 5k 5-star “user” ratings before the game was released when it wasn’t possible to do so as a player).
    4) Blackmailing and blacklisting social media companies and media personalities for any unfavorable or negative reviews.
    5) Naughty Dog forcing stores to disallowing cancellations of TLOU2 pre-orders.
    6) Naughty Dog forcing stores to not allowing gamers to return or trade-in TLOU2 game.
    7) Naughty Dog politicizing TLOU2 and pushing specific agendas and pandering to SJW’s.
    8) Sony being outright hypocritical on their censorship standards and what they consider to be X-rated content (FYI – Japanese games that show even slight cleavage or butt crack must have a lens flare or blur, but the sex scene in TLOU2 is 100% okay).
    9) The slough of double-standards.
    10) Publicly ganging-up on and bullying anyone who disagrees with Naughty Dog and TLOU2 and who doesn’t give the game a positive glowing review.
    11) Lastly, using all the same derogatory and defamatory PR tactics that were used for previous media like The Last Jedi. (E.g., if you don’t agree with us and our high and mighty personal view; then you’re obviously a Russian Bot, Troll, Homophobe, Sexist, Etc. Why? Because we aren’t mentally or emotionally mature enough to handle constructive criticisms and feedback without retaliating).

    Knowing all of the above, I decided to give the game a final score of 2.5/10. FYI - NO game or movie is ever a 10/10 perfect flawless success with zero mistakes, or a 0/10 complete and absolute failure. Nor should it be. They don’t exist and those kind of ratings are inaccurate and unrealistic. Don’t believe or trust any company or person that gives a 10/10, 5/5, 0/5, or 0/10 score.

    The Last of Us 2 is not a satisfying or entertaining story experience or even a story that needed to be told. Especially given how many other movies, shows, games, and books there are that tell the story of revenge and the consequences of revenge better.    … Expand
  75. jjpete11
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    Visually, the game is stunning (and no, not brave... just stunning). Everything else is ****. The most important components of a game like this (story and character) are exceptionally lacking. Under no circumstances will I purchase or pay any attention to a third installment.
  76. Alystair
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the first game and am really disappointed that this is the direction the devs went with. Joel dies and you spend half the game playing a character not in the first game. I wanted more father daughter Joel/Ellie awesomeness. instead got a revenge story that doesn't end in revenge.… Expand
  77. Jaypeace
    Jul 10, 2020
    2
    This game has taken some of my favorite characters of all time and spit on them. If you are going to make a linear, story driven game then your story needs to be done right and needs to make sense. They dropped the ball on this one.
  78. AkaySama
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    this is a sequel that didn't need to happen, the first game was perfect thanks to the story and the characters, the gameplay was alright and simple, so when a game change the story 180 it will probably suck
  79. Brat
    Jul 16, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is such a disappointment following TLOU part one. The first game had a lot of flaws but the story and the characters made it one of the best games I have ever played. The second one, rating it half way through, is not focused on the character development or a story but on shoveling you the agenda. The focus is not on a a real life development of a relations between characters but only on gay relationship that starts before the game and does not change even a bit through the game and is overshadowing everything else. It's just flat. The visuals and gameplay are much better than in the first game, but the dull relationship between the girls is very artificial and distracting. It's like this is the only thing that the writers wanted you to take from this game. No development, no character arc nothing. It's just anticlimactic.
    edit:ok now finished it and it's just... awful. The story bad story and storytelling is overshadowing the games visuals. Its just terrible. Its not worth your time. This game has nothing to offer. Waste of time even writing about it.    … Expand
  80. masterchief247
    Jun 25, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was one of those for fortunate to be able to rent this given all the bad previews it was getting, but I still wanted to see for myself. First, the graphics, music, and sound effects are top notch. The gameplay is similar o the 1st game, but has quite a few boring "fetch" quest with a lot of backtracking. This always upsets me because it is a generic way of the developer trying to extend the length of the game artificially. Although, all that positive is completely overshadowed by the unbelievable awful story. They totally missed the mark from what made the first game great. Not only do they kill off the character we came to care for and love, but force us to accept an obvious social justice type story and protagonist by forcing us to play as this character later on in the game. I have not been this disappointed in a game since Mass Effect Andromedia, and its for the same reason. Andromedia's story focused around pushing a social justice agenda on the player instead of letting the player make those choices themselves. Last of Us Part 2 does the same thing. The player is completely forced to accept a social agenda focused around LGBTQ acceptance and support. Than, the game goes out of its way to push it in your face at every turn with virtually every interaction you have. I believe people should be allowed to make their own view and opinion of social issues, and think it is just sickening that developers and producers of video games these days feel that the player is either gonna be someone who already supports their political/social agenda, or they HAVE to accept it in order to play the game. I won't be buying Last of Us 2 because I can't encourage this type of game development where political and social agenda's are the basis for just trying to force a view on the player whether they agree or not.… Expand
  81. legi0
    Jun 28, 2020
    2
    Its obvious that the game creators wanted to push an agenda down our throats and ruin a game that had a tremendous potential for greatness.

    Graphics - Amazing
    Gameplay - Could be better
    Story - Bad

    The story is melodramatic and there was no reason to make it so. Instead of feeling enjoyment during playing, i felt anger, sadness, and bored feeling. Wishing the game would end sooner.
  82. TheWrongMove
    Jun 22, 2020
    2
    The biggest slap in the face to a playerbase in a while. Especially to such a highly anticipated game. What a total joke. Also, petty politics has ruined so many great things, and while that's not the only reason for this being poor, it was a huge factor. If this isn't enough proof for you to NEVER trust big publisher's opinions and big critics again, then I don't know what would.
  83. DaveAus
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    The last of us 2 has most the same positives of the first, good graphics, enemy animations and ai and the setting. Everything else is so much worse though.
    After the fourth of fifth time i had to sit through a cutscene, then you are dropped into a linear level with roaming enemies i had to sneak past/kill i was getting fed up. Early on in the game you are treated to a wide open area that    The last of us 2 has most the same positives of the first, good graphics, enemy animations and ai and the setting. Everything else is so much worse though.
    After the fourth of fifth time i had to sit through a cutscene, then you are dropped into a linear level with roaming enemies i had to sneak past/kill i was getting fed up. Early on in the game you are treated to a wide open area that feels more free roam, but its an illusion that doesn't last long.
    The Writing, story and voice acting have taken a massive nose dive. Characters you loved make terrible mistakes and make choices you the player are unlikely to agree with.
    What is worse, as linear and forced as the story is you then are forced to see the consequences of those actions you had no control over.
    I would not recommend playing last of us 2. Just watch the highlights on youtube.    … Expand
  84. VIPnis
    Jun 28, 2020
    2
    First let me say that The Last of Us is the best game I have played, ever. Gameplay is like the first part just more improved, graphics are best we've seen ever. But I think most would agree what's most important in these games is the story and talk about a **** show this is. I genuinely wish I never played it.
  85. whouwanmekill
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    The world and sound design is amazing but the writing kills all enjoyment to be found in other aspects of the game and unfortunately taints the first one just by existing.
  86. bahram
    Jun 24, 2020
    2
    A decent graphical look as well as an ordinary gameplay which becomes mundane after the first half of the game are not enough to make a perfect game. The narrative is haphazard, filled with progressive ideology. The theme is trite/banal and badly executed. The soundtrack is decent though.
  87. Mycatdied
    Jun 27, 2020
    2
    Not sure what the writing team was thinking. Story was completely disjointed, characters don't make sense. It felt like I someone was trying to force me to feel things instead of it naturally happening. Combat/gameplay is fine, but story taints it.
  88. Tyralun
    Jun 23, 2020
    2
    Without spoiling, the storyline is my problem. The game is painful to play, hurts the player for no reason, and forces you to play as hated characters. Too many lies in development. It's terrible.
  89. harinder1827
    Jun 22, 2020
    2
    Worst Story...fk Naughty Dog...fk Neil...no revenge....after Joles torture, Ellie lose her fingers to fking Abby
  90. Katalkyste
    Jun 26, 2020
    2
    The game answers three questions. Sadly none is related to the first part ..

    - why is forced diversity bad for video games - what are game outlets willing to do for access - how trustworthy are “official” reviews This game takes all of the parts from the first game which were boring but needed and expanded on them in a massive way . The human to human combat was the least interesting and    The game answers three questions. Sadly none is related to the first part ..

    - why is forced diversity bad for video games - what are game outlets willing to do for access - how trustworthy are “official” reviews This game takes all of the parts from the first game which were boring but needed and expanded on them in a massive way . The human to human combat was the least interesting and most annoying part of lou1 but if you followed the story you understood that it was needed. And during the play session as Ellie it was created in an interesting way .. in lou2 the combat is almost always the same old human to human combat which wears boring pretty soon and is rather something that is endured than enjoyed. The whole “us against zombies” Is pretty much gone to a tiny bit of the game ..

    The story is “weak” as in I understand what they wanted to convey, but they clearly missed the mark and made the same mistake as Dr Who season 13 made .. way too many people are brought into the spotlight leaving none with enough time to be developed . Naughty dog should have concentrated on Ellie and Abby and left the others in side notes .. it does and did not work to make the player care for all those brief encounters and stories . And it never will since you need a complete game to be able to relate to a character and some games do not even manage this.. it’s about 8-10 hours game and 10-16 joyless dragging narration you basically care less and less since the protagonists will die anyway .. Moral choice, you have none . Kill them all in the end is not in any shape form and way a “moral choice”.. if you force a character to slaughter its way through the game you can’t call the character out on this . No choice is not a moral choice option. Yea yea environment is beautifull and nice but so was lou1 . No extra points from me here . Cohesion: the single stories are patched together pretty loosely and by character decisions that would not even fly in trainspotting when a character was heavily drugged . That’s not how humans work.. none of it . And so it takes away immersion and creates a disconnect between what’s happening in the game and the player . The suspension of disbelief doesn’t work here .. All in all .. same issue with mass effect andromeda .. on “ok” game as long as you haven’t played the parts before .. the. It’s a simple miss. Naughty dog tried and did not succeed, bringing this idea to life . Try it on sale or as a used copy if you did not play Last of Us 1 .. and if you did play Last of us 1 and enjoyed it, please save yourself the frustration and disappointment. It is not worth it .    … Expand
  91. regardless
    Jun 19, 2020
    2
    Without a doubt one of the worst creative descions I've ever seen in video games. Yes the graphics and set pieces are superb .. however the story and the characters they decided to show here are all shallow husks of what the previous game offered. It's quite clear the studio had quotass to fullfill and not stories to tell
  92. LeMat
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The way it handled Joel's death is a huge disservice to the character and the franchise's fans and the story's conclusion is the most unsatisfying, stupid and convoluted thing I ever had to slog through.
    The graphics and sound are solid, props to my fellow countryman Santaolalla.    … Expand
  93. aquiles1990
    Jun 23, 2020
    2
    First off i'm here to tell you i bought the game after all leaks including the ending just to support my local community channel for streaming . Now that i had finish the game i will give you specifics reasons why indeed deserve a 0 and i'm going to compare with other Subvert expectation games and explain what's going on here .

    Remember Mgs2 Sons of liberty were the tank mission is    First off i'm here to tell you i bought the game after all leaks including the ending just to support my local community channel for streaming . Now that i had finish the game i will give you specifics reasons why indeed deserve a 0 and i'm going to compare with other Subvert expectation games and explain what's going on here .

    Remember Mgs2 Sons of liberty were the tank mission is playable by Solid Snake. Kojima mislead the audience by pretending the whole journey was from Solid Snake Perspective. It was a marketing stunt. After the First Mission the game changes to Raiden and the script kicks out . What happen here in my perspective is that I let the game flow for what it's before jumping to conclusions. What i got was an incredible 4 wall breaking experience giving context to the rookie character as the protocol for Solid Snake Simulation. Side characters works, the Dialogues are outstanding and you even have the chance to fight alongside the legend solid snake. The character is respected in every single way to the point of being him the one giving the last words until the credits role and of course he lives. The fanbase was still divided but after many years the groundbreaking story is still a substantial point of how to subvert expectation properly.

    Now compare this to the last of us 2: Joel an iconic character arm with knowledge and experience in survival for 25 years all the sudden forgot about to survive in an apocalyptic environment and the script which is all over the place butcher the man in less than 20 minutes on screen. 5 as playable character and 15 until he lied death.
    The game forced you to play with the killer and the director tried to hard making her character human or feel sympathy with the player. This doesn't work so the player grab hopes that the ending fill this whole by at least complete the goal of the story which was revenge. This is portrayed as ellie hunt every single member of the screw but throw everything away by letting the killer alive into a nihilistic ending. So you have an iconic character death for nothing. You forced the player to accept his presence as flashbacks and send the entire weak script to the sky by thinking the message is more important than character progression and cohesive storytelling layers.

    it's a story that don't give you anything . Throw away every feeling you got toward this characters and pretend to deliver a message within all the violence. There is no more be said and no reason to discuss any Agenda or feminist frequency ideologies Druckman loves so much. Instead of been a love letter to the fans it become a tool for divide gamers and send them into a depressing journey without conclusion.

    This game deserve a 0 because what it does is nothing more than inflict damage to our society and to the few places humans had to shield themselves from reality. Video games    … Expand
  94. Avalrum
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Найбільша проблема - сюжет, якщо в технічному плані гра чудова, а геймплейні механіки значно поліпшені відносно першої частини, то через сюжет грати просто нудно і не цікаво, а грати за Еббі взагалі гидко, їй не співчуваєш і взагалі бажаєш для неї швидшої гибелі, але гра не дає вибору, дякую що сценаристам не прийшло в голову передати гравцеві керування коли вона практично відстрелила Джоелю ногу, а потім лупила його клюшкою для гольфу. В Сіетлі, коли почалась історія Еббі я подумав, що це займе максимально 30 хвилин, треба перетерпіти, але це було не 30 хвилин і навіть не 5 годин, це була половина гри де клята Еббі є головним персонажем... Всю гру чекаєш на смерть Еббі, але сценаристи вирішили залишити її живою... Це просто днина.… Expand
  95. 3k-Krossfire
    Jul 19, 2020
    2
    The feelings and expectations of the fans of the first part were simply destroyed! This game is a big disappointment. Inadequate plot and disgusting characters. There are characters for whom there is no desire to play! This is disastrous for a story-driven adventure game!
  96. einzelwolf
    Jun 28, 2020
    2
    I will only say that this is the first time in my entire life that I have been forced by a game to feel bad for playing it. I hope that is enough.
  97. huskydesu
    Jun 20, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The most trash story ever. None of the new characters are likeable. you are forced to play as the antagonist for over 10 hours and the ending has no closure. Ellie decides to no avenge Joel at the end which makes no sense. The game was big marketing lie. you were advertised to be playing as Ellie but instead you play as some she hulk for good chuck of the game.… Expand
  98. astronabo360
    Jun 21, 2020
    2
    História muito fraca, não percebo como dão notas mais altas do que last of us 1? Velho gameplay e história má.
  99. PedroAvelar
    Oct 18, 2022
    2
    Que pena, um jogo que já gostei tanto ,se tornou militante e além disso temos uma história que frusta e decepciona .
    Tecnicamente ,impecável, é possível jogar por horas a fio só isso salva nesse game.
  100. Endurance
    Jun 26, 2020
    2
    They worked hard on the story. but it just wasn't pleasing enough. that's not really the reason why this game failed so bad..

    "They can't expect this game to have great ratings and reviews if its not out for PC." sorry! This is not about parts of the game being "leaked" before release, this is not about the handful of game critiques on YouTube bashing the game before release, this is    They worked hard on the story. but it just wasn't pleasing enough. that's not really the reason why this game failed so bad..

    "They can't expect this game to have great ratings and reviews if its not out for PC." sorry!

    This is not about parts of the game being "leaked" before release, this is not about the handful of game critiques on YouTube bashing the game before release, this is about the game being exclusive to PS4. well the bigger market is on PC! use your heads and stop following Square Enix.

    If you think you're avoiding counterfeit copies and making more sales due to exclusivity to consoles, think again! all that will come at a cost of reviews and ratings.    … Expand
Page:

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PS4 Game of 2020
1
#1 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020
3
#3 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 121 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 113 out of 121
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 121
  3. Negative: 0 out of 121
  1. GameMAG
    Sep 13, 2020
    90
    The Last of Us Part II is the high point of the PlayStation 4. The plot is controversial, but the game is the incredibly addictive adventure of Ellie, from which it is impossible to pull away from the opening and to the very end.
    Read full review
  2. PLAY! Zine
    Sep 5, 2020
    93
    Not everyone is going to enjoy the motives of The Last of Us Part II. But if you try and manage to accept the subliminal and not so subtle messages as a fact that the world has gone awry and that people have the need to have somewhere or someone to belong to as their own way out, then... You will witness the boundaries of gaming expand. You will witness a true masterpiece.
    Read full review
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Sep 3, 2020
    75
    If you loved the original for its great characters and well-paced story – stay away from this game. However, if you’re aching to sink into the depths of depression, or just want to cut some throats and burn some zombies – Part II will deliver. [Issue#247, p.72]
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