The debate over whether video games are art or not seems to be over – numerous masterpieces from the world’s leading studios have put the matter to rest. We know everything that truly talented developers are capable of, unencumbered by financial or creative constraints. However, from time to time, new titles come along that simply don’t fit into the previous framework, and whose ambitions force us to redefine what video games are.
The path of Naughty Dog newest creation to store shelves was difficult – too difficult. On the way to release, the brainchild of the world-renowned studio faced logistical hell that delayed its spring release, and a massive spoiler leak online – and subsequent fan anger. I never wielded a pitchfork and joined the crusade against the developers, but I had my own doubts that Vice President Neil Druckmann was right to launch production on a sequel to The Last of Us, arguably the best video game of the last generation.
You can have a lot of luck, but the only way to appreciate the game is to play it. Fortunately, I can’t imagine a more enjoyable experiment.
Ghosts of the past
Making sequels is not as easy as it may seem from the outside, and when it comes to such celebrated titles as The Last of Us, the task seems overwhelming. How to please the existing army of fans without sacrificing artistic value? And for a long time, it seemed (at least on paper) that the tragedy was indeed unavoidable. Naughty Dog mentioned the history of revenge and the cycle of violence, and we all almost rolled our eyes: what, revenge again? The world of The Last of Us is so interesting, but why did you decide to base it on such a hackneyed plot? In response to our complaints, the developers said that context was important. And they were right.
So, 5 years have passed since the events of the first part. Ellie is now 19 years old, and she is not the same sweet girl who kept Joel company. She lives in the city of Jackson and gradually learns to trust other people and even enter into relationships with them. But in the post-apocalyptic world, horrors lurk at every turn, and a tragic event forces Ellie to forget her peaceful life and choose the path of revenge.
Can I nitpick the plot of The Last of Us Part II, comparing it unfavourably to the original part? Absolutely. When creating their magnum opus (and it’s impossible to deny that the new product is Naughty Dog’s most ambitious and daring project), the developers chose a popular artistic technique that I dislike – subverting expectations. They first of all tried to catch the player by deceiving their expectations with plot twists at every corner. Many contemporary directors and writers think primarily about how to surprise, sacrificing the quality of the story in the process. A striking example is the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, whose director and screenwriter Rian Johnson was too keen on inappropriate comedy and rewriting the already established rules of the universe. Although both Johnson and Druckmann sought to surprise, the latter achieved this without losing respect for the first part.
We can compare The Last of Us and its sequel for a long time, carefully weighing all the pros and cons, but in the end, it all comes down to everyone’s personal opinion. Despite the similarities, these two games are very different in their moods. This is reflected in both the main themes (if the original is about love, then the sequel is about hatred) and the feelings that the game evokes in players. I wanted to cry, swear, and wave my hands in indignation. I felt like both the main character and a completely helpless person. I was afraid of the next plot twist and couldn’t wait for it.
Yes, The Last of Us squeezes feelings and emotions out of players in a masterful way. Naughty Dog has long been producing video games of such a level that they have been compared to Hollywood films, but The Last of Us Part II is not shy about its interactivity and aims higher. Taking inspiration from the lessons of Shadow of the Colossus, the studio wants the player to stop feeling like a passive participant. As in Shadow of the Colossus, we are the ones who take full responsibility for our actions. As in both cases, we are not heroes or saviours – we are simply people who use violence to achieve their goals and risk losing their humanity in the process.
Many of the old characters return, but the lead roles are mostly played by new faces. Each character, even the most episodic, is deeply developed and seems alive. New people come, old people go, and Naughty Dog has been and remains the studio with the highest quality and liveliest dialogue.
Fumito Ueda’s creation remains a masterpiece, but even today, few games have managed to evoke such emotions in us – few have even tried. Putting the player in an uncomfortable position, making them worry and doubt themselves is not what most game makers strive for. But Naughty Dog is not afraid to evoke conflicting emotions in us. I don’t remember when a game has evoked so many emotions in me! One moment I feel rage and a desire for revenge, the next – guilt and even fear. What will I have to do next – will I have the strength? Sometimes I just looked at the controller warily and desperately hoped that my participation would not be required. The Last of Us Part II is a game that is brutal, frank and hard, and thanks to the excellent graphics, the violence here is not like violence in other games. It’s too realistic, and it’s frightening.
Each new Naughty Dog game is a new milestone in the development of facial animation. As expected, The Last of Us Part II looks great, and every emotion and internal conflict of the characters is visible even without words. The anger and pain in Ellie’s eyes, Joel’s love and melancholy.
I think you can feel how torn I am to put spoilers here. You can understand me: You want to discuss The Last of Us Part II, you want to argue about it. And I’m sure that fans will be discussing Ellie’s actions and all sorts of plot twists for years, just as they still condemn and discuss Joel’s actions in the first part.
The post-apocalyptic world
The plot is what makes The Last of Us stand out, but without a well-thought-out gameplay, you may not make it to the end credits. And the first part was very different from the Uncharted series: it was not an action movie, but rather a survival game where resources are scarce and every bullet can be decisive. Crafting was also at the centre of everything. The Last of Us Part II continues all these ideas and doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. You will still wander around abandoned houses and shops in search of materials for Molotov cocktails and medicines. You can craft mines and arrows anywhere, but you can only upgrade weapons in specially designated places.
Perhaps the main surprise for many will be the openness of The Last of Us Part II and its scale. The developers were inspired by their previous game, the Uncharted: The Lost Legacy expansion pack, which was the first time Naughty Dog began to seriously experiment with quasi-open worlds. And even Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End itself offered a surprisingly large amount of freedom of movement, and now The Last of Us sequel has surpassed them all. No, there’s no open world here (and thank goodness, enough of them), but there’s no sense of corridors either – all the levels are voluminous and not at all cramped. Many games offer the player huge spaces and zero motivation to explore them, but in The Last of Us Part II I always wanted to explore every corner. Each new location (and for the last time, there are a lot of them) is a chance not only to become a tourist, but also to learn its (often tragic) history thanks to the many notes left behind.
Not only are there secrets and resources hidden everywhere, but the locations themselves are surprisingly interesting. I think I’ve raided several dozen apartments, houses, hotels and shops, and I’ve never seen a single repetition. Each building has its own character and everywhere you can hear the echoes of the lives of their former inhabitants. I don’t know of another studio that takes such a meticulous approach to modelling every inch of its creation.
The game takes place in very different locations, although Seattle is still the main “hero” here. In general, the scale of the game and its duration will definitely surprise you – it is much more epic than other creations of the studio. Without going into details, I’ll just say that it turned out to be twice as long as I expected – and three times as much.
In The Last of Us Part II, times of calm and silent contemplation alternate with eerie chases, heated shootouts, and intense cat-and-mouse games with the infected, whose ranks have been replenished with new magical species. As I already mentioned, the combat system is mostly the same, but it has become much more dynamic and faster. Ellie is not at all like Joel – even though she is able to overcome anyone, her strong point is her agility. Ellie moves quickly across the map, penetrates narrow gaps and dodges blows that would surely be fatal for Joel.
From the outside, it may seem that nothing has changed except for a few qualitative innovations, but this is not the case. The enemies in the game have become smarter and more diverse. Some factions have been replaced by new ones, each with its own characteristics. The fighters of the Washington Liberation Front are well-equipped and use dogs that can find Ellie even in a hiding place, while the Seraphites prefer stealth and arrows. And we shouldn’t forget about the infected, both those already familiar from the first part and completely new ones. Sony boasted that sometimes it would even be possible to pit infected and human beings against each other, but in reality, this is very rarely possible.
The strong point of the game is its UI: you don’t have to stop or go far into the menu at all. Crafting takes place right on the spot, with the press of two buttons and without any pauses. This not only does not take time away from the player, but also allows you not to leave the game world for a minute. Some may say that this is a trifle, but in fact, it is another way to get rid of artificial distractions and identify with the character even more. The presence of an invisible “pulse” mechanic for both Ellie and all her rivals is also interesting. Depending on the situation, they can get angry and even afraid, and our protagonist himself experiences a whole bunch of emotions – from joy and satisfaction with a solved puzzle to rage and fear after being seriously injured.
If someone can find fault with the story, then the combat and gameplay are as flawless as it gets. As always, the animation is also on top – again, in this regard, The Last of Us Part II is simply the best of this generation. I know that with each new enthusiastic epithet I sacrifice my reputation as an unbiased critic, but I am one of those who likes to praise rather than scold.
And there’s a lot to praise here: I’ve played several hundred video games in this generation, and none of them have captured my interest as much as Part II has. Having tried so many games, I thought I was turning into a cynic and gradually losing interest, but it turned out that a truly outstanding work can bring back this half-forgotten state of childhood enthusiasm.
By the way, I found the gameplay easier in the sequel. Only sometimes the game made me nervous – as a rule, I learned from my mistakes and quickly adapted to new situations. Difficulties can arise only with spatial orientation: since there are no pointers, many people (well, those who do not turn on the appropriate tips – see the “Games accessible to all” section) can get lost out of habit. There are (practically) no maps, no signposts or compasses – and this is despite a truly three-dimensional world in which you can easily get lost.
Games accessible to everyone
What Naughty Dog has always been good at is creating games that are accessible to everyone. The smart game design guides us in the right direction without any markers or mini-maps, and in case of difficulties, the game always offers hints.
What’s more – and this is very important – there are a huge number of different difficulty and accessibility settings for people with low vision and hearing loss, as well as people who are simply sensitive to sudden movements. Finally, you can fully customise the size and colour of fonts and all other UI elements. The difficulty level can also be changed to your heart’s content – without sacrificing trophies. We have not forgotten about those who get motion sickness from sudden movements, motion blur, and other effects that are widely used in video games.
If you want, you can reduce the distance to the character or cancel the camera shake altogether. If you have poor eyesight, you can zoom in on any part of the screen, and there’s also an option to voice over everything that’s happening. I am sincerely pleased with Naughty Dog’s concern, as I have friends who had to abandon many games because they were too sick or uncomfortable. There will be no such problems with Part II. And this attitude towards players of all abilities should not surprise us, but be standard practice.
And finally, I will have to (just have to) dwell on a point that is important to many people – whether there is so-called “SJW propaganda” in the game. Neil Druckmann made no secret of the fact that he supports people with a gay or lesbian orientation and minorities, and that his games have a place for everyone. For this reason, many of our fellow citizens, who are overly concerned about their own fragile masculinity, have declared Mr Druckmann persona non grata. There’s another reason: many popular IPs have suffered from excessive politicisation, including the Doctor Who series and Star Wars. And the problem is not the desire to be inclusive, but the clumsy implementation. Fortunately, there is nothing to scold Naughty Dog for in this regard: its new creation is respectful of all orientations, faiths, races, and genders, and does not try to teach players anything. The company continues to tell a story with a variety of strong characters, and no one’s rights are infringed upon. Yes, even white men.
The peak of opportunities for Playstation
We’ve discussed the narrative and gameplay components, and now we need to touch on the technical issues. The Last of Us was once the most impressive game on the PS3 yet, and the situation is repeating itself with the PS4. 2020 will be the last year for the ultra-successful console, and Naughty Dog has tried to squeeze all the juices out of it. And it succeeded – this is, without a doubt, the most beautiful and impressive game on the platform.
According to the studio, the proprietary engine was almost completely rewritten, and a completely new capture system was used to record the movements of the actors. This made it possible to achieve stunning photorealism of the world and very authentic emotions from all the characters. At the same time, the performance did not have to be sacrificed for the sake of beautiful landscapes and elaborate facial emotions – despite the fact that I played the game nine days before its release, I did not come across a single bug. The frame rate hasn’t dropped even once! Such excellent optimisation is Naughty Dog’s forte, but that doesn’t mean that the studio shouldn’t be praised once again for its commitment to releasing a finished product that doesn’t require patches from day one. By the way, you don’t have to wait for a patch for the New Game+ or the photo mode either – everything is already in place.
Finally, I would like to note that the game is fully translated, and you can leave the voices of the original actors in the settings. I advise you to do so, after all, the main role is played by Ashley Johnson, Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, and other recognised voice actors. And the soundtrack is again by Gustavo Santaolalla, who has already worked on the first part. I still consider his work from 2013 to be one of the greatest game soundtracks of all time, but The Last of Us Part II disappointed me a bit in this regard – the local OST seemed to me less expressive, with fewer memorable melodies.
Conclusion
The Last of Us Part II is the most ambitious creation from the masters at Naughty Dog, who have shown us a completely different Ellie. It’s a beautiful, tragic and heartbreaking story of an all-consuming obsession, told by the voices of elite actors, shown with the help of advanced technologies and brought to life by a well-tuned gameplay. There is no such thing as a perfect video game, but sometimes we come up with one that comes close.
