[SPOILERS] So, let's talk about that story and ending ...

[T4NK_XVII]

I liked it.

 

I felt for both Ellie and Abby. Both are just trying to survive and help their friends survive. I enjoyed playing from both perspectives.

 

Sadly this is what would happen if there was an apocalypse, groups of people would form and protect their own. They may be decent people to each other, but not to other groups.

 

The ending was kinda dumb though, but I guess they want the possibility for another game. The perfect ending IMO would have been Abby telling Ellie the Fireflies were back and Ellie sacrificing herself to finally make a cure (or at least attempt to). This would basically make things right since this was what was supposed to happen in the first game more or less. That would also make this the last game, which I'd be totally fine with. Ellie told Joel he should have let her die in the hospital, so I can see her choosing to sacrifice herself after the second game. This even could have happened after Ellie choose not to kill Abby. Or they could have had two possible endings like the first game. 

 

On the topic of Joel's death, I think it was done well. Abby had a good reason to want to kill him, he killed her father for a selfish reason, so she killed him for a selfish reason. Then the story kicks off and it's just Ellie and Abby getting revenge on each other, which is very realistic. They both have moments of forgiveness or acceptance, however, and in the end, they are both alive despite almost killing each other.

 

I was able to avoid any spoilers before release. Anything I did hear about it turned out to be a rumor or an exaggeration.    

 

For me personally it was a great game, but I am fine if some others didn't like it.

Edited July 11, 2020 by T4NK_XVII

[Dying-_-Light_1]

Does anybody know the story of “You only need 3 fingers Right” ?

[SuperSaiyan3985]

On 7/8/2020 at 10:05 PM, Livingstone7728 said:

It does make a difference it makes you look childish and immature... and takes any credability away from the points you're trying to make

Nah. I have no respect for him. 

On 7/6/2020 at 3:08 AM, emailking said:

 

There's no legal basis to sue them for the trailers. If it happens, it will be thrown out of court right away.

 

I have no problem with that they did plot wise, but they shouldn't have faked the trailers. That was definitely slimy. Fortunately it didn't affect me personally since I avoided everything after the first E3 trailer.

Sure there is. They have deliberately manipulated their product in marketing to make it look more appealing. It’s completely misleading to the consumer. 

[Storfl_92]

Good or evil is a point of view. Pefectly demonstrated in this game/movie..

Hold hate inside you never makes life better. I had very strong emotions during and even after the game. Godd or bad it doesnt matter. I never felt like that during a little "video game". ND did an amazing job and i like it even mor than the first part.

[emailking]

On 7/14/2020 at 3:09 AM, SuperSaiyan3985 said:

Nah. I have no respect for him. 

Sure there is. They have deliberately manipulated their product in marketing to make it look more appealing. It’s completely misleading to the consumer. 

 

More appealing is your opinion but it doesn't matter. It's like a deleted scene that appears in a movie trailer but not in the movie. Legally anyway.

[ARH65512]

The message with the ending is that it tries to tell us that revenge is bad and Ellie was trying to stop the cycle. Problem? It's poorly executed because right before Ellie is about to kill Abby she then realizes it would be bad. If the whole point was that we killed a random NPC in the previous game that ended up being significant in the next game then who knows what else Ellie caused a revenge to. No, she didn't break the cycle because she has already killed all of Abby's friends, the girl with the Vita, the guy who would be spared if he told her where Abby is, etc. It's fucking bullshit. It's easily the worst ending in a video game. I'm not exaggerating. I'm absolutely baffled people defend for the reasons I said above. 

[djb5f]

Fantastic story, I found it more compelling than the first game’s story which was also great.
 

Too many games are black and white, love the shades of gray.

[StraightVege]

On 7/10/2020 at 5:02 PM, T4NK_XVII said:

The perfect ending IMO would have been Abby telling Ellie the Fireflies were back and Ellie sacrificing herself to finally make a cure.

 

Pretty sure Abby's father was the last guy on Earth with the knowledge to accomplish that (that they're aware of, anyway).

[ihadalifeb4this]

Since this will show up on my profile i will just do this to spare some poor soul seeing spoilers before they play the game. You're welcome.

 

Spoiler

This is how i see Joel's death.

 

The way he was killed was cruel i can't argue that, but one thing i didn't see people point out that he still died well. After all bad things he did he found a way to live with it. When in final moments he realized shit caught up with him he was at peace with himself and he was ready to die. The way he died triggered almost everything that happened not just for Ellie, but also for Abby. Without the way Joel died Owen does not take extra assignments, he doesn't face old Scar that's just ready...  he doesn't end up shooting Danny and running away. Abby doesn't go AWOL to find him, she never gets caught by Scars, she never escapes with those kids, she never has those moments with Owen that give her some hope... ultimately Lev is not there to stop Abby killing Ellie and Dina if that encounter would still happen. 

   

I was confused when i was told that reason why people got so upset was bad script. I don't know. Maybe i'm crazy and i'm just connecting dots that can't be connected. I will never be die-hard fan of either  The Last of Us game, but i do believe storytelling is good in both.

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by ihadalifeb4this

[Livingstone7728]

On 14/07/2020 at 0:09 AM, SuperSaiyan3985 said:

Nah. I have no respect for him. 

Sure there is. They have deliberately manipulated their product in marketing to make it look more appealing. It’s completely misleading to the consumer. 

Hahaha you're joking right?! That's what marketing and advertising is! Making your product more appealing... they didn't put any false information in the trailer..... just because you didnt like the game doesnt mean you can sue the creator ?? get over yourself

[colia100]

In my humble opinion, they try so hard to shove a politically correct morale and life philosophy down your throat, that I stopped giving a shit halfway through. I wanted a good story naughty dog, no more no less.

 

By the end of it, couldn't care less who lived or died...

[Nitro]

I platinumed it last night and I hated it. I loved the first half of the game. Thought it was great. But then we played as Abby. And it dragged along soo fkn slowly and went on for far too long, yet it wasnt long enough for me to have any attachment to the characters.

I don't think taking away Joel that early is a bad thing, we needed a Kylo-Ren situation with Abby. However, having no characters with Ellie for a good half of the gametime with her is stupid. Why? Because the game is meant to be about characters, bonds and that sort of thing, I literally cared about 5 characters my entire 1.5 playthroughs: Joel, Tommy, Ellie, Bear and Alice. The rest could've been replaced and it wouldn't make a difference.

The only character you start to care about is Dina and then OUT OF NO WHERE "Oh I'm pregnant, I won't be going with you, you're on your own" Like bitch, what?!?! Just as I was getting to know her character??? 

 

Story was a 2/10.

 

Advancements in gameplay and graphics saved this from being an overall 2/10.

[trojbrown40]

I have a lot of issues with the story and ending. 

 

1) Why are Tommy and Joel and everyone else out on patrols to clear the infected? They are already safe and behind giant walls. They weren't hunting for food or growing their crops out there. They also wouldn't give their names to complete strangers. Joel was smarter than that. Makes no sense. 

 

2) Why are the Seraphites in Seattle? They are safe and isolated on their island. They don't believe in technology or advanced weapons so why risk it going to Seattle? There is no reason they are even there in the first place. Makes no sense. (I think this part of the story was cut out as I heard Ellie and Abby had 5 days each)

 

3) The Seraphites use cranes and rooftops to evade the Wolves? Seriously. No one looked up? Up that high in the air in Seattle with all the rain and wind, would wreck those wooden beams and they would rot fast. Couldn't they have just used the sewers? Makes no sense. 

 

4) So Libby (aka Lev) is born on the island of Seraphites where everyone knows the family, now want to kill Libby (Lev) for shaving their head? Someone they knew their entire lives and someone that was part of their cult. Over a haircut? Seriously? Why not have Lev kill the elder they were supposed to marry. That would make more sense. 

 

5) Abby being that ripped/muscular in that world. I get it that you are going for a strong female character but it was poorly done. See Ellie, Alloy, Lara Croft, Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, etc....give me someone who is believable. Also, pregnant women being cleared for duty...like WTF? Then the pregnant woman is crawling on her pregnant belly, walking high beams and climbing ropes with no issue...hahaha

 

6) Ellie killing over 500+ NPC's (even those begging for their lives and fleeing the wolves) just to let Abby go in the end. If my fingers were bitten off 10 seconds earlier, I'd be seeing red and would have finished the job. I wouldn't be having a vision of a happy Joel in that moment. If I was Ellie, I would have blown her kneecap off and say....this was for Joel and finish her off. Probably the worst ending to a video game ever. Naughty Dog needs to take notes and see how Ghost of Tsushima ended....had they done that kind of ending the hatred of this game and Abby wouldn't be as bad. 

 

7) All of the Abby defenders out there are all trolls or people who never played the first game. She is the most hated character in a video game ever....sad thing is, they tried to make us like her and her friends. I call her premeditated murder Abby whose father was going to murder Ellie against her will. (Doubt they would have been able to get a cure anyways) Joel killed for survival, not pleasure and wasn't planned out. RIP Joel. 

Edited July 27, 2020 by trojbrown40

[ron_mcphatty]

@JoaLoft First of all your analysis is superb, that was a very well reasoned and written essay, well done and thanks!

 

I thought the story was incredible. The world is packed with terror and frighteningly driven people, the burning need to stay alive is so powerful that most have become murderers multiple times over. I find it hard to criticise the motives of any of the characters, they have so little left to fight for that it’s hard to really understand how hard their fight would be.
 

There was some real joy in the story, following Joe’s brutal death the romance in the first quarter was uplifting and disarming, but once Ellie left Dina in the theatre I realised Ellie was on a downward spiral. I worried that even some bitter-sweet joy might not return.

 

Forcing me to spend nearly half of the game as Abby was very smart move by ND. Like everyone else I was frustrated at first but slowly realised that her story was so similar to Ellie’s and that I was just as invested.

 

Ellie and Abby’s two fights were genuinely upsetting. I finished the game two hours ago and still feel a horrible weight on my chest, in fact I don’t know how to get past this feeling. The weight of the protagonists’ grudges and fury as well as the despair of the whole story are well and truly stuck in my mind. It seems that both women have lost more or less everything, apart from their lives, and I don’t think we’ll find out anything more about them. There’s no happy ending here for any of the characters and I don’t really know what to do with that conclusion.

 

I don’t think I can say it was a favourite game but it was engaging in a way I’ve never felt before. Both TLoU games go together to make a powerful experience that I’ll never forget.

 

11/10.

 

Edited July 28, 2020 by ron_mcphatty

[Livingstone7728]

On 27/07/2020 at 11:48 AM, colia100 said:

In my humble opinion, they try so hard to shove a politically correct morale and life philosophy down your throat, that I stopped giving a shit halfway through. I wanted a good story naughty dog, no more no less.

 

By the end of it, couldn't care less who lived or died...

How so? The philosophy as you call it made perfect sense... it gave ellie the opportunity to have a family... and the fact that the little boy was transgender was needed... it gave him a reason to be fleeing... unless you're homophobic a sameness partnership shouldn't be any different than featuring a traditional one..

[StressEater]

I was extremely disappointed in this game. I was expecting so much more. They start out with Joel's death, which upsets you and keeps you upset throughout the whole game. Even now that I am done with the game, I still find it pointless. Not to mention, the whole thing didn't make any sense. Why were Joel and Tommy out there anyways? It also seemed very "convenient" that they just happen to run into their group and into their trap perfectly. I also hated switching back and forth between the two characters. I was not a fan of Abby and no matter how hard you kept pushing her onto me, I still never liked her. How could you after watching her kill Joel? So any time I had to play Abby, I was rushing through it and hating every minute of it. The Devs could have gone in so many other directions with the game. I am so disappointed that they chose this route. The game was just a mass killing of both sides. Everyone on each side just kept dying pointlessly. It's like Joel said in the first game about how humans were way worse than the infected.