The Last of Us: Part II is one of my most anticipated🍌 games of the year. In fact, it has been my #1 most anticipated title for the better part of seven years after being absolutely blown away by what the first game offered up in terms of gameplay, narrative, and multiplayer mode. As such, my weekend has been dedicated to a complete playthrough of the next chapter in Ellie and Joel’s story. Much to my dismay, though, I’m roughly 15-hours into the game, and I’m not yet understanding the hype that was conveyed by other reviewing outlets during the buildup to the official launch of The Last of Us: Part II.
For contextꦫ, even though I am an editor for a gaming news site, I’ve done a surprisingly phenomenal job of avoiding any news, leaks, drama, or other spoilers surrounding The Last of Us: Part II. Take a look at my recent Left Behind piece that goes into further detail in that regard. That said, I haven’t been completely oblivious to the accolades that the game received in the first reviews that were released (by some pretty notable heavy-hitters in the industry at that). As such, I couldn’t wait to jump back into the apocalyptic, infected world. However, at roughly 15-hours into playing the ga💞me, I’m still waiting to be blown away in the same way that I was in the first game.
I’ll spare you the detail🌸s as to which part of the game I’m at exꦜactly (though a quick glance at my recent articles will provide an approximate hint), and I won♑’t divulge any spoilers here, but there just hasn’t been anything so shocking, so over-the-top, or so definingly new to the series that I wasn’t already kind of expecting. Thus far, for me, The Last of Us: Part II, plays like a continuation from the original game that released 🐼in 2013, leaving me wondering why this sequel took so long to release.
In an attempt to keep that stat♚ement from🎃 being misconstrued (I know, I know… there’s no way that could happen on the Internet), I’m absolutely not intending for that statement to be a slam against the writers, developers, actors, or anyone else who no doubt worked exceptionally hard on this game. And, I by no means dislike the game itself. Far from it, actually (I audibly gasped and felt an emotional response at the same “moment” that you probably did). I just wonder if a handful of DLC episodes might have been a more lucrative endeavor. Fans could have received a steady stream of episodic releases, while allowing Naughty Dog employees to have had a mor👍e flexible release calendar, possibly reducing the risk for any sort of crunch.
Perhaps I'm oversimplif⛎ying it, ♕though. I am still hopeful that The Last of Us: Part II’s aha moment will🔜 happen for me. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later. Because right now, I’m just not understanding t🌜he perfect ratings.
Stay tuned for my review of The Last of Us: Part II later this weekend.