The Last of Us Part II

[Nightingale]

@Nightingale: I wanted to ask what parts in this game were your (least) favourite to play through.
I figured I'd ask here rather than the What Games Stories Have You Got Invested In? thread just so that that thread doesn't veer into duplicating what this thread can be used for.

This may shock you... but I didn't have *any* fun playing as Abby.

You gotta understand that this was my *FIRST* PS4 game and the one I got the system for, so my expectations were sky-high. I thought I was gonna get a story about Ellie slicing and dicing Fireflies by the dozens as some sort of revenge plot (that's what the trailer had led me to believe) and instead I got... this? I still enjoyed the darn game and it was still a rich experience, but we went from Citizen Kane to The Room in one fell swoop and I don't think it was worth playing? I'm glad I did, but...

[Moonface]

I find the one standout moment playing as Abby is everything on Seattle Day 2. The hotel and the hospital are both superb sections, but other than those the rest are either forgettable or just not very interesting. There's barely a single encounter with the Seraphites that I think was good with Abby, despite that faction being the main focus of her campaign encounters.

However, the one point in the game I always dislike going through is Santa Barbara. It's neat to see somewhere else after the game spends so long in Seattle, but that entire section has yet to grab me.

[Nightingale]

I find the one standout moment playing as Abby is everything on Seattle Day 2. The hotel and the hospital are both superb sections, but other than those the rest are either forgettable or just not very interesting. There's barely a single encounter with the Seraphites that I think was good with Abby, despite that faction being the main focus of her campaign encounters.

However, the one point in the game I always dislike going through is Santa Barbara. It's neat to see somewhere else after the game spends so long in Seattle, but that entire section has yet to grab me.

Yeah, I mostly agree with all of that. I think the chief issue the game has is that it is trying to cram in way, WAY too many details at once. The ORIGINAL Last of Us was one big experience, you could pick any moment you wanted (hence, chapter select) and still get a pretty rich experience, but the tonal shifts on 2 are just too jarring for my taste.

I also think that the writing on notes and diaries has gotten weaker? EXCEPT for both the bank and ship... those were just excellent.

Oh and the Parking Lot gave me nightmares.

[Moonface]

One of the notes/diaries that really stood out to me were the ones that document the journey someone is taking to reach the Seraphites and leaving the notes behind for the person who's meant to follow them. I forget if you ever find out what happens to any of them but I liked piecing together a bigger story through multiple notes through multiple chapters.
I think what might make the notes weaker in this game is the lack of diversity to the situations. The notes mostly boil down to Wolfs or Seraphites, so things like the Bank and the Ship stand out a lot because they're from before the outbreak and feature people completely independent from the main story. The first game never had a singular focus on a particular party for most of the game, so there was a much larger variety of notes that added to the story of each chapter rather than adding to the overall game story, which is what a lot of this games notes do.

[Nightingale]

One thing I will say is that I was BLOWN AWAY by the fact that the Seraphites had demolished some of the old buildings and had started engaging on some pre-industrial farming society completed with wooden shacks and everything.

I never once bought that humanity wouldn't at least give this a try even after 20 years since the outbreak in the first game. Everything seemed damaged/overgrown but not necessarily ruined and that hurt my immersion somehow. I gave 2 full marks for addressing that.

[Moonface]

One thing I will say is that I was BLOWN AWAY by the fact that the Seraphites had demolished some of the old buildings and had started engaging on some pre-industrial farming society completed with wooden shacks and everything.

I never once bought that humanity wouldn't at least give this a try even after 20 years since the outbreak in the first game. Everything seemed damaged/overgrown but not necessarily ruined and that hurt my immersion somehow. I gave 2 full marks for addressing that.

Yeah, the first game rarely feels as ruined as it should be in a lot of places. I wonder if that was a limitation of the hardware; although, I just looked up Salt Lake City just to see if I could compare shots of it in the first and second games, and found out that the amount of vegetation depicted in that location is actually unrealistically high even in the first game because of its desert location making it difficult to even cultivate a small lawn without a lot of care. I think the biggest sin the first game has for an environment is the house outside of Tommy's Dam where Ellie runs off to; that house is practically pristine without even a broken window on it, and I doubt that was that way because of hardware since that's one of the smallest areas in the entire game that gets loaded in. Boston was really the only area that actually looked ruined, but I also think that was only made to look that way because of the whole napalm strike it took. I bet if the game didn't have that event happen to that location, it wouldn't be close to as ruined as it was depicted.

[Nightingale]

One thing I will say is that I was BLOWN AWAY by the fact that the Seraphites had demolished some of the old buildings and had started engaging on some pre-industrial farming society completed with wooden shacks and everything.

I never once bought that humanity wouldn't at least give this a try even after 20 years since the outbreak in the first game. Everything seemed damaged/overgrown but not necessarily ruined and that hurt my immersion somehow. I gave 2 full marks for addressing that.

Yeah, the first game rarely feels as ruined as it should be in a lot of places. I wonder if that was a limitation of the hardware; although, I just looked up Salt Lake City just to see if I could compare shots of it in the first and second games, and found out that the amount of vegetation depicted in that location is actually unrealistically high even in the first game because of its desert location making it difficult to even cultivate a small lawn without a lot of care. I think the biggest sin the first game has for an environment is the house outside of Tommy's Dam where Ellie runs off to; that house is practically pristine without even a broken window on it, and I doubt that was that way because of hardware since that's one of the smallest areas in the entire game that gets loaded in. Boston was really the only area that actually looked ruined, but I also think that was only made to look that way because of the whole napalm strike it took. I bet if the game didn't have that event happen to that location, it wouldn't be close to as ruined as it was depicted.

Totally, man... that house.

I actually took a lot of issue with that area (likely the only one on the entire game I felt that way towards) because the game made it exceedingly clear that looting had taken place in a lot of areas during the events of the pandemic... so you can't just tell me that what looks like a rich estate out in the farmland would be left completely untouched, even though it could be a great shelter.

They didn't even steal the TVs.

[Moonface]

Not only is the house basically untouched, but it's in the middle of the forest in an area established as having harsh Winters. In 20 years that house would not have withstood nature so well even if no one had ever touched it before.

The other dumb thing on that part is it's never been looted, but the instant the player gets there looters turn up. You're telling me no one had gone here before that time with bad intentions? Or even just wandered in there while trying to survive in the area?

[Moonface]

The Last of Us Part II Remastered Announced
Sony and Naughty Dog have announced that The Last of Us Part II is getting a remastered version exclusively for PlayStation 5 which is set to release at the beginning of next year and brings with it a slew of new features.

New Modes

• No Return
  • A roguelike survival mode designed to let players prove their mettle in randomized encounters and experience The Last of Us Part II’s combat in a fresh experience.
    
  • A host of playable characters to choose from, some of whom will be playable for the first time in the series (Lev, Tommy, Mel, Jesse, and Dina).
    
  • Each character has their own traits, and can be upgraded with rewards from successful runs.
    
  • The rewards you receive are chosen at the start of each new run, and can include new characters, skins, and more.
    
  • Players will chart their own course on each run, choosing between various stealth and combat encounters that will pit you against a range of enemies, with unique twists that can add new, unexpected factors to any given encounter.
    
• Guitar Free Play
  • Allows you to play the guitar mini-game in its own dedicated mode.
    
  • You'll be able to strum the strings across a host of unlockable instruments and use audio FX pedals to modulate your performance.
    
  • Play as different characters in several in-game locations to customize the mood and feel of your set.
    
• Lost Levels
  • Early-development slices of cut content from the game that players can explore to see never before seen areas of Part II's world.
    
  • Embedded developer commentary is also present to give more context behind these levels and the creative process that went into them and why they were ultimately cut.
    
• Speedrun Mode
  

New Features

• Director's Commentary
  • Available in all of the games campaign cutscenes.
    
  • Commentary is provided by director Neil Druckmann, narrative lead Halley Gross, and actors Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Laura Bailey.
    
• Enhanced Graphics and Performance
  • Native 4K (Fidelity Mode)
    
  • 1440p upscaled 4K (Performance Mode)
    
  • Unlocked Framerate for TV's that support VRR.
    
  • Increased texture resolution.
    
  • Increased Level-of-Detail distances.
    
  • Improved shadow quality.
    
  • Animation sampling rate.
    
  • Faster loading times.
    
• DualSense Features
  • Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers incorporation.
    
• Accessibility Options
  • Descriptive Audio
    
  • Speech to Vibrations, which uses the DualSense controller to indicate character speech and cadence.
    
• Cosmetics
  • Bonus skins for Ellie and Abby
    
  • Bonus weapon skins
    
• Photo Mode
  • Dynamic lighting options.
    
  • Frame Forward
    
  • Gaze Direction
    
  • New frame and logo options.
    

The Last of Us Part II launches on January 19, 2024 for PlayStation 5 as a standalone physical/digital game, but for players who already own the original version of the game on PS4 you'll be able to upgrade your version to a digital version of the remaster for $10. This upgrade will support your original save data so you don't need to lose any progress.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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Okay, so I'd heard rumours of this game getting a remaster for ages and wasn't really interested, but seeing all of the new content being added and the ability to get it via an upgrade path has immediately won me over. I loved the combat in this game so to have a new mode that's nothing but the combat is right up my alley and I know I'll pour tons of hours into that mode. Lost Levels is also really cool too and the other main addition I want to check out.

[Mr EliteL]

Not bad for the Remaster to include so much stuff, was half expecting it to just be what the PS4 version had and that only just blown up for PS5 with perhaps most of what was listed under New Features minus the Director's Commentary.

[Moonface]

Yeah, it feels rare to see a remaster add in so much new stuff that isn't the typical upgraded graphics and performance. I do wonder though if the No Return mode would have happened if the Factions game had managed to work out and be released before this remaster.