My thoughts on The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered
The best thing about these PlayStation-exclusive titles for me (and I believe for most people too) is the story! And I see now why games like Ghost of Tsushima lost the 2020 Game of the Year Award to TLoU Part 2. It's such a captivating experience that expands on the first game by being better in every possible aspect.
If you had initially played TLoU Part 2 on PS4, then you wouldn't necessarily need to play the PS5 Remastered which came out last month. It's basically the same game except for the improved visuals and other minor gameplay fixes to enhance the experience on Sony's flagship console.
So let's talk about the story and I'll try my very best not to spoil anything here ahead of the second season of the live-action series and really for those who haven't played the games at all. The story is breathtaking and suspenseful. Like in many zombie apocalyptic movies out there, oftentimes it's not even the infected you have to worry about but actual human survivors who have lost themselves to a new cause all in the name of survival.
TLoU Part 2 showcases the good and bad that could happen when you stumble upon survivors in a dystopian world and it challenges you to survive through them and hordes of infected that linger in every corner of the game. There are many new characters this time - some of whom the story will allow to become a part of your journey for a long time - and others not so much.
The narrative is divided into two. Ellie's story and Abby's. If you've already met Ellie in the first game, well she's all grown now as Part 2 takes place four years after the events of the first game. Ellie is more stubborn than ever but has also become a badass survivor who isn't afraid to step into a dangerous world alone. And then we have Abby, a strong teenager “built like an ox" whose story and struggle I actually find more interesting than that of Ellie.
Although Ellie's still the main character, I liked how the game made me play 50% of the story as Ellie and 50% as Abby. So you get to use both of them and play through their stories, which is very interesting and unique. It's difficult to talk about the story without leaving chunks of information that'll lead to spoilers. So I'll just move on to the gameplay itself.
I started playing the game on my 24-inch 1080p monitor with 144hz and it was okay. But then I decided to try it out on my 55-inch 4K TV with 120hz and I've come to realise that story-driven games like TLoU, Spider-Man, Uncharted, etc are best enjoyed on a bigger screen while games like Call of Duty, Death Loop, or even the Horizon Zero Dawn games are best enjoyed on smaller screens. I don't know about you, but that's just how I think about it.
TLoU Part 2 doesn't have a lot of heart but it leaves more than enough room for you to immerse yourself and experience the emotions of the characters involved without really feeling sorry for any one of them. I felt like Abby's actions could be justified because Ellie pursued vengeance without knowing the full story of why Abby did what she did.
Also the infected this time are not only terrifying but also very challenging (depending on the difficulty you choose to play). Regardless of what you choose, it'll still be a captivating experience because TLoU feels more like a movie than a game, except you get to control the characters this time. But that doesn't take away the action either. The Melee Kills are my favourite, whether I'm taking out zombies or humans, I find it more appropriate to take them out with a melee weapon as that'll save me ammo but really it's just a more fun and brutal way to kill an enemy.
So I enjoyed the story, a lot! It took me 10 days to finish TLoU Part 2 Remastered on the PS5 and gotta say I finished it a lot sooner than I do most games because I get on with it every chance I get when I'm not working, just so I could step into that dystopian world and continue my journey.
The only downside to playing the game is that you won’t really feel the need to watch the live-action TV series once you play the games because it’s a step-by-step adaptation. But if playing the game won’t ruin the experience of watching the series, then The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is a beautiful game that deserves your time and attention.
