I’m fairly certain I like this more than the first game. It expands almost perfectly on its predecessor. It deepens the story to even greater lengths thematically and emotionally, and continues the plot in a way that feels necessary. It lives up to the subtitle “Part II”. It refines the simple yet effective gameplay, making the combat and environmental traversal more fluid and fun. It’s a technical marvel, with some of the most impressive graphics and lighting I’ve ever seen. The atmosphere is so rich and tragically beautiful, it’s sublime. You can’t help but get wrapped up in this world.
It has flaws for sure. The pacing of this in certain parts doesn’t feel as air tight and fluid as its predecessor. I feel like it runs too long, and could benefit from being 3-5 hours shorter. I found myself audibly sighing at parts. I don’t see many places they’d be able to cut things while still achieving the same goal, however, since this story has a lot to say and needs time to breath. So I’m conflicted on that front. Also the weapon and character upgrade system in this game feels dated and is pretty boring. I saw a clip from Girlfriend Reviews talking about this on Twitch, and I fully agree. Stopping after every encounter and during every explorable moment to collect an innumerable amount of pills, nuts, and bolts really slows down the pace of the game for me, and is annoyingly distracting. I understand it for ammo, health, and notes, but popping twenty-year-old pills from a random bathroom to upgrade your aiming stability doesn’t even make sense, let alone progress the gameplay in an engaging way. Having some kind of dynamic progression, like unlocking skills for weapons naturally as you use them, would allow you to tailor your play style to the weapons you like, without having to waste time collecting scraps. This would also help with the issue of needing to waste supplies on upgrades you don’t want to get to the upgrades you do want. This system would feel more dynamic, as Ellie would naturally get better with certain weapons after using them often, and would allow you to focus a lot more on the environment and story—the main focus of the game for most people—rather than keeping a constant eye out for loot to pad the game.
This is still an incredible game. It has some annoying things holding it back, but the parts that are good mostly outshine the parts that are bad. This is one of my favorite gaming experiences I’ve ever had, and due to its divisiveness, it’s an experience that will be thoroughly discussed for a long time to come.
It has flaws for sure. The pacing of this in certain parts doesn’t feel as air tight and fluid as its predecessor. I feel like it runs too long, and could benefit from being 3-5 hours shorter. I found myself audibly sighing at parts. I don’t see many places they’d be able to cut things while still achieving the same goal, however, since this story has a lot to say and needs time to breath. So I’m conflicted on that front. Also the weapon and character upgrade system in this game feels dated and is pretty boring. I saw a clip from Girlfriend Reviews talking about this on Twitch, and I fully agree. Stopping after every encounter and during every explorable moment to collect an innumerable amount of pills, nuts, and bolts really slows down the pace of the game for me, and is annoyingly distracting. I understand it for ammo, health, and notes, but popping twenty-year-old pills from a random bathroom to upgrade your aiming stability doesn’t even make sense, let alone progress the gameplay in an engaging way. Having some kind of dynamic progression, like unlocking skills for weapons naturally as you use them, would allow you to tailor your play style to the weapons you like, without having to waste time collecting scraps. This would also help with the issue of needing to waste supplies on upgrades you don’t want to get to the upgrades you do want. This system would feel more dynamic, as Ellie would naturally get better with certain weapons after using them often, and would allow you to focus a lot more on the environment and story—the main focus of the game for most people—rather than keeping a constant eye out for loot to pad the game.
This is still an incredible game. It has some annoying things holding it back, but the parts that are good mostly outshine the parts that are bad. This is one of my favorite gaming experiences I’ve ever had, and due to its divisiveness, it’s an experience that will be thoroughly discussed for a long time to come.