There's no game that challenged my empathy, compassion, and will to keep pressing buttons like The Last of Us II did. It took me to the breaking point of my ethics, played with my perspective and biases, and ultimately took me to the extremes of the emotions video games can evoke.

TLOU's gameplay has never been my favourite, but its cinematic storytelling is a cut above the rest. While the length of the game could've been shorter, it's undeniable that the game made good use of it.

In a game that is centered around cyclical violence, I finished its story without the stomach for it anymore. It evolved into something so human and so resonant that the very foundations I started the game on started to crumble.

If you like to have your expectations subverted, and enjoy moral conundrums, there's really no better game to sink into this year.