This is a game of two halves. On the one hand you have a flawed but poignant ending to Joel and Ellie’s relationship. On the other, a dull but occasionally nice story of how Joel’s killer, and the Fireflies, moved on. Then you have a game that sticks these two halves together so inelegantly that it left me frustrated and unable to care by the end of it.

How I feel about this game ultimately depends on how I look at it. I find myself wanting to come back to Ellie’s campaign, enjoying the gorgeous visuals, great gameplay, and beautiful performances and dialogue. I might have warmed to Abby’s story more as DLC, but sandwiching it into the story, with ham fisted and frustrating attempts to create parallels between the characters, kind of killed it for me. It has some nice moments but as a whole it’s a drag.

That’s ok though. I can appreciate the parts that do click with me. I suspect that a sequel that did follow the format I suggested would be less discussed, less memorable, so who am I to say? Naughty Dog don’t exclusively make games for me, although that would be cool. Very few games have stayed with me like both Last of Us games, and while the former is far superior for me, I can respect what this game does, and it does at times hit the highs of the first game, which is about as high praise as I can give.