There’s no doubt about it that The Last of Us Part II has been one of 2020’s most talked about games. Much of that discussion (or rather, debate) has centered around the title’s narrative and some of the bold directions in which the team at Naughty Dog decided to take things in this hotly anticipated follow-up. Regardless of how you might feel about the story of The Last of Us Part II though, it’s hard to deny that the studio has created nothing short of a technical masterpiece, easily making it one of the year’s most noteworthy titles.
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Much like the original The Last of Us did for the PlayStation 3, Part II served as one of the swan song titles for the PlayStation 4 before Sony later released its next-gen hardware with the PlayStation 5. As such, the fact that Naughty Dog was able to squeeze out every last bit of juice from the PS4 with this game not only in terms of optimization, but also visuals, is astonishing. In a time where it was becoming increasingly more clear that the PS4 was on its last legs, Naughty Dog created perhaps the most stunning game ever on the platform and ensured that it ran well regardless of which version of the system you played on.
The Last of Us Part II also found a way to markedly improve on everything that the first game introduced. Not only could Ellie swim this time around, but she could also perform a variety of different maneuvers that made combat situations far more fluid and let you react on the fly. The Last of Us Part II tries to allow players far more freedom when it comes to combat, which is seen not only with the tools that it gives you, but also the layout of each environment. Areas are built out with verticality in mind, meaning that there are far more ways to approach taking down foes than the first game ever allowed for. As a whole,The Last of Us Part II takes the mechanics that the original boasted and expands on them in such a way that the game is able to stand toe-to-toe with other greats in the third-person action genre.
The story that The Last of Us Part II tells is also quite enrapturing. Leading up to the game’s launch, Naughty Dog had really played its cards close to the chest in terms of what the narrative would center around. The main thrust of the story that is divulged in the game’s opening hours proved to be divisive, but it was one that I found kept me glued to my TV for hours at a time.
That’s not to say every aspect of the narrative works, however. The decision to make The Last of Us Part II essentially twice as long as its predecessor often makes the pacing drag a bit in the game’s later sections. This is especially true with the epilogue sequence which feels a bit tacked-on. Still, for The Last of Us Part II to go in a direction where the studio knew that the story it wanted to tell would split fans down the middle, it’s admittedly admirable that Naughty Dog chose this route rather than playing it safe.
Even setting aside the story choices that Naughty Dog made, it’s hard not to think that the way in which the narrative is told is anything short of excellent. The performances from actors like Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Laura Bailey are phenomenal, as is the writing for each character. Dialogue has always been one of Naughty Dog’s strong points and The Last of Us Part II continues to prove that more than ever before.
The cherry on top of all of this comes with the other small additions that Naughty Dog brought in with this installment. Gustavo Santaolalla’s score continues to be a beautiful mix of eerie and melancholy, making it the perfect accompaniment to the themes of the game. The Last of Us Part II as a whole is also likely the most accessible video game ever created and contains loads of settings for players to fine tune to make sure that the experience is catered to their specific needs. This latter point is one that other developers around the world really should take note of with their own games in the future.
In nearly every major way, The Last of Us Part II is an improvement over its predecessor. No matter where you might come down on the experience, to say that it’s anything but one of the most impressive, immersive games of 2020 would be selling it short. It is in many ways a perfect example of what a multi-million dollar, triple-A project should strive for. Even if it doesn’t nail everything that it goes for, it’s far and away one of the most remarkable games that released this year.
