"An Eye for Eye makes the whole world blind"
It's just hit midnight as Tuesday turns into Wednesday 29th
July 2020 and I sit here digesting this experience. A short while ago, I just
completed and rolled credits on The Last of Us: Part II and now I'm sitting in
my room with my thoughts and flicking between the digital 'The Art of The Last
of Us: Part II,' the in-game bonus content and the physical Dark Horse book
that came with my special edition of the game.
I wanted to put my thoughts down on paper, so here we are.
This rollercoaster has beaten the shit out of me mentally
and emotionally, as I'm assuming it has with a lot of other's who took this
wild ride with Naughty Dog's latest epic. My thoughts are clicking all over the
place.
My initial thoughts as I stared at the credits were that I
wanted to just replay the series again. That, and "Did this just surpass
the Metal Gear Solid franchise as my favourite video game franchise of all
time?" I sat there hopeful that there would be something after the credits,
hoping for something. Anything. Not because there needed to be, but because it
was dawning on me that this journey was actually ending. And it's been one hell
of a journey.
It all began when I saw the first reveal trailer for TLOU2
with the rest of the world. I decided not to watch any trailers, clips,
previews or read articles - and also managed to avoid leaks and spoilers in the
lead up the game's eventual release. It is possible, I am living proof. And I'm
pretty certain doing this gave me a much better experience as I've found going
in blind usually does with most forms of entertainment.
I'll be writing here in much the same way. I haven't yet
rushed to the internet to see what else was said, because I think it's
important to formulate my own opinions, uninfluenced.
I'll just go through some of my thoughts as they arise and jump
from point to point, scribble things out, and start over - much like Ellie's
journal when she's trying to find the right words to express herself. I'll try
and guide you through what this game meant to me, and how I interpreted things
from my perspective.
Aptly named 'Part 2' - This is a story of two halves. The
first part we already know is a continuation of Joel and Ellie's story from the
first game in the series. The other half is from another perspective which I
didn't really understand at first but was very intrigued by this directive
decision. The mystery woman, Abby. Shades of Metal Gear Solid 2, when Hideo
Kojima abruptly placed us in the shoes of Raiden. Why are we here? What exactly
is going on? Yet even playing this fairly short segment was enough for me to
start building rapport with this initially questionable character.
By the time you see what happens to Joel when put back in
the shoes of a defenceless Ellie, I questioned why the game tried to make us
feel any connection to this heel, Abby. She remorselessly puts an end to Joel's
life as Ellie watches on in pain to the closest thing she had as a father
figure get repeatedly smashed in the head till his end.
I didn't see it coming. It happened so early in the game and
needless to say was emotionally heavy. This would be the act that began a focus
on a vendetta. A cycle of violence. But
not a new one, although it may have appeared that way from Ellie's point of view
- even she knew that this vendetta was rooted elsewhere in Joel's past. But in
that moment, the only thing that mattered is vengeance.
So we play through the equivalent of 3 days as Ellie,
intertwined with some flashbacks and segments that include Joel - which I
thought was a nice touch, because it bridges some of the gap between what
happens at the end of the first game, and the meat of what we're presently
experiencing. Eventually, she gets wind of Nora at a hospital - then finding
her way to the aquarium, shooting a dog, then Owen and Mel, and putting an end to them too,
not knowing that Mel had been pregnant. It soon after dawned on me. An eye for
an eye, I was certain Dina wouldn't make it to The Last of Us: Part 3. We see
Abby make it to the theatre where Ellie and company had hidden, and Jessie is
the first one to die.
Unexpectedly to me, the game after those initial 3 days has
you switch to Day 1 from the point of view of Abby. One of the moments which
resonated this shift the most for me was actually one of the more subtle
examples. When I first play as Ellie, and enter the aquarium - I defended
myself by shooting a vicious dog which had attacked me. A nameless mongrel.
However, as you take control of Abby and build a bond with Alice the dog, it's
equally devastating when it dawned on me that we, as Ellie had killed the same
dog.
Although I found myself relating most to the character I was
in control of at the time, I found myself to be on team Abby more so than with
the characters I'd seen grow from the beginning. Abby had lost her father (a
good man, was doing what he thought could save humanity and put an end to the
infected), and sought out justice - and in the process ends up losing her love
interest, her friends, outcaste by her community, and even get's her dog shot.
John Wick only needed one reason, Abby had many. Eventually, finding herself in
a situation where the only thing that mattered to her was Lev. As that's all
she had left. Very much like Joel's view on Ellie. She was the only thing that
mattered to him, so much so that he would be willing to make the same selfish
decision again to keep Ellie alive.
Abby shows great restraint, in a telling moment, when going
on the hunt for Ellie, and shows mercy on Dina, her child and Ellie. For me, at
this point it was over. Abby let them live, and I'm glad we didn't have to kill
Ellie. Done.
There is a brief respite when Ellie is on the farm, and she
picks up a young baby. The first questions to cross my mind were, "Is Dina
dead?" and it weighed on me for a while before going down the stairs where
Ellie calls out for her. I enjoyed the remix of a popular Johnny Cash song that
played as Ellie turned on some music. Everything was set, Ellie, Dina and JJ had
a house of their own, out of the way with sheep and tomato plants. What more
could you want? Tommy also appears as very much alive but more like a wounded
animal. He's bitter and wants that revenge still. Ellie, still tormented by the
thoughts of Joel. Something inside Ellie, her PTSD perhaps, would not let it
rest and she ends up going on one final hunt for Abby. As a personal preference
I very much enjoyed the silenced SMG that is available late in the game, as
much as I loathed The Rattlers - just a bunch of assholes running around San
Bernadino, California.
I think along with many differences, the characters of Ellie
and Abby both had a lot in common too.
One of the reasons I enjoyed this experience so much was
because it gives the player feedback on themselves. It puts me in a position
where I have to react very quickly, a true reaction.
As a stickler for audio it would be a miss for me not to
mention the incredible score for the game, along with the sound design that
made everything from the sound of wind to the chink of chains impeccable.
--
I remember first seeing the teaser trailer for this game,
and the audience losing their mind once we'd figured out what was in the works.
I remember everything in between. Now here I am, once it's all said and done,
the world is a different place. Timelines intertwined and engrained.
The word I would use to describe this experience through
TLOU2 would be intense. Everyone knows this. However, a word that my brother
used to describe it seems to be unshakably true. The Last of Us Part 2 was
polarizing.
This game has broken
me, like Ellie's ability to play the guitar, at least in this moment.
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