The Last of Us Discussion Thread

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  • Having nightmares could mean two things. One,you are afraid the game will suck and it will be very bad writing and bad plot. Or 2 you are looking forward to the game but,you are dreaming you are in that reality and facing dangerous stuff like that.

    Or just maybe ppl are giving doubt about the game's entire plot based on what they read.

    AronDracula posted: »

    Why am I having nightmares of this game while sleeping?

  • Does that not make May 29th 2020 the first delay date? February was original release, and then the first delay was to May, no?

    Well actually it’s the second delay date. The game was originally scheduled for February, but was delayed until May, and then was delayed again to June because of Covid.

  • I agree.
    That's why I'm saying May is the "first delay". June is the second "post-indefinite" one.

    captainivy1 posted: »

    Does that not make May 29th 2020 the first delay date? February was original release, and then the first delay was to May, no?

  • Fair point, my apologies.

    captainivy1 posted: »

    Does that not make May 29th 2020 the first delay date? February was original release, and then the first delay was to May, no?

  • edited June 2020

    Fascinating article just came out about the many Accessibility features Naughty Dog has added to Part 2.

    There's a high-contrast render mode, making the environment flat grey textures and enemies/friendlies coloured in red/blue respectively.
    A zoom feature using the touchpad to better see things on screen.
    A text-to-speech feature for notes/collectibles/menus
    An audio indicator to let you know if there's an item to pick up or ledge to climb.

    Also, first impressions from reviewers are coming out (though not full reviews) and a lot of it is pretty positive.

  • edited June 2020

    The Lead Audio Designer at ND tweeted a short thread about the extent of their audio accessibility options, and he mentioned the following:

    Blind speed-runs incoming...

  • That's a neat, if bold claim

    AChicken posted: »

    The Lead Audio Designer at ND tweeted a short thread about the extent of their audio accessibility options, and he mentioned the following:

  • A new gorgeous CGI TV Spot is out.

  • Final inside look featurette

  • Two weeks left. Spend some of that time by watching this mini-mini-documentary on the Left Behind DLC.

  • edited June 2020

    The Official Last of Us Podcast starts today, with new episodes releasing weekly, every Tuesday.

    There will be episodes releasing for the next eight weeks. The lead up to TLOUPtII will focus on talking about events of the first game, and on July 7th, discussion will shift to talking about the events of Part II and the development behind it.
    It's available to listen to on Apple Music and Spotify.

    Also, mini-PSA from me: Reviews will come out this Friday, the 12th. Excited to hear about impressions on that, but I don't want to know too much.
    Also, next week is the release week. Just want to warn folks that some stores might (probably will) break the street date and sell copies early, or shipments might get stolen. Such is the case with HUGE high-profile games, and especially in this limited-physical-accessibility quarantine world we live in. So, maybe expect real spoilers to circulate starting next week before release. Watch out.

    Also, Naughty Dog has officially published the list of their accessibility features and it is AWESOME

  • edited June 2020

    Oh man, really cool thing about accessibility options -- they even included ways to tune the difficulty of the game like with how you're perceived in stealth, resource scarcity, incoming/outgoing damage, etc.
    There's way too many things to list, but here's what they say about the gist of it

    As an extension of our accessibility features, The Last of Us Part II also includes expanded difficulty options. At launch, we provide five different challenge levels: Very Light, Light, Moderate, Hard, and Survivor. We also allow you to customize specific aspects of difficulty to your needs or desired experience. You can individually tweak difficulty settings related to incoming damage, enemy and ally effectiveness, stealth, and resources.
    Trophies are not limited by difficulty.

    Also... Very tiny gameplay moment spoiler here, but judging from one of the settings we will

    Play the guitar at some point in the game

    GUITAR VIBRATION CUES
    Options: On or Off

    Enables a vibration cue when the correct guitar note for story progression is selected.

  • So I checked out the first episode of that Last of Us podcast, and I've got to say it's pretty good. Well edited and produced, some very nice insight into behind-the-scenes stuff of the game, I like it. (Things like the prologue originally being from Joel's perspective, Clickers being the original, base zombie, the agonizing process for Troy Baker to shoot the Sarah death scene).

    It's also a good way to get caught up for the second game... sort of. (By the time Part II is out, they'll only have gone through half the game) and a really great way to get insight into character feelings and motivations scene-by-scene as Neil Druckmann retells how he pictured the arc of each character unfolding in the story.
    It's a great listen.

    On another note -- some interesting bits from recent articles and previews on TLOUII (no spoilers just big pictures)
    it's a biiig game

    and it's been a rough time for ND

    man, f*** humanity sometimes. humans suck.

    (Sorry if this is yet another thread I've essentially hijacked on this forum. :tongue: I'm just real hyped for this game, and there's lots of interesting things about it to find.)

  • Naughty Dog forgot to turn comments off on an Instagram post for only a few minutes, and someone roasted them...

    I know, I probably shouldn't be laughing at this. But, it is so hilarious to see how fast their fanbase is to poke fun at them.

  • edited June 2020

    Okay, I've got to admit I'm impressed with that diss. It's uncalled for, but damn that's some really scathing untrue stuff.

    Naughty Dog forgot to turn comments off on an Instagram post for only a few minutes, and someone roasted them... I know, I probably shouldn't be laughing at this. But, it is so hilarious to see how fast their fanbase is to poke fun at them.

  • @AChicken
    What makes it funnier is that that person may have been waiting patiently for such an opportunity.

    Naughty Dog forgot to turn comments off on an Instagram post for only a few minutes, and someone roasted them... I know, I probably shouldn't be laughing at this. But, it is so hilarious to see how fast their fanbase is to poke fun at them.

  • I'm not disabled and I'll try to play or watch TLOU II... But, yeah. That diss was epic.

    AChicken posted: »

    Okay, I've got to admit I'm impressed with that diss. It's uncalled for, but damn that's some really scathing untrue stuff.

  • I don't know. Does that make it worse or better?

    DabigRG posted: »

    @AChicken What makes it funnier is that that person may have been waiting patiently for such an opportunity.

  • Worse. But at least there's a laugh or two to be had.

    I don't know. Does that make it worse or better?

  • The Last of Us Part II - Review

  • compares it to the new Star Wars trilogy and GOT S8

    Uh oh.

    Kurusu posted: »

    The Last of Us Part II - Review

  • If the story is this bad, I might make a rant video on this game the same way you did with TWD A New Frontier. I always loved the way you edited those videos.

    compares it to the new Star Wars trilogy and GOT S8 Uh oh.

  • First 3 hours got leaked guys for those of you who were lucky enough to avoid being spoiled be careful

  • Well, plenty of reviews are in, and it's overwhelmingly positive. Definitely the opposite of the "train wreck" haters keep claiming it is.

    reddit thread chock full of critic reviews

    Though it's important to note that the story will still be something players and fans might not enjoy by the end, though that's been Naughty Dog's decision from the start.

  • edited June 2020

    User who hasn't been active for 3 years comes back just to post negative review about TLOUII.
    Suspicious. It's like you're trying to provoke a certain reaction in a thread of optimistic fans.

    Just want to mention that Skillup was not a fan of the first game, didn't like the gameplay and doesn't like bleak stories in general. So, he might not be the most knowledgeable person to critique TLOU of what it does right/wrong for the post-apocalypse genre.

    But his comments about the story being misery for misery's sake has me a bit worried though. I've heard the game isn't completely dark and brooding, and offers moments of levity, but some other reviewers mention how the game really pushes the message of violence=bad.

    I don't know... Comparing this sequel to the infamous new star wars trilogy and GOT Season 8 is a very bold claim... I doubt he means it's as bad as those, it's just that those latest beloved stories made risky decisions to subvert expectations and fans didn't enjoy it (and really didn't enjoy it). So, your mileage may vary depending on what you might want/expect to happen.
    I highly doubt ND would suddenly, after 11 years make a story that has a heel turn as sudden as fans of those stories felt it did.

    He does know he's one of the outliers though, and people do have opinions. So I guess we'll have to play the game for ourselves and see if it lives up to our expectations of a sequel!
    (For reference on opinions, this guy was head over heels for Death Stranding despite how divisive it was to other reviewers, while here he doesn't enjoy TLOU II while other reviewers rate it very highly)

    The game is currently sitting at a 96 on Metacritic, guys. Disregard the scathing comparisons to GOT and StarWars, and go in expecting what you'd normally expect from Naughty Dog and The Last of Us. Or, at least go in expecting your expectations to be challenged. Neil and co have been warning us with this for years.
    7 years of work can't be for nothing. With a consensus as high as that, there's got to be something good and enjoyable about this game.

    Kurusu posted: »

    The Last of Us Part II - Review

  • edited June 2020

    "Not the most knowledgeable person" might be putting it quite harshly, since people have different tastes and all. But you do have a valid point: if he didn't like the first game to begin with, it was doubtful that he'd like the second one.

    He doesn't like bleak stories...so why did he play this game? I mean, we are talking about the sequel of a game in which a kid died in like the first 15 minutes. Makes me wonder what exactly he expected to find to be disappointed like he claims he is.

    AChicken posted: »

    User who hasn't been active for 3 years comes back just to post negative review about TLOUII. Suspicious. It's like you're trying to provok

  • edited June 2020

    Guess the game is out then. Nice cover, dorks.

    @AChicken User who hasn't been active for 3 years comes back just to post negative review about TLOUII.
    Suspicious. It's like you're trying to provoke a certain reaction in a thread of optimistic fans.

    I know. I scantly remember them, but then it's been a few years.

    @Super-Shenron He doesn't like bleak stories...so why did he play this game? I mean, we are talking about the sequel of a game in which a kid died in like the first 15 minutes. Makes me wonder what exactly he expected to find to be disappointed like he claims he is.

    Probably because the first game was something of an award winning acclaim that people probably went around saying you have to play, so he checked it out to see what the buzz is on about.

    Kurusu posted: »

    The Last of Us Part II - Review

  • edited June 2020

    Still. If he wasn't convinced by Award-Winning The Last of Us the first time around, you'd think he wouldn't expect much out of the sequel, especially when he already knows it's the kind of story that he hates.

    DabigRG posted: »

    Guess the game is out then. Nice cover, dorks. @AChicken User who hasn't been active for 3 years comes back just to post negative revi

  • Well, he probably played it to see if the second game appealed to him more or fixed some things he wasn't pleased about in the first game. However, he mentions that he expected a much more drastic gameplay shift or innovation in mechanics, which is frankly the wrong way to think about a sequel, let alone one of Naughty Dog's. These guys usually stick with what works and espands upon it.

    Skill also mentions his qualms with the AI and how "stupid" they seem on normal difficulties... But as it is with the first game, that can easily be remedied by increasing the difficulty -- and is probably encouraged if you want competent humans with 20/20 vision and very limited resources for a 20-year-in-post-apocalypse.
    It's also much easier to tune the AI and difficulty to your liking with all those new toggles and sliders for difficulty in the accessibility options. Something he either didn't know to use or wasn't available to him pre-launch.

    Still. If he wasn't convinced by Award-Winning The Last of Us the first time around, you'd think he wouldn't expect much out of the sequel, especially when he already knows it's the kind of story that he hates.

  • Your guess is as good as mine, as we aren't him.
    Is he a professional reviewer or just someone who does it for fun?

    Still. If he wasn't convinced by Award-Winning The Last of Us the first time around, you'd think he wouldn't expect much out of the sequel, especially when he already knows it's the kind of story that he hates.

  • Or GOT season 8 finale. Probably the worst of all. Loved Skill Up's honesty here.

    compares it to the new Star Wars trilogy and GOT S8 Uh oh.

  • Is he a professional reviewer or just someone who does it for fun?

    Well I don't think he does it for fun. He seems more professional and I loved his honesty. I mean I don't think everyone is going to like any of these "new" characters. Cause it doesn't look like their will be anything interesting about them.

    Also Vice and Polygon (which I never expected Polygon tbh to hating this game)gave their reviews and didn't like it. But,I guess they were expecting something different? Which is strange cause this is game based on zombie and apocalyptic world with small places and communities. I mean didn't they know that from the beginning of this franchise?

    Either way I kinda of saw other people's reviews and some say it is good,when others say it is bad. So kinda of hard to see who is right or wrong

    DabigRG posted: »

    Your guess is as good as mine, as we aren't him. Is he a professional reviewer or just someone who does it for fun?

  • some say it is good,when others say it is bad

    Heh. Yep. There's the unfortunate beauty of opinions. Everyone's got 'em.

    Like how on the one hand, Kinda Funny mentioned how they liked every character they came across, then on the other, Skillup mentioned how they thought every character was uninteresting and one-note.

    I guess we'll all have to play it for ourselves and figure out what it is each of us likes/dislikes about it! :lol:

    strwar3 posted: »

    Is he a professional reviewer or just someone who does it for fun? Well I don't think he does it for fun. He seems more professional

  • Yeah he wasn't a fan of the first game's gameplay and since ND haven't improved much upon it, his response was expected. I do hate the clickbait thumbnail though. It's interesting to see how this is the complete opposite of the IGN review lol. He says the story doesn't seem like a natural continuation to the first game and seems unnecessary but the IGN reviewer thought the opposite. He says there are no good puzzles and barely any but IGN praise the puzzle improvements. He said the combat gets stale and there's little variety but IGN praises the variety in combat. He says the characters are shitty and unlikeable but IGN thought the opposite and the reviewer says he could empathise with them. Etc.

    So yeah, it's a very subjective thing. I was never a fan of ND gameplay, but TLOU II looks good enough. Like, it's not amazing but it still looks fun, right? Maybe he should've played on higher difficulties.

    There is one thing that I'm concerned about though - the part where he stresses on the amount of plot-holes. That could be a deal-breaker for me, you know how much I hate plot-holes in TWDG.

    AChicken posted: »

    User who hasn't been active for 3 years comes back just to post negative review about TLOUII. Suspicious. It's like you're trying to provok

  • edited June 2020

    I had some free time last night, so I decided to play the Left Behind DLC since I haven't touched it on the Remastered version despite owning it for years, and the sequel is right around the corner. (I did play it tons of times on the PS3 though.) I recorded it because why not and it's short. So here's a playlist of it all.

    Apologies if there's some skipping, I noticed 2 or 3 minor jumps. Sometimes the PS4 recording software does that.

  • the part where he stresses on the amount of plot-holes. That could be a deal-breaker for me, you know how much I hate plot-holes in TWDG.

    Well Order 1866 had plot holes and didn't even solve them and ended gunshot fade to black. By farrr the most stupidest ending I have ever seen. Lol

    Ghetsis posted: »

    Yeah he wasn't a fan of the first game's gameplay and since ND haven't improved much upon it, his response was expected. I do hate the click

  • edited June 2020

    Here's a review of someone who enjoyed the gameplay and combat, with some nice gameplay clips included too (I'm debating if it's really Survivor or not, since he seems to be wiping out enemies with such ease. Maybe they're just really good at it.) Interestingly, this guy also had some problems with the story pacing, but appreciated the presentation of it. They say the story would be better received if it was presented as a novel or a TV series.

    I just want to mention that Skillup's review is really good. He's got some really well articulated points. And hopefully as a fan of the game, I find it as a good follow-up to its predecessor.

  • edited June 2020

    Looks like the pacing of the story is actually a problem. This point is often brought up, even in positive reviews. Then again, if this game is as long as it was said, I can't say that this is surprising.

    It's something I'm more or less fine with, as long as the story reaches a satisfying conclusion.

  • edited June 2020

    as long as the story reaches a satisfying conclusion.

    I think like the I think ppl have to wait if that is true or not. So far Skillup's review was a honest review. He didn't spoil anything which is good. But,I think the way he said the gameplay was good,but,the plot look not very good. I saw a another review too that said TLOU 2 was fighting itself and in this game there is no good or evil. Nothing but,gray areas and ppl trying to survive.(which is okay tbh)

    But,it sounded that the plot and pacing of the story would definitely be not good. Graphics are amazing and beautiful. But,like the review said some of the characters like new ones were not that interesting. Their dialogue he said came off like Big Bang Theory writing (ouch and oof)

    I think Skillup's review was more honest about what ppl might like or not about the game. But, looking forward to seeing Angry Joe's review and others as well

    Looks like the pacing of the story is actually a problem. This point is often brought up, even in positive reviews. Then again, if this game

  • If Part II doesn't move the industry forward in gameplay or story terms, then at the very least I think it will move the industry forward in accessibility terms.

    This is freaking awesome. Steve Saylor, a legally blind gamer, is extremely impressed and touched after reading the full list of Naughty Dog's accessibility sections (link to emotional reaction tweet). He also wrote/filmed a review that more specifically details his impressions on the accessibility of this game, and it's just really really cool to see. God, I'm so hyped for vision/hearing/motor-impaired people who are interested in this game.
    He also worked as a consultant for Naughty Dog in terms of accessibility options, but he obviously didn't get word of the full picture of the features they're implementing until now.
    This just makes me so happy. Wow.

    https://caniplaythat.com/2020/06/12/our-the-last-of-us-2-discussion-on-accessibility-and-blind-impressions/

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