TLOU2 Review Thread

[CriticalGaming]

But instead Ellie is dumb. That's why the story is bad; not because Joel gets killed, or how he gets killed, but because Ellie is written to be dumb in the wake of it for the sake of action gameplay.

There is an element of Ellie, I dunno if i'd call her dumb, but her personality is very inconsistant. Sometimes she's in murder rage and other times it's like she's on a happy road trip, but then she also regrets her murder boner afterwards. So it's very mixed messages on top of the other parts of the story. The flashbacks really take me out of it too, and it feels like the revenge is such a secondary part of the story when it was implied from all the marketing that it was going to be the focus. But it really isn't.

The story feels directionless.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Hey, I'm back, I'm back for more! Why? Cuz fuck me, I guess!

I admit, that made me laugh.

Anyway, I don't feel personally attacked by this statement from Forbes. I actually decided to jump back into the game after letting things cool and simply watching the ending on Youtube. Now that I know about certain things that happen I can feel less spicey about it when it does, and focus more on the actual gameplay, which I really like. Also, I just want to complete this thing just so I know I bested it from an emotional standpoint.

I think I can bring down all the issues with this game (eventhough I haven't finished it yet) down to one root problem; Ellie is uncharacteristically dumb. People who are mad about Joel's death (why bother spoiler tagging it anymore) and how he dies can probably be catagorized into two groups: Those who are mad that the Hero got killed. And those who are mad because they don't have any place to put that trauma, because Naughty Dog didn't provide it in the story because they made Ellie dumb. I fit squarely in the latter. And I think a lot of other people do too.

Ellie really should've been the vessel for the audience to share that grief, but because Ellie is written to just want petty revenge the audience is left in the cold, completely detached from her. And it would make somekind of sense if this behaviour was natural to Ellie's character, but it isn't. Naughty Dog terribly overestimated the audience's thirst for blood and comeupance, thinking we would be jumping at the chance to hunt down those who killied Joel and make them hurt, wrongfully imprinting that onto Ellie's character. When really we just want to be with Ellie as she deals with this horrific loss in a way that doesn't cheapen Joel's death. If they really wanted to find a way to bring Ellie into the action -- so they can make it an action game -- they should've had Jesse be the one who's out for blood and have Ellie and Dina go after him to bring him back and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. This could then function as the catalyst for the adventure and for following events to transpire. All the while we could see a traumatized Ellie slowly having to come to terms with what happened, and have Dina act as her rock. Just as the first game was all about Joel coming to terms with the trauma of losing his daughter, and ultimately failing, the sequel could've been about Ellie dealing with the trauma of losing Joel, and as counter to the first game, succeeding.

But instead Ellie is dumb. That's why the story is bad; not because Joel gets killed, or how he gets killed, but because Ellie is written to be dumb in the wake of it for the sake of action gameplay.

To add to this,

Spoiler: Ending spoiler

The character that people would want to have revenge on is the only one that is let go after Ellie has killed dozens of people on her path to kill that one person.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Hey, I'm back, I'm back for more! Why? Cuz fuck me, I guess!

Anyway, I don't feel personally attacked by this statement from Forbes. I actually decided to jump back into the game after letting things cool and simply watching the ending on Youtube. Now that I know about certain things that happen I can feel less spicey about it when it does, and focus more on the actual gameplay, which I really like. Also, I just want to complete this thing just so I know I bested it from an emotional standpoint.

I think I can bring down all the issues with this game (eventhough I haven't finished it yet) down to one root problem; Ellie is uncharacteristically dumb. People who are mad about Joel's death (why bother spoiler tagging it anymore) and how he dies can probably be catagorized into two groups: Those who are mad that the Hero got killed. And those who are mad because they don't have any place to put that trauma, because Naughty Dog didn't provide it in the story because they made Ellie dumb. I fit squarely in the latter. And I think a lot of other people do too.

Ellie really should've been the vessel for the audience to share that grief, but because Ellie is written to just want petty revenge the audience is left in the cold, completely detached from her. And it would make somekind of sense if this behaviour was natural to Ellie's character, but it isn't. Naughty Dog terribly overestimated the audience's thirst for blood and comeupance, thinking we would be jumping at the chance to hunt down those who killied Joel and make them hurt, wrongfully imprinting that onto Ellie's character. When really we just want to be with Ellie as she deals with this horrific loss in a way that doesn't cheapen Joel's death. If they really wanted to find a way to bring Ellie into the action -- so they can make it an action game -- they should've had Jesse be the one who's out for blood and have Ellie and Dina go after him to bring him back and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. This could then function as the catalyst for the adventure and for following events to transpire. All the while we could see a traumatized Ellie slowly having to come to terms with what happened, and have Dina act as her rock. Just as the first game was all about Joel coming to terms with the trauma of losing his daughter, and ultimately failing, the sequel could've been about Ellie dealing with the trauma of losing Joel, and as counter to the first game, succeeding.

But instead Ellie is dumb. That's why the story is bad; not because Joel gets killed, or how he gets killed, but because Ellie is written to be dumb in the wake of it for the sake of action gameplay.

By the sound of it they fridged Joel to push Ellie into action but didn't do it well.

Only they did it badly and didn't give enough motivation for revenge.

How I'd probably have done it if I were writing it

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Hey, I'm back, I'm back for more! Why? Cuz fuck me, I guess!

Anyway, I don't feel personally attacked by this statement from Forbes. I actually decided to jump back into the game after letting things cool and simply watching the ending on Youtube. Now that I know about certain things that happen I can feel less spicey about it when it does, and focus more on the actual gameplay, which I really like. Also, I just want to complete this thing just so I know I bested it from an emotional standpoint.

I think I can bring down all the issues with this game (eventhough I haven't finished it yet) down to one root problem; Ellie is uncharacteristically dumb. People who are mad about Joel's death (why bother spoiler tagging it anymore) and how he dies can probably be catagorized into two groups: Those who are mad that the Hero got killed. And those who are mad because they don't have any place to put that trauma, because Naughty Dog didn't provide it in the story because they made Ellie dumb. I fit squarely in the latter. And I think a lot of other people do too.

Ellie really should've been the vessel for the audience to share that grief, but because Ellie is written to just want petty revenge the audience is left in the cold, completely detached from her. And it would make somekind of sense if this behaviour was natural to Ellie's character, but it isn't. Naughty Dog terribly overestimated the audience's thirst for blood and comeupance, thinking we would be jumping at the chance to hunt down those who killied Joel and make them hurt, wrongfully imprinting that onto Ellie's character. When really we just want to be with Ellie as she deals with this horrific loss in a way that doesn't cheapen Joel's death. If they really wanted to find a way to bring Ellie into the action -- so they can make it an action game -- they should've had Jesse be the one who's out for blood and have Ellie and Dina go after him to bring him back and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. This could then function as the catalyst for the adventure and for following events to transpire. All the while we could see a traumatized Ellie slowly having to come to terms with what happened, and have Dina act as her rock. Just as the first game was all about Joel coming to terms with the trauma of losing his daughter, and ultimately failing, the sequel could've been about Ellie dealing with the trauma of losing Joel, and as counter to the first game, succeeding.

But instead Ellie is dumb. That's why the story is bad; not because Joel gets killed, or how he gets killed, but because Ellie is written to be dumb in the wake of it for the sake of action gameplay.

They gloss over too much in between games. We’re left to assume Ellie has been transformed into this person when all we really know is what she experienced in the first game. But we did see how see viciously ganked David, which everyone should agree was justified. But she clearly was traumatized by the whole thing, which might’ve planted a seed.

The lie didn’t help either, as it alienated her from the surrogate father figure she could’ve been able to form an unconditional bond with. Regardless though, she was clearly attached to Joel deep down, which is evidenced by a few things she does at his house before leaving. Safe to assume he finished raising her for better or worse, and that she probably didn’t have much of a mother figure (Maria perhaps a bit?). We all know Joel was deeply flawed and had to wrestle with his own various demons, and one important detail I never thought much of until your post was how when Maria tries to discourage Ellie from the pursuit of Joel’s tee time partner and she says, “If it was me or Dina Joel would be half way to Seattle by now.”

The way I’m kinda forcing myself to see it is she basically is a extension of Joel himself, and she never fully formed her own identity because a good chunk of her young life was robbed from her.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

By the sound of it they fridged Joel to push Ellie into action but didn't do it well.

Only they did it badly and didn't give enough motivation for revenge.

How I'd probably have done it if I were writing it

It was awkward and I’m only ankle deep in the game, but I think they didn’t really plan on Ellie showing up. Most of Abby’s group didn’t seem to want much to do with any of them either, as the guy with her said something like, “Are you good now?” after she did it. They could’ve killed Tommy and Ellie to keep them from going after them, but I got the impression they weren’t complete savages.

One thing that seemed kinda quirky that I think CriticalGaming mentioned was how Joel and Tommy just blatantly give their names to complete strangers. Makes me think that they either got complacent with safeguarding their identities or Joel figured nobody would still be looking for him after 4-5 years.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

It was awkward and I’m only ankle deep in the game, but I think they didn’t really plan on Ellie showing up. Most of Abby’s group didn’t seem to want much to do with any of them either, as the guy with her said something like, “Are you good now?” after she did it. They could’ve killed Tommy and Ellie to keep them from going after them, but I got the impression they weren’t complete savages.

One thing that seemed kinda quirky that I think CriticalGaming mentioned was how Joel and Tommy just blatantly give their names to complete strangers. Makes me think that they either got complacent with safeguarding their identities or Joel figured nobody would still be looking for him after 4-5 years.

Sorry the forum manged to bug out and remove my "How I'd do it" alternative plotline thing which was meant to be part of my reply.

So in brief my idea

Spoiler: Alternative plotline

Switch between Abby heading towards Ellie's group and getting in conflict with the Cult and all that.

Ellie's group trying to gather resources to survive.

Abby arrive at Ellie's groups hideout and demands they give up Joel or they'll attack.

Joel says he'll go with them.

Arguments happen over if they'll let him go or not.

Eventually he does but rather than kill him they leave with him as a prisoner.

Ellie decides on her own to go after him (because Joel went back for her)

Ellie arrives and tried to get in only to be caught and dragged in.

They put her in with Joel and Abby says if Ellie kills Joel she'll not take revenge for the people Ellie injured trying to break into the place.

cue a sequence where Ellie is given a knife and you the player walk up to Joel.

he reaches out and grabs the knife. Big emotional sequence as Ellie struggles against Joel as he forces the knife into himself with Ellie holding the handle trying to stop him.

Cult catches up with Abby and starts attacking as Ellie is crying over Joel.

Abby's Boyfriend(?) come in and says they have to go, go now and get everyone else out the cult are attacking.

Abby and Boyfriend run.

Joel says his final words "Survive Ellie, survive"

Ellie has to run back to escape the cult and gets back to the survivors. But won't talk about what happened only saying Joel's dead.

Flash forward with a montage of Ellie grieving. She still won't say what actually happened.

Tommy comes in and says they have found Abby and her group.

Ellie doesn't want to go but some-one else decides to go after Abby.

Ellie find them gone the next day and fearing them learning what happened she follows them (yeh it's not her fault but Ellie doesn't know they won't see it that way).

Ellie catches up with the person and find they're dying, they say Abby isn't far away, only a few blocks but the cult has caught up with her group and they're pinned down.

You arrive and it's silent. Like deadly silent as you get nearer you just see lots of corpses both cult members and some of Abby's group. Abby's boyfriend amongst them.

You enter the building that was fairly clearly Abby's hideout and have to go round to get into a locked room.

Inside is Abby dead with a note pinned to her that says To Ellie,

The note reads:

"Joel killed my father. Revenge gave me purpose. Revenge kept me fighting. Joel paid for what he did to my father but seeing the way you looked at Joel as I forced you to kill him I realised I was as much of a monster as I thought he was. Now it seems I'm paying for what I did. I'm the only one left. All those I love have died to that cult and most of them to us. I think I'm the Last of Us left and I don't know what now. I can't go on in this forsaken wasteland so I'm going out on my terms."

Ellie heads back, maybe have one of Abby's group having survived and one of the cult who run into the room and go to fight only to see Abby hanging there and stop.

Ellie and possibly the last survivors of the cult group and Abby's group go back with her because hey have no-where else left.

You can either than set up a sequel as Ellie gets back and her groups hideout is deserted but it looks like there has been a struggle of some kind or have it wrap up with Ellie singing a song Joel used to playing his guitar starting to cry as Dina walks in and sits by her putting her arm round her or something like that.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Sorry the forum manged to bug out and remove my "How I'd do it" alternative plotline thing which was meant to be part of my reply.

So in brief my idea

Spoiler: Alternative plotline

Switch between Abby heading towards Ellie's group and getting in conflict with the Cult and all that.

Ellie's group trying to gather resources to survive.

Abby arrive at Ellie's groups hideout and demands they give up Joel or they'll attack.

Joel says he'll go with them.

Arguments happen over if they'll let him go or not.

Eventually he does but rather than kill him they leave with him as a prisoner.

Ellie decides on her own to go after him (because Joel went back for her)

Ellie arrives and tried to get in only to be caught and dragged in.

They put her in with Joel and Abby says if Ellie kills Joel she'll not take revenge for the people Ellie injured trying to break into the place.

cue a sequence where Ellie is given a knife and you the player walk up to Joel.

he reaches out and grabs the knife. Big emotional sequence as Ellie struggles against Joel as he forces the knife into himself with Ellie holding the handle trying to stop him.

Cult catches up with Abby and starts attacking as Ellie is crying over Joel.

Abby's Boyfriend(?) come in and says they have to go, go now and get everyone else out the cult are attacking.

Abby and Boyfriend run.

Joel says his final words "Survive Ellie, survive"

Ellie has to run back to escape the cult and gets back to the survivors. But won't talk about what happened only saying Joel's dead.

Flash forward with a montage of Ellie grieving. She still won't say what actually happened.

Tommy comes in and says they have found Abby and her group.

Ellie doesn't want to go but some-one else decides to go after Abby.

Ellie find them gone the next day and fearing them learning what happened she follows them (yeh it's not her fault but Ellie doesn't know they won't see it that way).

Ellie catches up with the person and find they're dying, they say Abby isn't far away, only a few blocks but the cult has caught up with her group and they're pinned down.

You arrive and it's silent. Like deadly silent as you get nearer you just see lots of corpses both cult members and some of Abby's group. Abby's boyfriend amongst them.

You enter the building that was fairly clearly Abby's hideout and have to go round to get into a locked room.

Inside is Abby dead with a note pinned to her that says To Ellie,

The note reads:

"Joel killed my father. Revenge gave me purpose. Revenge kept me fighting. Joel paid for what he did to my father but seeing the way you looked at Joel as I forced you to kill him I realised I was as much of a monster as I thought he was. Now it seems I'm paying for what I did. I'm the only one left. All those I love have died to that cult and most of them to us. I think I'm the Last of Us left and I don't know what now. I can't go on in this forsaken wasteland so I'm going out on my terms."

Ellie heads back, maybe have one of Abby's group having survived and one of the cult who run into the room and go to fight only to see Abby hanging there and stop.

Ellie and possibly the last survivors of the cult group and Abby's group go back with her because hey have no-where else left.

You can either than set up a sequel as Ellie gets back and her groups hideout is deserted but it looks like there has been a struggle of some kind or have it wrap up with Ellie singing a song Joel used to playing his guitar starting to cry as Dina walks in and sits by her putting her arm round her or something like that.

I wrote my own idea earlier to not even have Joel or Ellie in the game at all. There was no reason why Abby and the WLF couldnt have an entire game about dealing with the SCARS and the conflict that the game already has between those groups.

Its like an entirely separate game with the game and it is frankly a fair better segment of the game. If they expanded and make that segment the whole game it would have been fine.

I feel like they just put Ellie and Joel in the game out of obligation.

Also i know ive said this before but ive started playthrough 2 to finish up platinum and i cannot get over how fucking strange Abby's design is. Its like putting a girls head on dwayne the rock johnson. Where the fuck is she hiding her protien shakes, or being able to eat that much for a woman to get bodybuilt bulk like that.

It just doesnt look right in the game, especially compared to every other model. And i hate it.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Also i know ive said this before but ive started playthrough 2 to finish up platinum and i cannot get over how fucking strange Abby's design is. Its like putting a girls head on dwayne the rock johnson. Where the fuck is she hiding her protien shakes, or being able to eat that much for a woman to get bodybuilt bulk like that.

It just doesnt look right in the game, especially compared to every other model. And i hate it.

I admit her design is off. Not because she's buff, but because she kinda looks old man-buff, like an aged body builder. Assuming Abby is Ellie's age, maybe two years older, you'd figure her being extremely jacked would make her look like she's in peak physical condition, but she doesn't really. Not that bad muscle building can't make a person look really weird, but I doubt that was the plan for her design. It also doesn't help that you can tell by the mo-cap that the actor playing her obviously doesn't have the same physique. There's times where her muscles clip through her own body, it kinda breaks the realism. Naughty Dog really shouldn't have opted for straight-up scanning in a real strong woman, and if they did should've probably actually cast a strong woman to mo-cap her. Someone who has the motions of a person with a bulky physique, because Laura Bailey really doesn't.

 

[Kwak]

I couldn't help myself but look up "that" scene. Potentially NSFW technical details ahead.

Spoiler: Bow-chicka-bow-WTF

Did Naughty Dog have one person -- one single, solitary, person -- on their dev team whose experience with anal sex exceeded "saw it in porn"? Because holy hell, that's not just bad form, that's a good way to earn yourself the world's most awkward urgent care visit.

I skimmed the youtube cutscene videos -

Spoiler

what about it made that an anal sex scene, other than they weren't facing each other?

Or is there a different scene?

 

[CriticalGaming]

I skimmed the youtube cutscene videos -

Spoiler

what about it made that an anal sex scene, other than they weren't facing each other?

Or is there a different scene?

I think people saying that are trying to imply it being gay sex due to how Abby looks. In reality it's normal ass doggy.

No big deal other than the previous issues with Abby's model. I find interesting that Dina and Ellie have sex but are fully clothed right after probably because they didn't want to show the feminine character's nude, but She-hulk can be nude?

I don't care about seeing nudity in general in a game, I just find it wear that they seem to be trying to highlight Abby's body specifically.

It's not just the sex scene either. There are lots of scenes through the game where they highlight how buff and strong Abby is. I called these scenes, "LOOK AT MAH GUNS!" scenes.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm a good ways into Seattle day 1, about 3 and a half hours I'd say, and the game is really damn good. You know, if you ignore how unlikeable Ellie and how much of a non-character Dina is. Apart from one or two very short cutscenes the game leaves you uninterupted for hours on end, just going through the environment and getting into scuffles with enemies. It's terrific. Imagine how great this game would've been if the story and characterisation wasn't absolute balls-in-the-face insulting.

 

[CriticalGaming]

'm a good ways into Seattle day 1, about 3 and a half hours I'd say, and the game is really damn good. You know, if you ignore how unlikeable Ellie and how much of a non-character Dina is.

It's a shame right? This would have really been a great game if it weren't for the core reason to play through the game....the story.

I mean the gameplay is solid, even if they didn't evolve it much from the first game. Everything works, the and controls don't fight you. So the game itself PLAYS really well.

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's a shame right? This would have really been a great game if it weren't for the core reason to play through the game....the story.

I mean the gameplay is solid, even if they didn't evolve it much from the first game. Everything works, the and controls don't fight you. So the game itself PLAYS really well.

Getting the amount of praise he did for The Last of Us must've really done a number on Neil Druckmann. Because the dude obviously has writing talent, but he must've just spent the entire production of TLoU2 confident that his shit didn't stink.

Luckily TLoU2 feels so removed from the original in terms of writing and characters, even the recurring ones, that it's very easy to imagine the first game just existing in a vacuum.

 

[Eacaraxe]

Or is there a different scene?

I think people saying that are trying to imply it being gay sex due to how Abby looks. In reality it's normal ass doggy.

Well, with regards to what I said, it's about

Spoiler

yeeting it all the way up there without lube.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Ending explained for anyone who’s finished the game.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Ending explained for anyone who’s finished the game.

I dunno why that needed to be explained out as i thought it was pretty straightforward.

Spoiler

i think its fucked up that the person who gets the happy ending is fucking HERcules. Instead of the character we actually love and care about. Ellie looses everything in this game. And she got no respect from the creators of this game full stop

 

[laggyteabag]

Spoiler

i think its fucked up that the person who gets the happy ending is fucking HERcules. Instead of the character we actually love and care about. Ellie looses everything in this game. And she got no respect from the creators of this game full stop

Spoiler

I don't exactly consider what happened to Abby to be a "happy ending".

All of her friends are dead, aside from some teenager that she has only known for a few months. She was abducted, likely tortured, forced into slavery, and god knows what else. She tried to escape, and was captured and crucified, then left for dead - until Ellie found her, and promptly beat the shit out of her, stabbed her a bunch of times, and she is now floating in the middle of some sea, covered in cuts, bruises, and exhausted, whilst also needing to take care of some kid who likely feels just as rough.

Sure, there is the potential that she might find the last of the Fireflies, but "good" definitely feels a little too rosy for where she is at, right now.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Spoiler

I don't exactly consider what happened to Abby to be a "happy ending".

All of her friends are dead, aside from some teenager that she has only known for a few months. She was abducted, likely tortured, forced into slavery, and god knows what else. She tried to escape, and was captured and crucified, then left for dead - until Ellie found her, and promptly beat the shit out of her, stabbed her a bunch of times, and she is now floating in the middle of some sea, covered in cuts, bruises, and exhausted, whilst also needing to take care of some kid who likely feels just as rough.

Sure, there is the potential that she might find the last of the Fireflies, but "good" definitely feels a little too rosy for where she is at, right now.

I suppose but fuck her anyway. lol

 

[Phoenixmgs]

So I finished watching a Youtube movie of the game. And... I don't see what the hubbub is all about either positively or negatively. For the most part, it's FINE from a story perspective and I'm also assuming from a gameplay perspective (cuz Naughty Dog gameplay is "fine"). The main problem is just the story being about too much and too many characters, along with scenes just feeling out of place (and not because of flashbacks but when they were shown). The last scene with Joel really needed to be shown before that last section because it at least gives some motivation/reasoning to Ellie's decision, which felt completely unwarranted with the player's knowledge at the time. It also just feels like you don't know enough about the WLF and Scars conflict to really care what's going on with that or know enough about the WLF themselves and the their internal issues with Abby's people like Owen and their relationship with Isaac. Also, that stupid plan to go through the heart of the conflict to get a boat when I'm pretty damn positive going back to the boat you came on was the path of less resistance. It was done to setup a climatic scene/setpiece and lots of movies do it too but it was dumber than most. The strongest parts of the story was easily the Joel/Ellie aspect over what happens at the end of the 1st game. That's really what the game should've been about but I guess you can't make 3rd-person cover shooter/stealth gameplay loop around that so it had to be a revenge story.

And the game really doesn't say anything profound about revenge or anything other than the old saying "an eye an eye makes the whole world blind". Freaking John Wick says more about revenge than TLOU2. The whole thing/scene that kicks off the revenge story isn't even that shocking honestly. Again, John Wick's scene that leads to revenge is far more shocking and the fucking trailer tells you what happened. Can we get video game reviewers that are at least halfway decent at criticism? If this was a movie, it would probably be somewhere in the 40-60% liked area on RottenTomatoes and probably no critic would be proclaiming this a masterpiece by any means. I really don't understand how video games get so fucking overrated by "professional" reviewers.

Spoilers:

Spoiler

Some thoughts about specific scenes:

-The end fight between Ellie and Abby was pretty dumb. It felt like it was trying to be like the Solid Snake/Liquid Snake fight at the end of MGS4 but it was totally not earned here. They could've done something pretty interesting with that scene from a gameplay perspective and kept switching between Ellie and Abby as the controlled character (not that that would've made it work though). Also, the scene mainly just shows Ellie's a massive hypocrite as Ellie does the same thing Abby does in the theater fight by grabbing the Scar boy and threatening him like Abby with Dina.

-As I said above Ellie going after Abby like a year later is just stupid. You can understand seeing Joel killed before Ellie's eyes would prompt her to go on a revenge kick even though her and Joel weren't on the best terms at that time because probably just about everybody has that feeling of wanting to get someone back for wronging you in the heat of the moment. But once you have a year or whatever along with a family, you should come to the mindset that it's no longer worth it (especially after what happen on your 1st fucking revenge attempt).

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Question for those who may know more

Spoiler: Dina and the ending

So why when Ellie comes back has everyone left?
Is this ever explained like "Oh we have to move on to a new area to find supplies" or "Oh we have to lave because it's no longer safe here" or even "Oh we had to leave because we needed to find help for this character". Because I've not heard a why and it just seems like it was done to kick Ellie when she's down by having everyone gone.