WARNING: Last of Us 2 has leaked

[Casual Shinji]

Yeah, the dog crying out in pain as it burned, I just thought to myself "why does anyone want to do that?" Even if its not a real dog, who wants that in a video game? That's not fun to me. Anyone remember when Naughty Dog made enjoyable action games? Say what you like about Nathan Drake, he never went around setting fire to dogs.

Well, you don't have to set dogs on fire, but it's just very telling that Naughty Dog deliberately wanted to show it off in this State of Play. Like are you enjoying making things this fucking awful? And I'm totally fine with them taking on more heavy material - I loved the first TLoU - but this sequel kinda reeks of overabundance. Overabundance of drama, overabundance of violence, and overabundance of anger.

I'm not saying they absolutely lost their minds, but it defintely looks like the tone of this game just escaped their grasp and morphed into something very unpleasant. Just like Santa Monica Studios with God of War 3.

 

[BrawlMan]

Yeah, the dog crying out in pain as it burned, I just thought to myself "why does anyone want to do that?" Even if its not a real dog, who wants that in a video game? That's not fun to me. Anyone remember when Naughty Dog made enjoyable action games? Say what you like about Nathan Drake, he never went around setting fire to dogs.

Probably because he never had to. Though I'm sure he had his fair share of guard dogs to evade. I'm not into animal cruelty, bud if a dog is about to kill me in a situation like that, it's either me or the dog. I wouldn't set it on fire, but if ihave no other options, that is either running or giving it the bullet.

 

[stroopwafel]

I love everything I see about the game. It's very much survival of the fittest with humans no longer on the top of the food chain. Just another animal on the prowl reduced to it's most basic instincts. The cycle of hate consumes everything. No developer ever pulled off such an experience with this degree of realism. This truly looks like a leap in what games can accomplish.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

This guy finished the game on Survivor and highlighted some differences that he found from the SoP demo (no new footage, just verbal descriptions of how his play through differed from the demo) -


Also it sounds like Naughty Dog went above and beyond with accessibility options.

 

[Casual Shinji]

So I think I just got spoiled on the game - it was bound to happen, I suppose - and I must say... is that it? Is that what all the hubbub is about?

Spoiler

Joel gets killed by the buff girl, who is named Abby and who is trans, and you apparently then play as her before or after this happens?

Is that what people are getting this pissed about and seemingly cancelling preorders over? Really?! I don't know, maybe I'm missing something here, but who cares? I mean, obviously we care considering it has a major impact on the story and characters, but considering who we are playing as it was very much within the realm of possibility. Or is it because of the person who commits it? It could be argued that it's a bit exploitative, and we'll have to see how it's portrayed, but I suspect most people who are mad are mad cuz "wokeness" and "sjw". In which case... *snort* HA HAH HAH HAH HA!

Anyway, the fact that...

Spoiler

..we're apparently going to play as this chick for a long time after she killed Joel, to hunt down Ellie...

...actually makes me way more interested in the game than I was initially.

That's all I've seen spoiler wise, so if there's anything else please refrain from telling me. But yeah, if this is it, Jesus Christ cry me a river.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

So I think I just got spoiled on the game - it was bound to happen, I suppose - and I must say... is that it? Is that what all the hubbub is about?

Spoiler

Joel gets killed by the buff girl, who is named Abby and who is trans, and you apparently then play as her before or after this happens?

Is that what people are getting this pissed about and seemingly cancelling preorders over? Really?! I don't know, maybe I'm missing something here, but who cares? I mean, obviously we care considering it has a major impact on the story and characters, but considering who we are playing as it was very much within the realm of possibility. Or is it because of the person who commits it? It could be argued that it's a bit exploitative, and we'll have to see how it's portrayed, but I suspect most people who are mad are mad cuz "wokeness" and "sjw". In which case... *snort* HA HAH HAH HAH HA!

Anyway, the fact that...

Spoiler

..we're apparently going to play as this chick for a long time after she killed Joel, to hunt down Ellie...

...actually makes me way more interested in the game than I was initially.

That's all I've seen spoiler wise, so if there's anything else please refrain from telling me. But yeah, if this is it, Jesus Christ cry me a river.

The big question will be if that is it, how will they convince the thousands (millions?) of players so attached to Ellie to play as this strange new person that just wrecked her world vs just putting the controller down/asking for a refund/asking for a rewrite/etc.

Because if we’ve learned anything about entertainment, be it movies like Sonic the Hedgehog, shows like Sopranos, GoT, etc. or games like ME3, the one through line is that fans are passionate; sometimes too much. Props to ND for going out on limb like this (the details of how or why are for another thread of course), but here’s hoping their writing chops have gotten a good workout in since UC4 because there seems to be a ton of heavy lifting to do here.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The big question will be if that is it, how will they convince the thousands (millions?) of players so attached to Ellie to play as this strange new person that just wrecked her world vs just putting the controller down/asking for a refund/asking for a rewrite/etc.

Because if we’ve learned anything about entertainment, be it movies like Sonic the Hedgehog, shows like Sopranos, GoT, etc. or games like ME3, the one through line is that fans are passionate; sometimes too much. Props to ND for going out on limb like this (the details of how or why are for another thread of course), but here’s hoping their writing chops have gotten a good workout in since UC4 because there seems to be a ton of heavy lifting to do here.

I don't know man, fans are bitchy. The Last of Us fanbase especially is overzealous and weird. I remember people complaining about playing as Ellie in the sequel as opposed to Joel, because Joel was the guy hero man. And then they complained about the second trailer not featuring Ellie or Joel. And then with the third trailer they complained that Ellie dare kiss a girl they - the fans - weren't familiar with.

I try not to spend too much time wondering about these things. I mean, the game is going to sell well regardless. Even the people who are pissed won't be able to help themselves, if only for the sake of closure.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I don't know man, fans are bitchy. The Last of Us fanbase especially is overzealous and weird. I remember people complaining about playing as Ellie in the sequel as opposed to Joel, because Joel was the guy hero man. And then they complained about the second trailer not featuring Ellie or Joel. And then with the third trailer they complained that Ellie dare kiss a girl they - the fans - weren't familiar with.

I try not to spend too much time wondering about these things. I mean, the game is going to sell well regardless. Even the people who are pissed won't be able to help themselves, if only for the sake of closure.

I’d like to think Ellie herself will have closure and at least some small modicum of peace, but I’m not so sure *revenge themes* will let her.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

New interview and technical impressions. Plus a comparison video with the original gameplay reveal from 2017.

One week til reviews and two til release!

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Another good interview.

Remains to be seen how much of a “classic” it will be, but who are we kidding.

Only 10 days to go...

Also an interesting piece with more insight into Druckmann’s mindset.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Another good interview.

Remains to be seen how much of a “classic” it will be, but who are we kidding.

Only 10 days to go...

The cynic in me sees this as a bit of a puff piece, but it was nice to learn some more about the developement of the game.

Also good of Druckmann to admit he's bad at humor. He is. *looks at Uncharted 4*

I actually saw some new, unpublished gameplay footage on youtube a few days back, just straight-up gameplay, no commentary or sales pitch, and it got me more excited for the game than nearly any of the marketing material. You can sneak with the boat.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

The cynic in me sees this as a bit of a puff piece, but it was nice to learn some more about the developement of the game.

Also good of Druckmann to admit he's bad at humor. He is. *looks at Uncharted 4*

I actually saw some new, unpublished gameplay footage on youtube a few days back, just straight-up gameplay, no commentary or sales pitch, and it got me more excited for the game than nearly any of the marketing material. You can sneak with the boat.

For sure. Reminded me of the Vulture piece on Red Dead: Redemption 2. But it was interesting to find out some of the behind the scenes struggles and hear things from their perspective.

This is one of those games where “the hype is real” seems to apply to whole heartedly based on the closing statements -

Sitting back in his corner office for the last time, we watch some live focus tests and he shows me the latest average scores: 4.7. The team is still pushing for that 4.8... 4.9…. maybe even a perfect five. Then, shutting the blinds, closing the door and turning the TV up super loud, we play the whole thing out. More than half a decade of teamwork. Of time. Of patience. Of faith. Of convincing the team this will work. Of convincing himself this will work. Of convincing Pearl Jam it’ll work. Of performance-capture sessions. Of late-night rewrites. Of nauseating bug fixes. Of endless level reviews. Of unexpected delays. Of unprecedented pandemics. Of leaks. Of abuse from so-called fans. All in a game that, in Druckmann’s words, “says something” – about violence, justice, adversity and trauma. A game that tops the original, just like its namesake.

The game’s final scene hangs, still, for the longest time, then cuts to black. Druckmann sits forward and looks at me, his hair a little greyer, his smile wider than ever.

“So, what do you think?”

I think it might have been worth it.

That’s good video game journalism; especially the last line. Let the audience decide for themselves. But in any case I’m admittedly pretty geeked to dig into this thing.