I recently played & finished The Last of Us Part 1 & 2 + Tier-List
The Last of Us: Part 1 - 10/10
The Last of Us: Part 2 - 8/10
The Last of Us 1 is a truly emotional journey with absolutely zero complaints from me, everything serves a carefully crafted purpose down to the littlest details with it particularly shining with it's character development which is nothing but immaculate. It masterfully avoids the common issue of slow-paced story games being, essentially, a glorified movie walking simulator with it's nerve-wracking combat encounters where every resource matters, & dangerous opponents force you to think through every encounter before engagement, for reference my difficulty settings for my first playthrough's were:
- Player - Survivor
- Enemies - Survivor
- Allies - Survivor (switched to Moderate for Part 2, realistically allies should not be WORTHLESS)
- Stealth - Hard (switched to Survivor for Part 2, wanted to lean more into the realism)
- Resources - Hard
The Last of Us 2 is a game with great ideas & even greater foundations to expand upon, but it's execution is rather mixed, stemming from issues that... really & sadly could've been resolved easily (aside from maybe two or three of them):
- THE GAY WOKE AGEN- nah i'm fucking with you.
- Landside amount of game & immersion breaking bugs, unlike the zero I experienced in Part 1.
- Simplified upgrade/pill system which strips the player of choice, I do NOT want more health.
- Frustrating encounters with the infected from an overreliance on numbers, large infected, and wall-bound infected.
- This is about a singular encounter but it makes me so upset I just need to discuss it, The Rat King boss fight obliterates any suspension of disbelief (imo). The Last of Us, despite the fantastical science, is an otherwise fairly grounded series, and so I just cannot find it in me to believe that Abby, as strong as she is, can somehow solo that absolute UNIT of a creature. The way it's handled is such a disservice to an otherwise awesome idea as well, it felt like a finale fight casually smashed in-between a slow paced journey, with it just as casually tossed to the side as if it was nothing, all despite explicitly, being referred to as the ground zero of Seattle which should be important no? even going as far as Abby saying "Who's ever gonna believe this?" to justify the lack of any mention like oh my God, fun fight though.
- Painfully Noticeable lack of respect for distance
- Fumbling (imo) the humanization for 3 of Abby's group (Manny, Jordon, Nora).
- Wasted Potential that, while not absolutely necessary, would have been great (Isaac & Jesse).
- Mediocre Romance with an even more mediocre character (EllieRiley MOGS Dellie btw).
Please excuse my rage in regards to the Rat King but aside from the negatives. I did still love The Last of Us 2 and I WILL be watching a billion playthroughs to see reactions of various scenes. Wish I had the motivation to in-depth type down what I enjoyed about the game as I did for The Last of Us 1 and the hate section above, but i'm a slow typer. All you really need to know is that I enjoyed Abby immensely both from a character & personal perspective, the game does an wonderfully excellent job at transitioning you from absolutely despising her, to wanting mercy shown upon her in the end.
Tier-List is my ranking of the various notable characters within The Last of Us Duology, effected by both personal feelings & quality of writing.
