r/TheLastOfUs2

So many want to ridicule us and tell us to move on, it's been x-many years. These people who love the second game and proclaim their wonderful ability to empathize with Abby. Do they really think they're the ones with empathy when they can so cavalierly write off cherished characters who had such a precious and moving relationship unfold before our eyes, touching so many of us so deeply?

Is there a time frame for grief and loss? Yes a broken heart heals, but the scar can often remain for many years or even a lifetime. People who actually are capable of empathy know this.

They celebrate their ability to empathize with a fictional character because the game told them that was its goal, not because they know anything about empathy or they'd have been able to show it to the actual living people who were hurting from the loss of something precious to them. A beloved duo, franchise and favored game developer was lost to us. That should hurt and it does. Yet they come around and ridicule our hurt and dismiss our pain. Even the creator himself does so showing total disregard for hurting a vast number of people who once totally trusted him. To him his art was worth the damage. To the damaged that just adds salt to the wound and reveals his shortcomings: he never learned his own lesson, it was all about his need to provoke.

Who are truly empathetic in this situation? Those who still grieve a very real loss to them, or those who celebrate that they empathized with a character who never even showed us she had a heart because the writer thought that would be lame? That that concept was just something else that must be subverted?

Some may come here to heap on more ridicule and harsh words. They may not be willing to honor my broken heart, but I will. My heart is worthy of being honored. Those with actual empathy understand that.

Those of us here who do understand it, honor each other. That's what empathy really does. It causes us to see the pain and respect the human who bears it. They dropped the ball and instead thought they could force something that cannot be forced, it must come from inside. Thanks to all of you here who know and share that. It's something to behold! ❣️

Oh man, I'm BUZZING with schadenfreude. Not sure why, but I just found this quote from (former ND Designer) Benson Russell absolutely brimming with snark (also hilarious, ofc):

>When asked if Naughty Dog’s current release structure is sustainable for the studio, Russell responded promptly: “No. Absolutely not,” he said. “They’re one of the key stakeholders that get PlayStation[s] sold, right? So, when you think about it, they have not put an original IP out on this platform. The only thing they’ve done is The Last of Us [Remake].”

Mmm, can't wait to see Intergalactic crash and burn, with Druckmann at the helm.

Hi everyone What are your theories about the characters and the story going forward?

I was worried Abby and her friends were assholes, but turns out Abby was pretty cool! Thank God she found a kid from a marginalized community to help in the exact days Ellie arrived, or else gamers would get the wrong idea about her!

THESE ARE JUST MY PERSONAL OPINIONS

Forced Narratives: The game has social justice and religion at the same time.

Disjointed Story: Despite being a linear game, most of the story parts are far from each other, i kept forgetting "why am going there, why am i doing this"

Bad AI/Stealth Mechanics: focusing on stealth is impossible in this game because the way your character keeps breathing loudly, And the companions keep getting in your way/appearing out of no where while trying to shoot enemies.

World Design Choices: I know its not a open world game, but the lack of interaction in the map feels like a wasted potential, designed all that nature for no

There's a note in Pittsburgh that tells the story of what went down there:

>We don't need the Fireflies. Sure, they might've started the fight, but we're the ones that have done all the work. It's our blood in the streets. I don't agree with them wanting to take the fight to other cities. They need to earn their independence on their own. And I DEFINITELY won't take orders from some Firefly leader all the way on the other side of the country. Before the fighting ends I suggest we rid ourselves of them. This is our city. Our people. I don't see why we can't rule ourselves. [Emphases added]

While so many defenders want to paint them as the good guys, humanitarians who want to save the world, this note and their many acts prove otherwise. This wasn't a faction seeking to restore order nor to save humanity, these were people who wanted to be the ones in power.

Their lack of regard for the agency and safety of others is on display. In Boston they set off two bombs as a distraction to get Ellie out of the city (put into motion before they even have anyone to do so), endangering innocent civilians. Then note above where they plan the liberation of Pittsburgh, don't even do the work, then still want those citizens to be subject to their authority.

Then we see what they did to Joel and Ellie! They made all the choices at the hospital and refused to allow any discussion, there's nothing more authoritarian than that. They were fully in charge, the outcome is on them!

Authoritarianism is a mindset, believing they can subjugate others to their cause without the others having a vote or a choice. That Abby and Firefly defenders want to ignore that they stole Joel and Ellie's agency, as they tried to do to the people in Pittsburgh, doesn't erase the very obvious evidence provided. Their goal was power, then it was using Ellie to absolve them of all their other terrible actions with one final terrible action: murdering an innocent in her sleep.

Those are not good people.

I got curious about how much work actually went into Part II's accessibility, so I pulled Naughty Dog's own announcement post and went through every setting they named. Their public line is "more than 60". Counting each one individually gets you to 80, because some are options nested inside others.

Some of them I hadn't thought about at all until I saw them written down:

Repeated Button Presses for someone who can't mash. Infinite Breath for someone who can't hold one down underwater. Skip Puzzle Option for someone who wants the story and can't do the puzzle. Guitar Vibration Cues so a deaf player can feel a song. And Hostages Don't Escape, which is there so a slower player doesn't lose the person they were trying to save.