It's difficult to make a story-driven video game so compelling and actually challenging nowadays, especially given the culture of gaming and its fanbase. However, Neil Druckmann has only proven yet again that he has mastered this art and with his second installment of The Last of Us franchise, he continues this absolutely extraordinary trend. The Last of Us: Part II is an undeniable masterpiece that will, unfortunately, be one of the most divisive pieces of media this year because of the nature of the community that it is set in. I have never considered myself a huge gamer at all but viewing this story as just that, a story, is what makes Druckmann's abilities unmatched. Seeing all of the hate and vitriol online towards this narrative just furthers my point about the gaming community and how frankly, none of them have learned a thing about original storytelling. At its core, this game is about empathy, forgiveness, and the incredibly difficult path it takes to get there; through the wonderful gameplay, unexpected characters, and heartwrenching relationships, any right-minded player will be simultaneously overjoyed and shattered at the path Druckmann decides to take.
Set four years after the iconic events of the first game, Joel (Troy Baker) and Ellie (Ashley Johnson) are living in Jackson, Wyoming at Joel's brother Tommy's (Jeffrey Pierce) massive community and have made a home for themselves. When a mysterious, supposed cult arrives and threatens her newfound way of life, Ellie is forced to go on another mission of vengeance: this time to Seattle and back to the hospital where Joel had previously made the decision to save her life. Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross's script throughout this entire game is the main reason why I was so excited for this to be released. I have been in love with the original The Last of Us since it came out and for seven years now, I have been eagerly awaiting its sequel, despite how perfectly eerie the first installment ended. After all of this waiting, I am so happy that I am one of the apparently few people who genuinely enjoyed this game. I absolutely adored the story throughout this game and despite what many people online are complaining about, I found Ellie's path and the decision to switch between her and the initial antagonist of Abby (Laura Bailey) to be one of the boldest storytelling choices I have ever seen in a game. I'm sure that there are plenty of films that focus on the antagonist and really make its audience question where they stand but this is the first time I have experienced these decisions being placed into our hands through the form of a PlayStation controller. Playing as Abby made me incredibly upset at first, as one is forced to play as the woman who brutally slaughtered Joel in the first few hours of the game. I was so obviously distraught because of this and wanted to kill Abby myself and because I'm just so in love with Ellie as a character but Druckmann knew exactly what he was doing with this brilliant idea. The dichotomy between Ellie and Abby was so prevalent in the beginning but eventually really makes the player wonder who they should be sympathizing with. This was one of the strongest points of this whole game and not only does it make the player truly care for Abby and her struggle with the WLFs but Druckmann and Gross open up an entirely new world of characters in this apocalypse that could be possibly utilized in future games.
The Last of Us: Part II has its ups and downs, making me both joyous and overwhelmingly frustrated at times but all of the emotions that Druckmann puts you through end up being worth it by its utterly cinematic conclusion. Druckmann's direction was absolutely phenomenal and while it does not stick to a typical, chronological timeline (and actually jumps around quite a bit), his use of these flashbacks was highly emotional. Not only do the flashbacks get the viewer to see what led to Joel and Ellie's mild scuffle but they are utilized within this story's emotional beats to really pound home the hurt that is left in one's heart due to the loss of Joel. Both of the leads that we follow throughout the game are developed so damn well and like previously mentioned, the lines really become blurred as to who is in the right. The argument can be made that both are and for wildly different reasons. Following Ellie, players obviously want to root for her. Seeing her grow into her own from the first game is only one of the many things that make her so lovable and to see Joel taken away from her was emotionally shattering. Every smash of the golf club into Joel's skull made me furious and I knew Ellie would stop at nothing until he was avenged. However, Abby's history is fleshed out in such a fantastic way that makes you fall in love with her just as much. Abby's group of friends that all end up being killed by Tommy or Ellie are the main reason that you feel for her wanting to kill Ellie. All of that along with her newfound relationship with Lev (Ian Alexander), a young, ostracized member of a bloody cult known as the Seraphites, and the plot reveal that her father was the doctor who was supposed to operate on Ellie before Joel murdered him were wonderful factors into why I began to love playing as her. The direction from Druckmann was also flawless as he is so good at switching genres. While it could be generally classified as horror, this story is really so much more than that and serves up fantastic drama at its core. However, I would be deep into the heart and soul of a cutscene and then promptly be thrown right back into traversing a dark hotel crawling with infected and would be frighteningly reminded of its horror elements.
While this game's ending also led many people to become frustrated, I was simply blown away by the choices that Druckmann and Gross made for Ellie. She comes to so many realizations throughout this story, especially in its final scenes, and that is what truly makes her one of the greatest and most well-written video game characters of all time. After seeing everything that Abby has done for Lev, Ellie realizes how much pain and history Abby must be carrying with her. Along with the players, she can obviously see the parallels between Abby and Lev with Joel and herself and knows that her relationship with her father figure is not the only one in the world worth fighting for. Because of this, Ellie realizes that she has come to forgive herself, she has come to forgive Joel, and she has come to realize that the only person capable of stopping this cycle of revenge is her. The Last of Us: Part II for its entirety might initially be a game about revenge, but Druckmann and Gross's decision to have Ellie let Abby go at the end was stellar. Ellie killing her after everything that each of them had gone through would only complicate both of their worlds even more. It would abandon what Ellie stands for as a character and she knew that is not what Joel would have ever wanted. It's also what the audience wants and completely expects. The first The Last of Us ends on such an ambiguous note when what the audience really wants is for Joel to tell Ellie about her possibly being the cure and for Ellie to hold his hand and smile as they ride off into the sunset. That is simply not the reality of good storytelling and that tension between the two immaculately crafts their relationship throughout this sequel.
I may not ever review a video game like this again but the cinematic qualities of this really make it out to be one of the best films of 2020. The gameplay mechanics are also a massive part of this. This world was expectedly gorgeous to play through and the overgrown Seattle contained some of the most breathtaking environments in a game I have ever played. There are countless ways to explore the absolutely massive map of this story and I was consistently taken aback by the graphics. The transitions from gameplay to cutscene and back in this game were flawless and I do not think I have ever seen a game appear so impeccable when it comes to incorporating challenging gaming with its heavy story. Many of the little details throughout this game made it out to be incredibly engaging, including the representation of its diverse cast of characters to the little lines thrown in for the sake of world-building. While Ellie herself is gay and accompanied for a good chunk of the story by her girlfriend Dina (Shannon Woodward), there is also a trans character in the game whose story is written beautifully. In the game, Lev is transitioning and this part of his arc is actually a major plot point for Abby and why she gets caught up in her new life. These additions may seem minor but they are huge for a mainstream title like this, especially in the community in which it exists. This game also makes you do things that you are not exactly comfortable with and while the first game dipped its toes into that idea, this sequel dives right in. The Last of Us: Part II shows the humanity of people in both the brightest and darkest ways imaginable because that is what the reality of a zombie apocalypse would be. I actually felt like a bad person at the end of this game because of the endless slaughter of people that I went through during its nearly 30-hour runtime (and giving every minor enemy a name and feelings did not help either). This game is miles more gruesome than the first and actually very hard to watch at times (RIP to the many dogs I had to put down to an early death). Whether you are quietly choking out an enemy or brutally taking down a disgustingly realistic shambler, the death of every enemy feels personal. All of these elements, like many films or other pieces of media, are brought together beautifully by the score from Gustavo Santaolalla. The melancholy plucking of his guitar fires off into this world like Ellie gracefully taking down a clicker and his calm musical skills in the face of the story's intensity provide for one of the best contrasts in recent, musical history.
Taking risks that normal filmmakers would never dream of and not conforming to what audiences expect is just some of the talent that Druckmann has and what better vehicle to exhibit his story than in the unforgettable characters of Ellie and Joel. Despite me never having reviewed a video game before, The Last of Us: Part II is a long-form film in itself and contains some of the greatest and most challenging storytelling that zombie and gaming media have ever seen. I will be replaying this game for years to come because Neil Druckmann has truly crafted a fantastic and worthy sequel that lives up to (and succeeds) the morally ambiguous ending of his first, iconic game.
My Rating: ★★★★★
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