Seven years ago, Naughty Dog released a game from a new franchise titled The Last of Us for PlayStation 3. It’s still clear in our memory how amazing the visual of this game was for a PlayStation 3 game. The fans love the story of the two iconic characters so much. To the point where it’s not surprising Joel and Ellie became a part of the pop culture.

The success of the Last of Us is joined by the stand-alone game, Left Behind, that tells us the friendship of Ellie and her friend, Riley. Even after PlayStation 4 was released, Sony and Naughty Dog released the Remastered version with better visual from the previous-gen. This rouses PS4 users to see what is offered in The Last of Us franchise. Last 2016, Naughty Dog announced The Last of Us Part II that will become the anticipated sequel.

The game fas faced with several issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic that forces the game to be postponed and the leaked plot, but Naughty Dog stands firm and released its mainstay game. On 19 June 2020, Naughty Dog The Last of Us Part II for PlayStation 4 globally.

Fortunately, the writer is granted with an opportunity to review The last of Us Part II from PlayStation Asia and Naughty Dog. After spending 22 hours playing the game, the writer is left with a mixed feeling. To be honest, The Last of Us is one of the writer’s favorite games and the writer also placed a lot of hope in the game developed by Naughty Dog.

Surely you might ask, is The Last of Us Part II as great and perfect as the foreign media tells us? Here’s the writer’s take on that. Relax, there’s NO SPOILER in this review.

The Plot That Plays With Emotion

If you played the Last of Us on PS3 or the Remastered version, then you are familiar with the adventure of Joel Miller and Ellie. But Naughty Dog introduced something unexpected in The Last of Us Part II. Even fans of the game will have a hard time accepting the cold reality presented in the game. But this is Naughty Dog’s brilliance in developing a game. They successfully made the player feel conflicted.

The writer will tell you a little bit about the game, The Last of Us Part II is set 5 years after the first game. Joel and Ellie successfully get to a small town in Jackson, Wyoming. Ellie is now 19 years old so Joel feels like he can let her take care of herself. But Ellie’s peace doesn’t last long after a massive incident that forces her to take action. Alongside her new friend, Ellie decides to go out of her comfort zone to start a new adventure. 

In her new adventure, Ellie is faced with the two factions, Washington Liberation Front (WLF) and Seraphite (Scars). WLF is a faction equipped with firearms and trained dogs. While Seraphite (Scars) is more of a guerilla fighter that often uses bow and arrow.

When she is cornered, Ellie has to wrack up her brain to reach her goal. But what she is looking for doesn’t worth the risk.

The story of The Last of Us Part II is so unpredictable, the writer can only wonder with what Naughty Dog is doing to their mainstay game. It’s best if you play the game to experience it.

Riveting Visual

The Last of Us Remastered proves that Naughty Dog intends to give the best visual experience for PlayStation 4 users. In The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog has done something to revolutionize the game industry. They successfully make a game with realistic and riveting visual.

Naughty Dog has made a breakthrough for PlayStation 4’s graphics. The writer played The Last of Us Part II on PlayStation 4 Slim with a Ful HD 1080p monitor. With this specification, the writer can enjoy the great visual. Playing the game on a PS4 Pro and a 4K HDR monitor will provide a more realistic visual.

The detail of every structure and plants look detailed. You can see the small details on a store left behind for years being consumed with moss on the walls. You can also see the stained and yellowing windows on each house. The visual aspect is so realistic and the dark atmosphere made the writer feels immersed with the game. The visual aspect of The Last of Us Part II deserve a thumb up.

Retains the Classic Gameplay Mechanic

For those who have played the first game, then they are familiar with the mechanism presented in The Last of Us Part II. Almost every element is similar, but Naughty Dog added the Dodge feature to give the player freedom to take down the enemy. You will still have to deal with the crafting and upgrading features to support your gameplay.

The Last of Us Part II also adopts the stealth mechanism of Assassin’s Creed, where you have to sneak around in tall grasses. Standing in the tall grasses will make allow you to launch a surprise attack. This is a great mechanism if you don’t like an upfront confrontation and avoid attracting too much attention.

The Dodge feature in The Last of Us Part II is the solution when you accidentally attract the attention of your enemy. You can dodge every attack and counter it to render them useless. There’s not much changed about the mechanic as a whole, only small additions to make the gameplay more perfect.

Audio That Fits the Scene

Not just the pleasing visual, the audio is still a crucial factor in The Last of Us Part II.during the 22 hours of gameplay, the player will enjoy the audio that fits every scene. When you encounter an infected, the audio will make you feel the tense situation added with the weird growling of the infected. But when you are in a touching scene, the audio will make you feel immersed like you are watching the scene live.

Infected is Still a Local Companion

Set Five years after the first game, you will still face Infected such as Runner, Clicker, Stalker, and bloater. But during the five years, the Infected mutated to become a new Infected and it’s a new challenge you have to face.

The Infected is an inseparable aspect of The Last of Us Part II. the realistic visual made the Infected look more horrifying than the past version. The classic Infected has a predictable moveset, but the new Infected has new moves that force you to think 2-3 steps ahead when facing them.

Naughty Dog’s Amazing Innovation

During PSX 2017, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson played a song using an acoustic guitar to promote The Last of Us Part II. it turns out they are hinting toward the guitar feature in the game. This is a great feature that never existed in any game before. The feature takes advantage of the DualShock 4 feature where the player can strum the guitar by rubbing the touchpad and moving the analog to change the chord.

The unique feature helps you relax after facing annoying enemies and infected. The feature is so intriguing that gamers are playing several popular songs in the game.

Verdict - Naughty Dog’s Success

Looking at the points above, every aspect of The Last of Us Part II is perfect. Yes, that’s the reality and the write acknowledges that. What is offered by Naughty Dog is game-changing for every PlayStation 4 release. From the visual, audio, gameplay mechanic, and other aspects are wrapped carefully to make the gamers fully immersed with the game.

The Last of Us franchise has been a part of the pop culture for seven years, so a lot of gamers have high expectations for the game. But naughty Dog took the risk to present a controversial story and element in the game.

In the first game, players enjoy the story of a guardian and his step-daughter. The story is presented well to make the player enjoy the plot. In Left behind, the writer can feel the sincere friendship between Ellie and Riley. Whereas in The Last of Us Part II, it is just like the Game of Thrones Season 8 series which caused a lot of disappointment for his fans.

As a whole, the writer is satisfied with what is offered in The Last of Us Part II. Putting aside the predictable storyline, the game deserves its high score. You have to play the game to truly know and experience what is in The Last of Us Part II.

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