We reviewed The Last of Us Part II

Driftwood
Friday, June 19, 2020 | 10:30 AM
13 comments

GSY Review PS4

Here at last! Not The Last of Us Part II, you must still wait until the end of next week to play, but our review is finally available. This time, not only do we have a fully translated verdict to share, but also a 20-minute video review containing absolutely no spoilers. Even though we were allowed to capture our own footage, we asked to only show a very small portion of the game, so even the extracts we chose in the list of authorized content won't ruin any surprises for you guys. Video quality is up to our standard, so we hope you enjoy the time and efforts we've put in making sure we wouldn't say or wouldn't show anything that we, as players, wouldn't have wanted to know or see before playing.
Note: All our footage was recorded without any motion blur.
Update: Our The Last of Us 2 review is back to celebrate the official launch of the game.

Verdict

No need to beat about the bush, The Last of Us Part II undeniably offers the kind of memorable experience players are very unlikely to ever forget. With its gritty atmosphere, its great cast of characters and Naughty Dog's mastery in storytelling, this sequel is just everything we hoped it would be. The gameplay mechanics may not have changed much since 2013, but the improvements on the level design and AI have made stealth much more engaging than before. Exploration is still a big part of the experience and the added traversal moves are a welcome addition. Combat is as brutal as ever, with all the animations benefiting a lot from the use of motion matching as in For Honor. When the sequel was first announced, many doubted it was a good idea to give Ellie and Joel a new adventure, but TLOU2 is more about completing the journey they started 7 years ago, putting an end to a story that started the day they first met. Now we've finished the game, it feels more like the end of the road for them both. Not that we wouldn't be happy to see them again of course, but we're under the impression that it's time to move on, to make a fresh start. Leaving everything behind is actually moving come to think of it, it's hard not to reminisce about all the unforgettable sequences we have played in TLOU2. We're even ready to go back and play the game all over again to go through the same intense emotions we've felt throughout. From the moment we first started to play to our very last return to the title screen (which actually has a bit more story to tell as you'll see), we never wanted to stop playing. The Last of Us Part II may not be the last PS4 exclusive of this generation but it sure as hell is the best way Naughty Dog could find to bid the console a proper farewell.

On the upside
30 hours of a memorable adventure
Writting doesn't disappoint
The characters
Some audacious choices in terms of narrative
Changes of pace and surprises
Quite the emotional ride from beginning to end
More realistic stealth
Level design allows for multiple approaches
Impressive animations overall
Looks great obviously
The OST, voice acting and sound design in general
The photo mode
A very The Last of Us ending
PS4 Pro remains awfully quiet

On the downside
Still a bit of pop-up and shadows don't always look great
It sometimes feels enemy models could be more varied
Why the hell did so many people have a safe?

Stream it now

Commented on 2020-06-12 09:36:26

Weirdly the most surprising thing on your positive list is ps4 pro remains awfuly quiet. Do you have one of the newer models or launch?

In reply to

Driftwood

Commented on 2020-06-12 09:46:33 In reply to AndreasZ94

Well it was for me but some French journalists said the exact opposite. :(

Commented on 2020-06-12 10:06:35

Also very nice to see some gameplay with motion blur off. I think i ll set it at 2 like i did with uncharted 4 and lost legacy.

Commented on 2020-06-12 10:21:12

Just finished watching your review and wow the combat looks more brutal than i thought. I love the slow motion option at the end, i ll definitely play around with that a lot after i finish the game. One week to go.

Shporet

Commented on 2020-06-12 12:34:14

I hope there will be videos with motion blur. :)

Commented on 2020-06-12 12:36:56 In reply to Shporet

Will do that for next week.

Sdarts

Commented on 2020-06-12 13:14:35

Thanks for the review, videos and coverage. You guys are the best!

agni_rzm

Commented on 2020-06-12 14:16:00

so. many. options. love it.

zemkad

Commented on 2020-06-12 16:06:19

Legat:
Prepare LGBT attack!
Protecto testudo!

MrWhite

Commented on 2020-06-12 17:25:35 In reply to Driftwood

Posted by Driftwood

Yours must not have any dust build up inside the heatsink yet. That's the culprit of the jet engine sound for all models regardless of when they came out..