The Newer-est Video Game Thread

[Calinks]

So I am pretty deep into Last of Us 2 at this point and I see why the game is controversial. There a few things that are going on. Some are major story events that some fans may be unhappy with. Some is people who don't like the way the game has put on emphasis on strong female characters and people who are very anti "SJW" ideals in media. None of that has bothered me. What I do think is affecting a lot of people though, and for good reasons, is the violence.

This game is extremely violent. We are talking 30-40 hours worth of brutality. Not only is it like action game pew pew violence, it's people getting eaten, ripped apart, mauled, bludgeoned with hammers, etc. Not only that, sometimes the story forces you or your character to do terrible things. There is some degree of thin justification, you aren't simply maiming people for joy but it's still extremely cold and savage.

I think for a lot of people it's a bit much, especially with the current climate. It's a deeply dark and traumatic story. I am personally thoroughly enjoying it but I think I am playing it in the right head space. It's like watching a really harsh movie. For some people they just well not be comfortable with what is going on. I totally get that. I don't think its a game for everyone, that's for sure.

[KGdaBom]

It's pretty much peak videogame movie experience. You are playing a game but the acting, writing, detail, is top-notch. Game is completely gruesome and dark though, a turn off for a lot of people.

As I expected my son has bought it, but hasn't given me his report yet.

[KGdaBom]

So I am pretty deep into Last of Us 2 at this point and I see why the game is controversial. There a few things that are going on. Some are major story events that some fans may be unhappy with. Some is people who don't like the way the game has put on emphasis on strong female characters and people who are very anti "SJW" ideals in media. None of that has bothered me. What I do think is affecting a lot of people though, and for good reasons, is the violence.

This game is extremely violent. We are talking 30-40 hours worth of brutality. Not only is it like action game pew pew violence, it's people getting eaten, ripped apart, mauled, bludgeoned with hammers, etc. Not only that, sometimes the story forces you or your character to do terrible things. There is some degree of thin justification, you aren't simply maiming people for joy but it's still extremely cold and savage.

I think for a lot of people it's a bit much, especially with the current climate. It's a deeply dark and traumatic story. I am personally thoroughly enjoying it but I think I am playing it in the right head space. It's like watching a really harsh movie. For some people they just well not be comfortable with what is going on. I totally get that. I don't think its a game for everyone, that's for sure.

My son will LOVE IT. I wonder if there will be an option to just watch the game as a movie?

[UcanUwill]

So I am pretty deep into Last of Us 2 at this point and I see why the game is controversial. There a few things that are going on. Some are major story events that some fans may be unhappy with. Some is people who don't like the way the game has put on emphasis on strong female characters and people who are very anti "SJW" ideals in media. None of that has bothered me. What I do think is affecting a lot of people though, and for good reasons, is the violence.

This game is extremely violent. We are talking 30-40 hours worth of brutality. Not only is it like action game pew pew violence, it's people getting eaten, ripped apart, mauled, bludgeoned with hammers, etc. Not only that, sometimes the story forces you or your character to do terrible things. There is some degree of thin justification, you aren't simply maiming people for joy but it's still extremely cold and savage.

I think for a lot of people it's a bit much, especially with the current climate. It's a deeply dark and traumatic story. I am personally thoroughly enjoying it but I think I am playing it in the right head space. It's like watching a really harsh movie. For some people they just well not be comfortable with what is going on. I totally get that. I don't think its a game for everyone, that's for sure.

I am with Jim Sterling rolling my eyes at game director who basically stated that they wanted to make murdering as realistic as possible. For years games tried to advocate itself against anti intellectuals who blamed real world violence on video games, saying games are just games, but now we have game directors who literally say they want to simulate murder in their game. I get the need for realism in todays games, but if you really need murdering in games to be as real as possible, I dont know man.

[Calinks]

So I am pretty deep into Last of Us 2 at this point and I see why the game is controversial. There a few things that are going on. Some are major story events that some fans may be unhappy with. Some is people who don't like the way the game has put on emphasis on strong female characters and people who are very anti "SJW" ideals in media. None of that has bothered me. What I do think is affecting a lot of people though, and for good reasons, is the violence.

This game is extremely violent. We are talking 30-40 hours worth of brutality. Not only is it like action game pew pew violence, it's people getting eaten, ripped apart, mauled, bludgeoned with hammers, etc. Not only that, sometimes the story forces you or your character to do terrible things. There is some degree of thin justification, you aren't simply maiming people for joy but it's still extremely cold and savage.

I think for a lot of people it's a bit much, especially with the current climate. It's a deeply dark and traumatic story. I am personally thoroughly enjoying it but I think I am playing it in the right head space. It's like watching a really harsh movie. For some people they just well not be comfortable with what is going on. I totally get that. I don't think its a game for everyone, that's for sure.

I am with Jim Sterling rolling my eyes at game director who basically stated that they wanted to make murdering as realistic as possible. For years games tried to advocate itself against anti intellectuals who blamed real world violence on video games, saying games are just games, but now we have game directors who literally say they want to simulate murder in their game. I get the need for realism in todays games, but if you really need murdering in games to be as real as possible, I dont know man.

It's a touchy subject. I actually appreciate it myself. I enjoy a degree of realism and I like dark gritty films and stories. I don't like the violence purely for the sake of violence, I like an impactful story to go along with it. I think the last of Us 2 is mature enough to pull that off.

The violence in here is packed all over and yea it will be overwhelming for some. That said I think there is a place for it, I think mature players can appreciate it, there will absolutely be some people who just love the "violence porn" of it all too though. I think if this game came out in the late 90's it would be blasted all over the news as you say, as a game that promotes violence or influences kids negatively. This is not a game designed for kids (though some kids will play it, I very likely would have gotten my hands on it as a kid but at the same time I was a kid who this kind of stuff wouldn't negatively impact, not all are.)

I liken it to Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction, or Saving Private Ryan. The Overall writing so far maybe won't live up to some of these films, and the violence is more pronounced and constant seeing as this is a 40-hour game but for the violence plays a similar role. It informs the story, makes the events more impactful. This game will likely stick with me. It's a thin line but I feel this game walks it well, others will not agree, however. I am definitely leaning towards the idea that this is a narrative masterpiece, like the first game.

My son will LOVE IT. I wonder if there will be an option to just watch the game as a movie?

Often times someone just uploads the cut scenes of a game, you could probably find a video on youtube that does that. If not now someone will probably do it eventually.

[KGdaBom]

So I am pretty deep into Last of Us 2 at this point and I see why the game is controversial. There a few things that are going on. Some are major story events that some fans may be unhappy with. Some is people who don't like the way the game has put on emphasis on strong female characters and people who are very anti "SJW" ideals in media. None of that has bothered me. What I do think is affecting a lot of people though, and for good reasons, is the violence.

This game is extremely violent. We are talking 30-40 hours worth of brutality. Not only is it like action game pew pew violence, it's people getting eaten, ripped apart, mauled, bludgeoned with hammers, etc. Not only that, sometimes the story forces you or your character to do terrible things. There is some degree of thin justification, you aren't simply maiming people for joy but it's still extremely cold and savage.

I think for a lot of people it's a bit much, especially with the current climate. It's a deeply dark and traumatic story. I am personally thoroughly enjoying it but I think I am playing it in the right head space. It's like watching a really harsh movie. For some people they just well not be comfortable with what is going on. I totally get that. I don't think its a game for everyone, that's for sure.

I am with Jim Sterling rolling my eyes at game director who basically stated that they wanted to make murdering as realistic as possible. For years games tried to advocate itself against anti intellectuals who blamed real world violence on video games, saying games are just games, but now we have game directors who literally say they want to simulate murder in their game. I get the need for realism in todays games, but if you really need murdering in games to be as real as possible, I dont know man.

It's a touchy subject. I actually appreciate it myself. I enjoy a degree of realism and I like dark gritty films and stories. I don't like the violence purely for the sake of violence, I like an impactful story to go along with it. I think the last of Us 2 is mature enough to pull that off.

The violence in here is packed all over and yea it will be overwhelming for some. That said I think there is a place for it, I think mature players can appreciate it, there will absolutely be some people who just love the "violence porn" of it all too though. I think if this game came out in the late 90's it would be blasted all over the news as you say, as a game that promotes violence or influences kids negatively. This is not a game designed for kids (though some kids will play it, I very likely would have gotten my hands on it as a kid but at the same time I was a kid who this kind of stuff wouldn't negatively impact, not all are.)

I liken it to Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction, or Saving Private Ryan. The Overall writing so far maybe won't live up to some of these films, and the violence is more pronounced and constant seeing as this is a 40-hour game but for the violence plays a similar role. It informs the story, makes the events more impactful. This game will likely stick with me. It's a thin line but I feel this game walks it well, others will not agree, however. I am definitely leaning towards the idea that this is a narrative masterpiece, like the first game.

My son will LOVE IT. I wonder if there will be an option to just watch the game as a movie?

Often times someone just uploads the cut scenes of a game, you could probably find a video on youtube that does that. If not now someone will probably do it eventually.

When I was in the game world the first thing that Naughty Dog did was a mortal kombat type game that was much more realistic looking called Way of the Warrior. The guy representing the game tried so hard to get me into it, but I'm not good at those LOL.

If they do a good job with it the game can be enjoyed as a movie. I'm not a big fan of violence and I don't like gore at all, but I will look for it anyway.
Found It!!!
11 hours long

Watch on YouTube

I have to watch the original first.

[Jedzz]

So I am pretty deep into Last of Us 2 at this point and I see why the game is controversial. There a few things that are going on. Some are major story events that some fans may be unhappy with. Some is people who don't like the way the game has put on emphasis on strong female characters and people who are very anti "SJW" ideals in media. None of that has bothered me. What I do think is affecting a lot of people though, and for good reasons, is the violence.

This game is extremely violent. We are talking 30-40 hours worth of brutality. Not only is it like action game pew pew violence, it's people getting eaten, ripped apart, mauled, bludgeoned with hammers, etc. Not only that, sometimes the story forces you or your character to do terrible things. There is some degree of thin justification, you aren't simply maiming people for joy but it's still extremely cold and savage.

I think for a lot of people it's a bit much, especially with the current climate. It's a deeply dark and traumatic story. I am personally thoroughly enjoying it but I think I am playing it in the right head space. It's like watching a really harsh movie. For some people they just well not be comfortable with what is going on. I totally get that. I don't think its a game for everyone, that's for sure.

I am with Jim Sterling rolling my eyes at game director who basically stated that they wanted to make murdering as realistic as possible. For years games tried to advocate itself against anti intellectuals who blamed real world violence on video games, saying games are just games, but now we have game directors who literally say they want to simulate murder in their game. I get the need for realism in todays games, but if you really need murdering in games to be as real as possible, I dont know man.

It's a touchy subject. I actually appreciate it myself. I enjoy a degree of realism and I like dark gritty films and stories. I don't like the violence purely for the sake of violence, I like an impactful story to go along with it. I think the last of Us 2 is mature enough to pull that off.

The violence in here is packed all over and yea it will be overwhelming for some. That said I think there is a place for it, I think mature players can appreciate it, there will absolutely be some people who just love the "violence porn" of it all too though. I think if this game came out in the late 90's it would be blasted all over the news as you say, as a game that promotes violence or influences kids negatively. This is not a game designed for kids (though some kids will play it, I very likely would have gotten my hands on it as a kid but at the same time I was a kid who this kind of stuff wouldn't negatively impact, not all are.)

I liken it to Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction, or Saving Private Ryan. The Overall writing so far maybe won't live up to some of these films, and the violence is more pronounced and constant seeing as this is a 40-hour game but for the violence plays a similar role. It informs the story, makes the events more impactful. This game will likely stick with me. It's a thin line but I feel this game walks it well, others will not agree, however. I am definitely leaning towards the idea that this is a narrative masterpiece, like the first game.

My son will LOVE IT. I wonder if there will be an option to just watch the game as a movie?

Often times someone just uploads the cut scenes of a game, you could probably find a video on youtube that does that. If not now someone will probably do it eventually.

To defend one's right to produce these is as easy to defend one's right to say or create anything. But rules and laws have had to be made to defend people from themselves and from creating things that can unravel societies before.

[Calinks]

I finished Last of Us 2. Got to say, for me the game did start to unravel a bit as it went out. I don't have many problems with a lot of the controversial story elements that take place, particularly the time issues that really pissed people off, but I do think the game dragged in places, was too long and could have been tighter. That said, I do appreciate most of the ballsy moves they took. Much of this was masterful but again, I think it got kind of sloppy in areas and it comes up short.

I still really enjoyed it though and don't at all regret getting it. None of the stuff that set some people off bothered me all that much if at all. That said, I have a high tolerance level for movies and games as long as I think there is quality story/acting. I also don't have a problem with grey characters.

[LibertyPrime]

I finished Last of Us 2. Got to say, for me the game did start to unravel a bit as it went out. I don't have many problems with a lot of the controversial story elements that take place, particularly the time issues that really pissed people off, but I do think the game dragged in places, was too long and could have been tighter. That said, I do appreciate most of the ballsy moves they took. Much of this was masterful but again, I think it got kind of sloppy in areas and it comes up short.

I still really enjoyed it though and don't at all regret getting it. None of the stuff that set some people off bothered me all that much if at all. That said, I have a high tolerance level for movies and games as long as I think there is quality story/acting. I also don't have a problem with grey characters.

I.... agree and disagree with this. It was ballsy, not just in terms of violence but also in terms of narrative choices and in terms of making the player adopt new points of view. I'm not bothered by the fact that it is a violent video game; I've played dozens.

But.....

***SPOILERS AND MAJOR RANT BEGIN HERE*** Don't read unless you want to see an alleged adult reading WAY too much into a video game.

Spoiler:

TLOU2 is not a good time. It is an incredible work of art, but it is not a good time.

No narrative decision by any videogame developer has ever left as sour a taste as TLOU2's decision to put the player in the role of Joel's killer for HOURS AND HOURS on end. I HATED Abby. The game does such a masterful job of making her the villain - that is, straight up murdering Joel right after he saved her life, and doing so in the most gruesome and hateful way possible in front of his daughter (for all intents and purposes) that its belated attempts to make her likable (and boy oh boy does the game pour THAT on during Abby's story, including Abby saving an endangered child* for tear-jerking purposes) feel cheap and manipulative to me. It's like saying, "sure, Richard Ramirez WAS the Night Stalker, but here's a picture of him cuddling a puppy!"

*Oh, and about that kid - if you're trying to make your game REALISTIC, maybe don't include a child who is essentially a bad-ass ninja warrior, just so that child can be saved by Abby in the name of leveraging the cognitive dissonance the game is trying to induce.

All this happens at the same time that the game is dragging out the climactic confrontation between Elle and Abby so that we could have this unwanted detour into Abby's life. It made me feel disgusted and angry. The game's finale - where Elle KINDA saves her but then kinda doesn't but then just kinda lets her go because reasons - is just more of the emotional whiplash that characterizes the second half of this game.

In the end, Elle's trip to Seattle accomplishes little besides costing her her relationships, her fingers, and the lives of several dozen Seattle residents - many identified by name to further increase the feelings of sh****ness - AND the life of one of her dear friends, who dies suddenly horrifically (again, at the hands of Abby) and is barely referenced again.** Is the game's moral that violence is horrifying and revenge is an empty platter? Great! I guess I won't be buying the TLOU3 then, since it's a series that literally built its name on horrific violence.

**This is despite him giving his life to protect his ex-girlfirend and Elle (and then conveniently dying so they can have their own relationship).

I understand that Naughty Dog was trying to make bold strides forward with this game and shake off some of the established video game/action movie tropes. But this ignores the fact that tropes are tropes for a reason. If you saw most action movies making the feel-bad kind of choices that TLOU2 does, they wouldn't be nearly as popular as they are. There's something parasitic about hyping your game based on things people in general love and then making them feel terrible about loving them. I completely support the freedom of ND to make whatever kind of story they want; after all, I'm not a multimillion dollar games studio and clearly they must be doing something right. I just want to suggest that, making people feel bad, in the long run, isn't a great commercial strategy.

Can't wait the next game in the series, which I hear is being developed under the name The Last of Us, Part 3: Now You're Hitler! You're Just Hitler, okay? What, Are You Not WOKE Enough to Be Hitler? C'mon, Spend 12 Hours of Your Life Being Hitler!

Okay, rant over. Sorry to spoil everyone's day.

[WolfAddict]

I finished Last of Us 2. Got to say, for me the game did start to unravel a bit as it went out. I don't have many problems with a lot of the controversial story elements that take place, particularly the time issues that really pissed people off, but I do think the game dragged in places, was too long and could have been tighter. That said, I do appreciate most of the ballsy moves they took. Much of this was masterful but again, I think it got kind of sloppy in areas and it comes up short.

I still really enjoyed it though and don't at all regret getting it. None of the stuff that set some people off bothered me all that much if at all. That said, I have a high tolerance level for movies and games as long as I think there is quality story/acting. I also don't have a problem with grey characters.

I.... agree and disagree with this. It was ballsy, not just in terms of violence but also in terms of narrative choices and in terms of making the player adopt new points of view. I'm not bothered by the fact that it is a violent video game; I've played dozens.

But.....

***SPOILERS AND MAJOR RANT BEGIN HERE*** Don't read unless you want to see an alleged adult reading WAY too much into a video game.

Spoiler:

TLOU2 is not a good time. It is an incredible work of art, but it is not a good time.

No narrative decision by any videogame developer has ever left as sour a taste as TLOU2's decision to put the player in the role of Joel's killer for HOURS AND HOURS on end. I HATED Abby. The game does such a masterful job of making her the villain - that is, straight up murdering Joel right after he saved her life, and doing so in the most gruesome and hateful way possible in front of his daughter (for all intents and purposes) that its belated attempts to make her likable (and boy oh boy does the game pour THAT on during Abby's story, including Abby saving an endangered child* for tear-jerking purposes) feel cheap and manipulative to me. It's like saying, "sure, Richard Ramirez WAS the Night Stalker, but here's a picture of him cuddling a puppy!"

*Oh, and about that kid - if you're trying to make your game REALISTIC, maybe don't include a child who is essentially a bad-ass ninja warrior, just so that child can be saved by Abby in the name of leveraging the cognitive dissonance the game is trying to induce.

All this happens at the same time that the game is dragging out the climactic confrontation between Elle and Abby so that we could have this unwanted detour into Abby's life. It made me feel disgusted and angry. The game's finale - where Elle KINDA saves her but then kinda doesn't but then just kinda lets her go because reasons - is just more of the emotional whiplash that characterizes the second half of this game.

In the end, Elle's trip to Seattle accomplishes little besides costing her her relationships, her fingers, and the lives of several dozen Seattle residents - many identified by name to further increase the feelings of sh****ness - AND the life of one of her dear friends, who dies suddenly horrifically (again, at the hands of Abby) and is barely referenced again.** Is the game's moral that violence is horrifying and revenge is an empty platter? Great! I guess I won't be buying the TLOU3 then, since it's a series that literally built its name on horrific violence.

**This is despite him giving his life to protect his ex-girlfirend and Elle (and then conveniently dying so they can have their own relationship).

I understand that Naughty Dog was trying to make bold strides forward with this game and shake off some of the established video game/action movie tropes. But this ignores the fact that tropes are tropes for a reason. If you saw most action movies making the feel-bad kind of choices that TLOU2 does, they wouldn't be nearly as popular as they are. There's something parasitic about hyping your game based on things people in general love and then making them feel terrible about loving them. I completely support the freedom of ND to make whatever kind of story they want; after all, I'm not a multimillion dollar games studio and clearly they must be doing something right. I just want to suggest that, making people feel bad, in the long run, isn't a great commercial strategy.

Can't wait the next game in the series, which I hear is being developed under the name The Last of Us, Part 3: Now You're Hitler! You're Just Hitler, okay? What, Are You Not WOKE Enough to Be Hitler? C'mon, Spend 12 Hours of Your Life Being Hitler!

Okay, rant over. Sorry to spoil everyone's day.

This, in my opinion, is extremely accurate... but I have to ask, you ok bro?

[Calinks]

Liberty Prime, those are poignant points and I think many many gamers share your sentiments. I have seen a lot of distaste for those specific things in the game. I get it. It's not how I feel about it all though.

**Spoilers***

Spoiler:

I still enjoyed the game. I totally understand that for some people it was just painful, not entertaining, or grating. For me, I wasn't that bothered that Joel died. In my eyes, this was a pretty reasonable consequence for the life he lived. Before he met Ellie he did a lot of dirt, when he killed everyone in the hospital, it can absolutely be argued that it was the right thing for him to do but it can also be argued that it wasn't. He killed dozens of people, took away fathers, mothers, siblings, and he dammed humanity from finding a possible cure.

It was a huge choice on his part, it didn't sit totally well with me at the end of the first game but I also accepted it. I buy that his character would do that even though, objectively, I think it was the wrong decision. So I never hated Abby for what she did though she did it in a very hateful fashion. I never had the disdain for her that so many have so I wasn't bothered by playing as her character.

Joel made a terrible choice, Abbey made another one as a result and Ellie went on to do the same, a vicious cycle.

By the end of the game though I absolutely felt Abby had the moral high ground. Yea, she heinously killed Joel, that said, she stopped there. She and her group spared Ellie and Tommy. Then Ellie and crew came to their home and killed all of them including several other people in their group. Ellie tortures and bashes the head in of the doctor girl, she kills a pregnant woman (not on purpose but still), Ellie goes tot he extreme, gets her ass kicked and still decided to go back and get revenge again.

I had issues with Ellie by the end of the game but I also understood her trauma and thought it as interesting. All in all I was pretty satisfied. Yea, much of it was pointless, petty revenge, cruelty, etc. but I still think it had an interesting story to tell and again was probably pretty dispassionate about all the characters. I enjoyed taking in the experience, I wasn't super invested in Joe's death or whatever. In my eyes, they are all messed up people living n a messed up world.

[packforfreedom]

TLOU2 is in my mind one of greatest games ever made. Can't relate to any of this critizism expressed in the former postings.

[KGdaBom]

I didn't even read the spoilers post as I was concerned I would be too disturbed by it. That said I'm kind of guessing the game crossed some line of decency.
An example of that in my life. I was a fan of The Walking Dead. Then they had an episode where there were 2 little girls and one of them thought zombies were people too. She killed her little sister to let her turn into a zombie and then her adoptive mom killed her. Screw that. Too far.

[shangrila]

I wasn't a huge fan of the first one, as I've said previously, so it might not surprise anyone that I'm not much of a fan of this one either.

Again though, as I've stated, my opinions on narrative are formed from my own studies into it (I'm trying to become an author). They're not necessarily going to be what other people notice. For example, I can spot the Inciting Incident and Moment of Awareness as soon as they happen and a lot of people probably have no idea what those things are.

But the thing that got me about TLOU2 was that I didn't feel like the characters acted consistent with their, well, characters. It felt more like they had a specific story line they wanted to pursue and had to bend the characters to fit into it, and that sort of inorganic story telling always rubs me the wrong way.

Honestly, I think they should have just had all new characters. You could have touched on all the same themes and ideas without the baggage you ended up bringing. Then again, I don't think this was ever about telling a good story. They seemed to have a specific goal in my mind and were willing to sacrifice narrative and character logic to get there. And once you start doing that, it's like trying to build a house without the foundation.

[Domejandro]

2K20 is $4.80 on Steam. I have heard it sucks, do I drop the five bucks?

[KGdaBom]

2K20 is $4.80 on Steam. I have heard it sucks, do I drop the five bucks?

Yeah, What the heck. Give it a shot.

[LibertyPrime]

I finished Last of Us 2. Got to say, for me the game did start to unravel a bit as it went out. I don't have many problems with a lot of the controversial story elements that take place, particularly the time issues that really pissed people off, but I do think the game dragged in places, was too long and could have been tighter. That said, I do appreciate most of the ballsy moves they took. Much of this was masterful but again, I think it got kind of sloppy in areas and it comes up short.

I still really enjoyed it though and don't at all regret getting it. None of the stuff that set some people off bothered me all that much if at all. That said, I have a high tolerance level for movies and games as long as I think there is quality story/acting. I also don't have a problem with grey characters.

I.... agree and disagree with this. It was ballsy, not just in terms of violence but also in terms of narrative choices and in terms of making the player adopt new points of view. I'm not bothered by the fact that it is a violent video game; I've played dozens.

But.....

***SPOILERS AND MAJOR RANT BEGIN HERE*** Don't read unless you want to see an alleged adult reading WAY too much into a video game.

Spoiler:

TLOU2 is not a good time. It is an incredible work of art, but it is not a good time.

No narrative decision by any videogame developer has ever left as sour a taste as TLOU2's decision to put the player in the role of Joel's killer for HOURS AND HOURS on end. I HATED Abby. The game does such a masterful job of making her the villain - that is, straight up murdering Joel right after he saved her life, and doing so in the most gruesome and hateful way possible in front of his daughter (for all intents and purposes) that its belated attempts to make her likable (and boy oh boy does the game pour THAT on during Abby's story, including Abby saving an endangered child* for tear-jerking purposes) feel cheap and manipulative to me. It's like saying, "sure, Richard Ramirez WAS the Night Stalker, but here's a picture of him cuddling a puppy!"

*Oh, and about that kid - if you're trying to make your game REALISTIC, maybe don't include a child who is essentially a bad-ass ninja warrior, just so that child can be saved by Abby in the name of leveraging the cognitive dissonance the game is trying to induce.

All this happens at the same time that the game is dragging out the climactic confrontation between Elle and Abby so that we could have this unwanted detour into Abby's life. It made me feel disgusted and angry. The game's finale - where Elle KINDA saves her but then kinda doesn't but then just kinda lets her go because reasons - is just more of the emotional whiplash that characterizes the second half of this game.

In the end, Elle's trip to Seattle accomplishes little besides costing her her relationships, her fingers, and the lives of several dozen Seattle residents - many identified by name to further increase the feelings of sh****ness - AND the life of one of her dear friends, who dies suddenly horrifically (again, at the hands of Abby) and is barely referenced again.** Is the game's moral that violence is horrifying and revenge is an empty platter? Great! I guess I won't be buying the TLOU3 then, since it's a series that literally built its name on horrific violence.

**This is despite him giving his life to protect his ex-girlfirend and Elle (and then conveniently dying so they can have their own relationship).

I understand that Naughty Dog was trying to make bold strides forward with this game and shake off some of the established video game/action movie tropes. But this ignores the fact that tropes are tropes for a reason. If you saw most action movies making the feel-bad kind of choices that TLOU2 does, they wouldn't be nearly as popular as they are. There's something parasitic about hyping your game based on things people in general love and then making them feel terrible about loving them. I completely support the freedom of ND to make whatever kind of story they want; after all, I'm not a multimillion dollar games studio and clearly they must be doing something right. I just want to suggest that, making people feel bad, in the long run, isn't a great commercial strategy.

Can't wait the next game in the series, which I hear is being developed under the name The Last of Us, Part 3: Now You're Hitler! You're Just Hitler, okay? What, Are You Not WOKE Enough to Be Hitler? C'mon, Spend 12 Hours of Your Life Being Hitler!

Okay, rant over. Sorry to spoil everyone's day.

This, in my opinion, is extremely accurate... but I have to ask, you ok bro?

I think I need a hug.

On the bright side, I'm neck-deep in Subnautica now and it's friggin' awesome.

[King Malta]

Copped Crusader Kings 3 on release, absolutely sensational game.

I've always liked strategy games, in particular medieval period based ones, but always found that I stuck to campaign maps and the diplomacy whilst just letting the CPU decide the battles. CK3 is basically all about the characters, the intrigue, the diplomacy and less about spending 40 minutes on large open scale battles.

Highly recommended for anybody that likes Grand Strategy and RPGs.

[LibertyPrime]

Copped Crusader Kings 3 on release, absolutely sensational game.

I've always liked strategy games, in particular medieval period based ones, but always found that I stuck to campaign maps and the diplomacy whilst just letting the CPU decide the battles. CK3 is basically all about the characters, the intrigue, the diplomacy and less about spending 40 minutes on large open scale battles.

Highly recommended for anybody that likes Grand Strategy and RPGs.

Next on my list for sure. I've just got too many good games and no time to play them.

[shangrila]

Copped Crusader Kings 3 on release, absolutely sensational game.

I've always liked strategy games, in particular medieval period based ones, but always found that I stuck to campaign maps and the diplomacy whilst just letting the CPU decide the battles. CK3 is basically all about the characters, the intrigue, the diplomacy and less about spending 40 minutes on large open scale battles.

Highly recommended for anybody that likes Grand Strategy and RPGs.

I definitely want to give it a go.

I tried CK2 but couldn't get into it. I don't think it was the game per se but like all Paradox games (Europa and Stellaris as well) you hit a point after all the DLCs and updates that the tutorials aren't as relevant and you're kind of flying blind. It sucks. But that shouldn't be a problem with a brand new one....right?