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“The Last of Us Part II” is the latest game from multi award winning game developer Naughty Dog. The game is a sequel to the hugely successful “The Last of Us”

As a huge fan of the first game, I was one of the many people who stayed up past midnight on the launch of the game to fully immerse myself in the experience. I want to share what *I* thought of the game and be as honest and non biased as possible.

The game takes place five years after the events of its predecessor, showing an adult Ellie as she settles to life in Jackson, Wyoming. While things appear more “normal” and calm as Ellie develops new relationships and becomes a more important member of the community. All the tranquility is immediately changed after a brutal and unforgivable crime is committed in Jackson, leading Ellie on a journey of revenge to find those responsible.

Straight of the bat I found the crime unbelievably devastating, the strangest thing to me was that I didn’t cry or feel sad. It was pure anger, I could not comprehend the violence and brutality of the act. To be a witness of it and not be able to do anything was just heartbreaking. Something I am continually seeing from reviewers is that they don’t like how violent and ruthless Ellie is in the game but I have to agree with her actions, after literally being front row while the act was taking place, I felt her pain, witnessed her anger and truly wanted those who took part in the crime to pay.

Naughty Dog did an amazing job in allowing myself to feel all the emotions Ellie did along her journey to Seattle. The story incapsulates the relationship between her and Joel perfectly, while showing off new relationships with new friend Jesse and love interest Dina. While the story is solely about hate, there are some beautiful moments between the characters that brings a perfect amount of humanity to a brutal story.

Ashely Johnson as Ellie did an incredible job continuing her role, where in the first game, Ellie had a spark of innocence in her that perfectly showed the amount of hope she had in this now broken world, in Part 2 she is lost, broken and has a lost a lot of trust within the world and with people, even those she is closest to. Troy Baker is back as Joel and although he isn’t in the game as much as I personally wanted him to be, he steals the show in every scene he’s in, as we continue to see him play the father role to Ellie and watch the rises and falls in their relationship as events from the first game are still suspicious to her. It’s not just Johnson and Baker who do a phenomenal job with their characters. Laura Bailey takes on the role of Abby, I can’t say too much about her or it would give away the story, but let’s just say she is on a revenge mission of her own, Bailey does an outstanding job bringing a fresh and new character to the sequel.

I loved seeing Jeffrey Pierce returning as Tommy, I adored his strong will and determination, you can tell how much he loves his family, blood or not. Tommy is a personal favourite character in this game and the way he guides Ellie in flashbacks and beyond is just a joy to behold. Dina, Played by Shannon Woodward, is a beautiful new addition to the game, her chemistry with Ellie is just gorgeous, she is truly the only person Ellie can trust and rely on to keep her strong during this incredibly difficult journey.

In terms of scenery & gameplay all I can say is “wow” the realism in the game is just surreal, from the light bouncing off the trees and bright, crisp areas of woodlands to the dark, rainy city of Seattle, every area you search and manoeuvre through is just absolutely stunning and should be explored inch by inch. There are moments in the game where you ride on horseback and it’s so refreshing to just stop, take in your surroundings and take a breathe before you continue the nitty gritty of the combat. Speaking of combat, the action is unbelievably fast paced, there were moments while playing where I didn’t think the enemies would stop coming, in all honesty I was awful at dodging attacks and stealth was really difficult with how smart the enemies are, the slightest movement and you are found, and DO NOT let the dogs sniff you out! That’s when I got the most panicked. The violence is unforgiving and brutal, hearing the screams and gasps of air from victims was hard to listen to, but as a player I knew there was a purpose to each attack, so I had no issues moving forward.

Overall I loved the game! Did I think it was better than the first game? In all honesty no, the sequel is gorgeous, masterfully crafted and written but I think the first game was something just so special and unique and I don’t think any game will top that experience I had playing (and replaying) I do believe the sequel is excellent and should be considered playing especially if you have finished the First game, don’t judge a game until you play it! I can’t wait to see what Naughty Dog comes up with next and if we will see Ellie again in future.