Revenge is a fool’s errand

VIDEO GAME REVIEW
The Last of Us Part II
Sony PlayStation 4

Not surprisingly, The Last of Us Part II dominated gaming news since the leaks spread on the internet in late April. Anticipation, already eager to begin with given the proven value of the source material, was further fueled by third-hand information. On the flipside, not a few quarters found cause to draw thoroughly unfair conclusions; after all, the game had yet to hit retail shelves, and any discussions on particulars of that title, or argued lack thereof, bordered on speculation. If there was any benefit to all the talk, though, it was that Sony wound up committing to a release date. Earlier in the month of the leaks, it was postponed indefinitely due to the novel coronavirus pandemic‘s effects on international distribution.

And so The Last of Us Part II officially rolled out on June 19 — with optimism, to be sure, as the culmination of six years of hard work by director Neil Druckmann and the same Naughty Dog team that served up its multi-awarded predecessor on the PlayStation 3 in 2013. The good news is that the developer’s latest work doesn’t just show its pedigree; it betters what had hitherto been the California-based company’s magnum opus. Forget about the fears on the basis of the leaks. It has everything that enabled The Last of Us to stand out — everything and more.

In The Last of Us Part II, players pick up the story through the eyes of Ellie five years from where The Last of Us left off. The central character is now 19 years old and living in a settlement in Jackson County, Wyoming, where Joel’s brother Tommy also lives. Surrounded by peers in a loving community, life is good for her — at least under the new normal in post-apocalyptic United States. She has settled in and seems to be enjoying herself. Unfortunately, her happiness doesn’t last. Shortly into the story, someone close to her is tortured and killed. Brimming with rage at the turn of events, she is moved to travel the countryside and avenge the brutal death by any means necessary. Using stealth, trickery, her trusty knife, and her guns, she carves a path through bandits, soldiers, and the Infected, all in an effort to right the wrongs she has suffered.

In terms of gameplay, The Last of Us Part II is pretty much like The Last of Us, albeit packed in a much prettier package. This means the same old routines of exploring ruined buildings and cities, scavenging for supplies, crafting equipment and upgrades, and battling hordes of humans, infected or otherwise. This means that large parts of gameplay are devoted to stealth sequences, requiring players to duck behind cover and eliminate enemies wisely and quietly. In these stealth sections, players are expected to do whatever they can to sneak, shoot, or stab their way through preset paths. While these stealth sequences feel less rigorous compared to modern stealth games like, say, Metal Gear, there’s still a surprising amount of freedom available while skulking about in the shadows. Paths tend to be linear, but these often branch out in multiple directions, giving players the ability to flank enemies or even avoid them. Sound and sight play key roles, and knowing when to make noise and when to stay out of sight and out of mind can mean the difference between life and death.

For the impatient or the clumsy, however, going loud is always an option, and it’s in this mode that the gameplay of The Last of Us Part II veers from its older sibling. These changes may be subtle, even very subtle, but those who’ve played The Last of Us will be able to note the improvements. For one, animations look and feel much smoother. Enemies react to damage realistically, thus providing no small measure of satisfaction when taking down foes with gunfire. Additionally, melee combat now proves much more fluid with the addition of a dodge button. It’s not akin to Resident Evil 3’s invulnerable dodge; that said, it gives players the opportunity to go toe to toe with several melee enemies and take them down without absorbing much damage.

Gunplay in The Last of Us Part II also winds up much tighter. Make no mistake: The lack of ammunition is still a problem. However, the times players are forced to use their precious ammo leads to some form of catharsis. The variety of weapons isn’t very large, but the overall arsenal does give enough options to face down enemies, whether those affected by the mutated Cordyceps fungus or more crafty human opponents. Unlike in The Last of Us, there’s never a helpless foreboding of inevitable death — not when shotguns, explosives, arrows, and Molotov cocktails are all within reach.

Choice becomes absent, though, in how the story of The Last of Us II plays out. Just like in The Last of Us, the narrative is pretty much set in stone, and players become unwilling spectators thrown into the middle of it. This isn’t bad per se; even if the first half of the game is a fairly standard revenge story, major parts are still able to shine. More critical quarters may be promoted to boil it down to something as simple as Ellie going out, Ellie killing people, and Ellie trying to track down her nemesis, but there can be no doubting the impact of the quieter moments of the first half. They’re very, very good, with the all-too-infrequent guitar segments, in particular, serving as highly effective counter-programming to the bouts of gunplay, stealth, and murder.

Where the plotline of The Last of Us II purposely becomes divisive is in its second half: Even as Ellie focuses on revenge, much effort is given to show the antagonist’s brighter side. There’s a clear focus on how “normal” and vulnerable the latter truly is. Indeed, a large part of the narrative focuses on humanizing past foes; for instance, non-playable characters Ellie has slaughtered make reappearances as friends and comrades. Clearly, the intent is to show that there’s more to digest than just Ellie’s side of the story. And as complicatedly brave as the decision to layer the dramatis personae may be, it works.

Notably, significant parts of the second half of The Last of Us II show the characters in unguarded moments. Players then find cause to empathize with their troubles; people treated as stepping stones to Ellie’s quest for revenge in the first half come alive and are given more nuance and depth in the second. Again, hints of the unique design choice abound, among them the frequent notes on the families and friends of enemies gunned down. There is a pervasive emphasis on forgiveness, however difficult — including forgiveness of self; for example, players are forced to kill a dog at one point, only to encounter it later as a friend.

In this regard, the wave of mixed emotions that The Last of Us Part II engenders is prompted. Should they be excited when they’re so close to vengeance? Should they then be ashamed that they’ve been roped in on a mission that’s ultimately pointless and self-destructive? When all is said and done, whether the remorse is earned — or even felt — depends on how players view the conscious decisions they made en route. From start to finish, the game shows the painstaking work Naughty Dog has done to keep players immersed and invested heavily in complicated characters. Through lifelike animations and silky-smooth gameplay elements, they’re then obliged to question why they enjoyed the bits and pieces of violence and gore.

Granted, it’s easy to see what type of feeling The Last of Us Part II is going for; revenge is a fool’s errand, and the story clearly has a deeper emphasis on self-reflection, on forcing the players to think about the lasting consequences of their actions. And for those who believe in Naughty Dog’s objective, it works; specific segments, especially in the second half, invoke introspection and deep thought — with the intent to turn what should be joy at finally reaching the final goal into something else, and at the very least an acknowledgment that maybe not everything done along the way was right.

Critics, and there are myriad, will claim with reason that the lack of choice in The Last of Us Part II spoils its intentions. Because there is no alternative but to proceed onward through thick and thin, the morals it wants to espouse fail, they argue. This works in other games, as being good and bad were clear-cut decisions that players were able to take; Dishonored, for instance, offered just rewards for the harder, non-lethal path compared to the grimmer, darker ending awaiting the easier, more lethal approach. In a game like that, such self-reflection would work as there was an active choice in the matter.

In any case, The Last of Us Part II can proudly say it achieved what it set out to do. It’s certainly a much-improved version of The Last of Us; at the basest level, the improvements to the combat mechanics, the extremely high quality of its action setpieces, and the adrenaline rush fights induce are all worth the effort. And, yes, it succeeds in its efforts to prod and provoke, and to get players to remember it long after they’ve finished it. The efficacy of the lingering taste, though, depends on how much the story hits home. In this light, those who enjoyed the original game should get a leg up. If nothing else, they’ll be able to approach the sequel’s story with an open mind.

All told, The Last of Us Part II stands as a testament to Naughty Dog’s commitment to the franchise. A lot of love and effort was clearly put into it, and its quality permeates every nook and cranny of its production. Granted, it can be hard to appreciate at times; for all its polish and seamless transitions from story to gameplay, and vice versa, it’s a decidedly acquired taste. Then again, Druckmann himself said it’s not meant to be fun. Perhaps it’s just meant to be, period. Highly recommended.

THE GOOD

• Superb gameplay elements, with a healthy mix of action, stealth, and peace and quiet

• Solid gunplay and melee combat, with decent stealth mechanics to give players good variety

• Good selection of guns, upgrades, and difficulty and accessibility options, which is to say most anyone can play the game in any number of ways

THE BAD

• Linear story with linear stage design

• Very gritty and serious plot

• Controversial ending

RATING: 9.5/10

POSTSCRIPT: CrossCode makes no bones about its conceit. In fact, it trumpets its willingness to straddle seemingly incongruous situations. As a single-player role-playing game set within a massive multiplayer online RPG, it has players control Lea, an avatar who has lost both her memory and her voice, in an effort to solve the mysteries behind the development. And, what’s more, she gets to mingle in the physical world as well. Thus, two stories in two settings get intertwined on the way to the denouement.

Significantly, CrossCode makes Lea’s progress within the CrossWorlds MMORPG run just about like any other player’s character in real life. She’s a Spheromancer with the capacity to launch both ranged and close-quarter attacks during inevitable combat phases. There’s likewise a large portion of interaction with other characters, including with some slated to join in exploration, as well as a fair amount of crafting and farming in order to raise attributes to the levels required to take the measure of opponents in battle. Parenthetically, skill trees are extensive and can open up more opportunities, particularly chain attacks, in this regard.

Simply put, CrossCode gives off a decidedly MMORPG vibe without players actually needing to go online. And, creditably, it proves to be just as deep and as populated, not to mention as aesthetically and aurally pleasing as the best ones in the industry; the 16-bit art style complements the throwback music, adding to the lure and allure of the gameplay. If there are any negatives, they’re in the frame rate drops when the screen gets busy, and in the audio glitches that occasionally crop up.

On the whole, though, CrossCode proves to be worth its $19.99 price tag as a well-made port of the crowdfunded release on the personal computer. With progressively challenging puzzles through seven themed dungeons, it’s a satisfying 50-hour romp that gives off a Zelda-esque vibe in an MMORPG environment. Sweet.

THE GOOD:

• Solid gameplay

• Balanced and fair combat mechanics

• Visually and aurally pleasing

THE BAD:

• Populated screens lead to frame drops

• Audio glitches evident on occasion

• Side quests can be repetitive

• Grinding required

RATING: 8.5/10

THE LAST WORD: The much-awaited NBA 2K21 has three covers slated for its release. All-Star Damian Lillard will be on copies for current-generation platforms, while presumptive Rookie of the Year Zion Williamson will grace offerings for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Meanwhile, the Mamba Forever Edition, available for all systems, will feature — who else? — hoops legend Kobe Bryant. The versions will retail for P3,190, P3,690, and P5,390, respectively.

The cover athletes were chosen for a reason. As explained by Alfie Brody, vice-president of Global Marketing at NBA 2K, Lillard, Williamson, and Bryant “represent different eras of the game of basketball.” Significantly, the next-generation version is being built from the ground up to take advantage of cutting-edge architecture. Moreover, the overlap of hardware generations will be addressed through the implementation of measures allowing for cross-progression and shared virtual credits within the same console family. Parenthetically, the Mamba Forever Edition provides owners with an extra copy of the game on the other generation within the same console family.

NBA 2K21 be available worldwide on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Google Stadia on Sept. 4. It will likewise be a launch title for the PS5 and Xbox Series X this coming holiday season. The franchise has hit the top of video game simulation charts with every iteration in the last 10 years, and it figures to do the same this year.