GRcade

Yes Ellie can be violent and vengeful - that's all well explored through the game - but we also see how that is fueled by grief, trauma and her environment. It's not just that we are presented with her suffering as an excuse, she is a more rounded character than that as we see her tender moments with other characters, caring as a mother, and especially those times we see her more as a child like at the museum. I think it's very callous to come away thinking she deserves everything she went through, I see it much more tragically than that. If anything the message should be that even if people do bad things they don't deserve bad things to happen to them in kind.

DaveDS wrote:I guess a redeeming quality would be that she was prepared to sacrifice her life to save humanity?

She was still a good person at that point

Just finished the game. I think I have a but of an issue with it. I don't actually think the game aspect was that fun. Just hiding and waiting for long periods of time got quite boring and repetitive. Got to a point with Abi where I was wondering if I could be bothered still playing. I'm a bit disappointed with the ending. Would have liked to have seen what happened to the other characters.

The plot and the what kept me going. Also it has some really great cinematic bits. I loved when you go out to the aquarium by boat and get knocked off. Or the way they deal with Abi's fear of heights. It was really well characterized as well I liked the way the characters talked to each other.

Two small hills for me to die on was that you kept eating food from before the whole breakout. Surely that stuff would be super moldy by now. Also why are a load of places still filled with useful stuff. You would have thought the gangs would have cleared it out.

Lex-Man wrote:I don't actually think the game aspect was that fun. Just hiding and waiting for long periods of time got quite boring and repetitive. Got to a point with Abi where I was wondering if I could be bothered still playing.

Did you try playing more aggressively? I felt like conserving ammo was much less of a consideration in this than the first game, and with Abby especially I felt like the game was encouraging me to get into combat. I stealthed a lot of it, don't get me wrong, but I also felt like the quick loading times were great for restarting encounters if I messed up which let me trial-and-error the stealth more freely, I wouldn't have characterised the gameplay as hiding and waiting.

Lex-Man wrote:Just finished the game. I think I have a but of an issue with it. I don't actually think the game aspect was that fun. Just hiding and waiting for long periods of time got quite boring and repetitive. Got to a point with Abi where I was wondering if I could be bothered still playing. I'm a bit disappointed with the ending. Would have liked to have seen what happened to the other characters.

.

You don't have to play like that at all, as Orange says. There are some vids on line that show aggressive game play, check them out.

Yeah, I mixed my style up between aggressive and stealth depending on how I fancied taking on an area. I enjoyed the variety. And the quick restarts!

I don't really think playing aggressively works for me, I just didn't really like the combat.

Halfway through this game and it is everything I could hope for. It's literally like playing a movie at times.

Incredible game. I wouldn't mind giving it another playthrough on PS5, but I think I will give it another year. Probably should play the remaster of the first game - I have not played it since launch.

I had been meaning to play this over Christmas, but never got round to it. Easter sounds like a good alternative!

Just completed this, absolutely incredible, it is just so immersive and engaging.
I feel like I prefer the 1st one probably due to impact but there is not much in it.

poshrule_uk wrote:Just completed this, absolutely incredible, it is just so immersive and engaging.
I feel like I prefer the 1st one probably due to impact but there is not much in it.

The story has a bigger impact in 1 (and ends when it should end!!) but the gameplay is better in the second.

Tomous wrote:

poshrule_uk wrote:Just completed this, absolutely incredible, it is just so immersive and engaging.
I feel like I prefer the 1st one probably due to impact but there is not much in it.

The story has a bigger impact in 1 (and ends when it should end!!) but the gameplay is better in the second.

I agree with that but for me these two games are more than game play which may sound weird it's like how they made me feel, they are more than just a game to me.
This is definitely one that will sit with me for a long time.

Whatever I play next I feel won't be as good.

I find it's really easy to get back into this, at least in the Seattle levels, sort of just want to continually explore the city. The linear exploration really works for me in its big enough and fun enough to entertain, without having an overhelming sense of scale that comes with sandbox games, which most games seem to try and emulate these days, which Naughty Dog thankfully don't.

poshrule_uk wrote:

Tomous wrote:

poshrule_uk wrote:Just completed this, absolutely incredible, it is just so immersive and engaging.
I feel like I prefer the 1st one probably due to impact but there is not much in it.

The story has a bigger impact in 1 (and ends when it should end!!) but the gameplay is better in the second.

I agree with that but for me these two games are more than game play which may sound weird it's like how they made me feel, they are more than just a game to me.
This is definitely one that will sit with me for a long time.

Whatever I play next I feel won't be as good.

Nice to hear how much youve enjoyed it.

I must play this again some day. I still feel it dragged in the last quarter, but it really was special.

Victor Mildew wrote:I must play this again some day. I still feel it dragged in the last quarter, but it really was special.

Just stop before playing before the "epilogue" for a better paced story and conclusion.

Fantastic charcoal artist at Comicon was selling prints and originals of his work across several pop fiction genres. This was one of them.
https://www.instagram.com/p/COLbiMXHFOQ ... MyMTA2M2Y=

Print was 30 quid. The original was a lot more.
Had to be done.

Check.out his stuff. Very talented guy.

https://instagram.com/simon_powell_illu ... MyMTA2M2Y=

I’ve gone back to this in the summer lull. Think this is maybe my third or 4th full playthrough if I make it all the way. I have permanent death on but have it set to light difficulty. Hopefully it’ll make me change up play styles more while still retaining some tension. I’ve just made it to Seattle Day 1.

Something I find striking already is that I can already feel some apathy with the ND formula of going room to room, walking the perimeter for pickups and clearing the odd enemy.

I gave up on hard modes and permadeath and have just switched to moderate. Have made it through to Abbie Day 2. It’s remarkable how well this plays. It’s also remarkable how boring the story is. This game introduces so many interesting elements and characters into the world but chooses to focus on exactly none of them.