It has been years since Naughty Dog dropped The Last of Us Part II on an unsuspecting public, and honestly, the gaming world still hasn't quite moved on. Some people loved it. Some people... well, they definitely didn't. But you can't deny that it changed the way we think about sequels. Usually, a part two is just "more of the same but bigger." This wasn't that. It was a sledgehammer to the face of expectations.
If you played the first game, you remember the ending. Joel lied. Ellie knew—or at least suspected. That one choice set the stage for a story that is basically a 30-hour panic attack. It’s a game about consequences. Real, messy, ugly consequences that don't care about your feelings or your favorite characters.
The Bold Risk of The Last of Us Part II
Most studios play it safe. They give the fans exactly what they want because that's how you sell 10 million copies without a PR headache. Neil Druckmann and the team at Naughty Dog went the opposite direction. They took the most beloved father figure in gaming and used him as a catalyst for a story about the cycle of violence.
Killing Joel Miller within the first few hours wasn't just a "twist." It was a declaration of intent. The game forced you to feel the same blinding, irrational rage that Ellie felt. You wanted blood. You wanted to hunt down Abby Anderson and make her pay. And then, right when you think you’re about to get that satisfaction, the game flips the script.
Suddenly, you are Abby.
This is where a lot of players checked out, and frankly, I get it. It’s uncomfortable. It’s a massive "ask" of the player's empathy. But that’s the brilliance of The Last of Us Part II. It forces you to live through the perspective of the person you’ve spent ten hours hating. You realize she isn't a monster; she’s just the protagonist of her own, equally tragic story. Her father was the surgeon Joel killed at the end of the first game. To her, Joel was the villain.
Perspective is everything.
Technical Mastery That Still Holds Up
Look at the way Ellie moves. The "motion matching" technology Naughty Dog used makes the animation feel liquid. It’s not just about hitting a button and seeing a punch; it’s about the way her weight shifts, the way her breathing hitches when she’s hiding under a car, and the terrifyingly realistic way enemies call out to each other by name.
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When you kill an enemy in most games, they’re just "Guard A." In this game, someone might scream, "No! Omar!" It makes every encounter feel heavy. You aren't just clearing a room; you're ending lives in a world that feels lived-in and desperate.
The level design also stepped up. Seattle is huge. It’s overgrown, flooded, and claustrophobic all at once. The "Hillcrest" sequence is widely considered a masterpiece of level design because it perfectly balances stealth, verticality, and raw tension. You feel hunted.
Combat, Stealth, and the "Glass" Mechanic
The gameplay loop in The Last of Us Part II is a refined version of the original, but with way more options. You can crawl prone in tall grass, which sounds like a small addition, but it completely changes how you approach a fight. You can disappear. You can become a ghost.
The "Dina" AI is also significantly better than the companion AI in the first game. She actually helps. She doesn't just stand in the way or break your immersion by running in front of enemies who magically can't see her.
- The Dodge Button: This changed everything. Melee combat became a dance of timing rather than just button mashing.
- Weapon Upgrades: The workbenches are incredibly tactile. Seeing Ellie actually take apart a bolt-action rifle and polish the parts makes the progression feel grounded.
- The Dogs: Dealing with the WLF (Washington Liberation Front) tracking dogs is stressful. You have to keep moving. You can't just camp in one spot.
Why the Backlash Happened
We have to talk about the "discourse." When the leaks happened before the game launched, the internet exploded. People saw context-less clips and decided the game was "woke" or "anti-fan."
The truth is more complex. The Last of Us Part II is a dark, depressing, and often nihilistic look at what happens when you let trauma drive your life. It doesn't offer easy answers. It doesn't give you a "good" ending where everyone hugs and the world is saved.
Some critics, like those at Polygon or Kotaku, pointed out the grueling nature of the "crunch" culture at Naughty Dog during development. This is a real issue. The game’s perfection came at a high human cost. It’s worth acknowledging that the hyper-realism we see on screen was built through thousands of hours of overtime.
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Then there’s the ludonarrative dissonance. That’s a fancy way of saying "the story says killing is bad, but the gameplay makes killing fun." Ellie laments the violence in cutscenes, but in gameplay, she’s a killing machine. It’s a valid criticism, though I’d argue the game wants you to feel that friction. It want's you to feel exhausted by the end.
The Impact of the HBO Series
With the success of the HBO show, a whole new audience is discovering this story. Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal brought a different energy to the characters, but the DNA remains the same. The show’s second season is tackling the events of Part II, and it’ll be fascinating to see how a TV audience reacts to the Abby/Ellie split.
TV viewers are used to "prestige drama" where main characters die—think Game of Thrones. Gamers, however, are used to being the hero. When the hero is taken away, or when the hero does something unforgivable, the reaction is visceral.
Sound Design and Accessibility
One thing that doesn't get talked about enough is the accessibility suite. Naughty Dog set a new industry standard here. There are over 60 settings. You can play this game if you are legally blind. You can play it if you have motor function challenges.
The sound design, led by Gustavo Santaolalla’s haunting banjo and guitar tracks, is supplemented by incredible foley work. The "click" of a Clicker, the rustle of leaves, the distant boom of a Seraphite whistle—it creates an atmosphere that is genuinely suffocating.
If you’re returning to the game on the PS5 "Remastered" version, the haptic feedback on the DualSense controller adds another layer. You feel the tension of the bowstring. You feel the rain.
Actionable Insights for Players
If you’re jumping into The Last of Us Part II for the first time, or if you’re planning a grounded run, keep these things in mind:
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Explore everything. This isn't just for loot. The best world-building is in the notes left behind by people who didn't survive. The story of Boris in Hillcrest is a whole mini-tragedy you could miss if you just rush the objectives.
Don't hoard your resources. On higher difficulties, the game "rolls" loot based on what you have. If you’re full on health kits, you won't find alcohol or rags. Use your stuff. Craft that Molotov.
Master the prone-to-crouch transition. You can dive into a prone position to hide instantly. It saves lives when a sniper has a bead on you.
Give Abby a chance. Try to play her half of the game with an open mind. Her combat style is different—she’s a brawler, more like Joel. Her levels, like "The Descent" and the "Hospital," are some of the most intense horror sequences in the entire franchise.
The game is a trial. It’s meant to be hard on your heart. By the time you get to that final fight on the beach in Santa Barbara, you shouldn't feel like a powerful warrior. You should feel tired. You should want it to end. That is exactly what Naughty Dog intended. It’s a rare piece of media that chooses to be "right" rather than "likable."
To truly appreciate the depth of the narrative, pay close attention to the parallel structures between Ellie’s three days in Seattle and Abby’s three days. They mirror each other in ways that highlight how both women are losing their humanity for the exact same reasons. Ellie’s descent is marked by her losing her friends and her sense of self, while Abby’s journey is actually one of redemption as she tries to save Lev and Yara. It’s a brilliant, if painful, subversion of the typical revenge tale.