The Last of Us II: An Unforgettable Experience
I have been playing video games since I was seven years old. It might be too early for my age and this is because of the environment I grew up in. I played and experience a lot of videogames since then and it’s all because of a relative.
I have an uncle close to my age, he had a PS2 back then and I would always play with him. This is how I started being into video games because of the influence of my uncle. It was also him who introduce The Last of Us to me when it first came out in 2013.
Needless to say, it became my favorite game but not until I played it myself back in 2019. I love both parts 1 and 2 of The Last of Us however, the second installment is a really unforgettable experience.
The Last of the Human Race
The Last of Us is set in the post-apocalyptic United States. Survivors Joel and Ellie are working together to survive their journey across what remains of the country. Finding a possible cure for the modern fungal plague that has nearly decimated the entire human race.
Ellie is immune and the key to developing the cure for the virus. Joel is a smuggler and the one that will take Ellie to her destination. As they fight their way to live against both humans and zombies they develop a father-daughter-like relationship. At the end of part 1 of the game, Joel couldn’t hand Ellie over to the doctors that will experiment on Ellie.
Joel lied to Ellie and that’s how part 2 of the game started, Joel lied about the doctors that will take Ellie. How he forcefully took Ellie away from them and that he was the reason why the cure never make it into existence. Unfortunately, Joel met his end at the hands of Abby, the child of the doctor that Joel killed. Abby is on the hunt for Joel for years as she is after revenge for what happened to his father. This started the series of revenge from both Ellie and Abby. After what Abby did, Ellie went across the country again to avenge Joel.
Game Experience
Part 2 of The Last of Us is a roller coaster of an experience and it entertained me so much during pandemic. Aside from the gorgeous graphics and music, the storyline of the game is downright complicated. The horror coming from the infected enemies made me anxious all throughout the game. I am on guard and will flinch at every sound I hear. The controls are much better than in the first game, especially on the weapons as well as the added features in stealth mode.
Part 2 delivers these moments of emotional whiplash over and over again. At first, I feel victorious and strong at first then later in the game everything is depressing. Naughty Dogs will let the players experience both sides of Ellie and Abby. Even if I don’t like Abby I have no choice but to play her character and at the end of the story, I’m sympathizing with her. The same goes for Ellie, I feel bad for both of them and realized that Joel had made a terrible mistake in the first game.
The characters are very complex, none of them is good or bad, they’re just trying to survive in their broken world. Their actions are unjustifiable yet I can understand where they are coming from. I’m playing the game while the game is playing with my feelings, it was surreal. The game gave me more information about Ellie’s opponents such as Abby and her friends. Painting them as fully realized humans who also deserved to live. That’s when I realized that the effort for revenge felt wasted. In the end, I was convinced that Ellie handled things the wrong way and that Abby regretted what she did to Joel. The game is brutal yet I want to experience playing it for the first time again.
“To the edge of the universe and back. Endure and survive.” – Ellie
