The Last of Us: Part II (2020)

Five years after the events of The Last of Us, Ellie embarks on another journey through a post-apocalyptic America on a mission of vengeance against a mysterious militia.

Directors:

Neil Druckmann, Kurt Margenau

Writers:

Halley Wegryn Gross (narrative lead) (as Halley Gross), Neil Druckmann

Stars:

Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, Derek Phillips

8 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Troy Baker	...	Joel
Ashley Johnson	...	Ellie
Derek Phillips	...	Jerry
Jeffrey Pierce	...	Tommy
Stephen A. Chang	...	Jesse (as Stephen Chang)
Ashley Scott	...	Maria
Robert Clotworthy	...	Seth
Shannon Woodward	...	Dina
Laura Bailey	...	Abby
Patrick Fugit	...	Owen
Alejandro Edda	...	Manny
Chelsea Tavares	...	Nora
Ashly Burch	...	Mel
Chase Austin	...	Jordan
Reuben Langdon	...	Mike

Storyline

Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.

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Plot Keywords:

zombie | lesbian kiss | bisexual woman | post apocalypse | lgbt | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ellie, in the reveal, was singing the song "Through the Valley" by Shawn James. Later, that song would become James' highest rated and most popular song on Spotify.

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Goofs

traversable areas in Seattle are accurate, though there are a few artistic liberties taken for the sake of gameplay and story and/or to keep things lawyer-friendly, such as removing building names (like the Polyclinic), adding buildings (the nonexistent Serevena Hotel; the ), changing appearances of building (the courthouse), and replacing buildings (the gas station doesn't exist there in real life).

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Quotes

Joel: [to Abby] Why don't you save whatever speech you've got rehearsed and get this over with?

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Alternate Versions

The sex scene is censored in the Japanese release.

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Connections

Referenced in Sardonicast: Do the Right Thing, The Last of Us Part II (2020)

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Soundtracks

Hydrogen
Written by Stephen Gilarde (as M.O.O.N.)
Performed by Stephen Gilarde (as M.O.O.N.)

User Reviews

Far From Perfect, Far From Garbage. A Flawed Masterpiece.

First thing's first, play the game for yourself. Buy the game, turn the lights off, and get cracking. In the end, this is a video game, and the only thing that matters is your own personal experience. You might hate it, you might love it, but it's your opinion, and nobody should be able to change that. I have played all the way through the game, and I took my sweet time. What follows are my honest opinions:

The Gameplay: Putting everything from the story to one side, this is stellar, top class gameplay. Combat is fluid, tense, and really exhausting in the best possible of ways. It takes everything we loved from the first game and only builds on it. You're able to approach encounters however you please, but playing smart (using stealth and your tools) feels immensely rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed scavenging for materials and planning ahead to decide how I could be the most effective predator in combat while utilising as little resources as possible. Whether you're up against human foes, or the infected (Including the absolutely terrifying new infected types!) it's up to you as the player to determine how you can be the most effective against each very different enemy type. This is a true post-apocalypse experience.

The Story: It's extremely difficult to talk about the narrative, for many reasons. First and foremost, spoilers. (I won't be spoiling anything!) Reading the leaks and not playing the game will not give you the faintest idea of the direction this story takes. It's a video game, and it must therefore be played in full, by you. In my opinion, the story is truly complex and multi layered. Sometimes you want to cry, sometimes you want to laugh, sometimes you want to throw your controller through the TV. There's a lot at work here, and my understanding is that most of these emotions you feel are intentional. There are points in the game where you will NOT be satisfied with the outcomes of events, and this is the way it's designed. This is a story about the cost of revenge, sins of the father, and the near impossible ability to swallow hatred. The game is a message, and only by playing through the entire story could I piece together -and comprehend- the message I was being taught.

But given this, I believed the story was far too long, with some really odd and dissatisfying decisions mixed in. There's a particular sequence of the game that has you go back in time to relive events from a new perspective. There are moments here that are crucial to the overall narrative arc and your understanding of the plot, but it turns into a 10+ hour deviation. I found myself wanting to get back to "the game" as if I was playing something completely different. The game lost it's flow for me here, and I began to feel disconnected from all of the characters on-screen. There are moments (that I can't go into) Where the game wanted me to perform actions that I simply did not want to perform. This did not feel intentional to me, all I was feeling in these particular moments was confusion and disappointment. But, the final hour brings it all back together, and finally concludes what the game is setting out to say in a really intelligent and hard hitting way. I am likely to carry these feelings for years to come!

In conclusion, I saw this as a heavily flawed masterpiece. It added upon things I loved about the first game, and it took away things I loved about the first game. It was an exhausting journey through just about every emotion a person can feel. It was incredibly intelligent, well constructed, and beautifully rendered. I often found myself admiring random, totally unimportant spots in the game world, considering just how much work had gone into creating such gorgeous environments. But it's far from perfect, the concept of "If you don't like it, you don't get it" is preposterous, nobody can tell you how to feel. You are perfectly in your right to dislike this game, but only once you have played it for yourself.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last of Us: Part II

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Naughty Dog

Technical Specs

Color:

Color