• Light/Dark

Prediction: The Last of Us Part 2 Will Underwhelm

Status
Not open for further replies.
janusff

janusff

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,295
Austin, TX
in regards to critical acclaim, it'll be hard to top the first one, which is considered one of the best game of all time. i think fans of the first will probably dig part 2, regardless of the scale of greatness. (whether it being really great or just kinda great. i really don't see this game being out right bad or mediocre tbh)
 
Alek

Alek

Games User Researcher
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
8,564
Athrum said:
Naughty dog already confirmed that the MP part will come at a later date.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Confirmed? All I saw was that they said they would have more news to share for fans of factions at a later date. That's far from confirmed, if that's what you're referring to.
 
MickZan

MickZan

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,404
Anthony Hopkins said:
I think it will be a quality game with high 90+ scores.
But I don't think the animations and melee combat encounters will match what we saw in that early gameplay demo.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I have faith. I remember when they showed part 1 at E3 and people were saying the same thing. Ended up being pretty much exactly what they showed. I don't t hink ND has ever shown something and downgraded it afterwards.
 
skipgo

skipgo

Member
Dec 28, 2018
2,568
Dunno if it will underwhelm, but all the trailers I saw so far were kinda off-putting.
 
DavidDesu

DavidDesu

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
5,718
Glasgow, Scotland
My expectations are high but I still think they will pull off something utterly incredible and exceed them. I cannot wait to delve into this world and these characters again.
 
Dever

Dever

Member
Dec 25, 2019
5,397
Yeah Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy were kind of underwhelming. But still, I'm expecting a good story with incredible performances and tight stealth action gameplay. I'm also, however, expecting to simply push up on the stick while characters talk to each other for much of the game.

mindsale said:
The Last of Us Part II will also rely on a "Cult of Women" in which Ellie remains in pursuit of or pursued by. While the exact details surrounding this are as of now unknown, Marlene has already voiced the implausibility and difficulty for female survivors in the post-apocalyptic landscape, and the game reinforced this with commentary on the sparse female representation among both Fireflies and scavengers (Hunters). The game will need deft direction to undo its prequel's own commentary in service of verisimilitude though there is also a real possibility that its enemy variety is largely female and the game takes flak for its jarring violence against women. Either way, it's a loaded proposition.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Was this confirmed? I thought the leader seemed like a woman, but has it been confirmed the cult is specifically focused on gender in some way? That sounds a bit odd.
 
OP
OP
mindsale

mindsale

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,911
MickZan said:
I have faith. I remember when they showed part 1 at E3 and people were saying the same thing. Ended up being pretty much exactly what they showed. I don't t hink ND has ever shown something and downgraded it afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I have faith in the gameplay, with zero hesitation. I believe that should we see a downgrade it will be more than rectified in a future remaster. It's the narrative about which I have my doubts.
 
Dr Pears

Dr Pears

Member
Sep 9, 2018
2,708
It already looks extremely polished before the delay. They really care about making this the best game it could be. I'm cautiously optimistic it will deliver.
 
Betty

Betty

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,604
The gameplay will be improved but we'll have to wait and see on the story.
 
Hellshy

Hellshy

Member
Nov 5, 2017
1,179
mindsale said:
With all this uncertainty and my wavering faith in present Naughty Dog to not retcon motivations and story arcs that are perfectly functional as-is.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

What did they retcon?
Drakes motivations always seemed to be more then thievery and riches to me from the get go. I dont remember them revealing anything bee that contradicted the past.
 
SJRB

SJRB

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
4,861
It's borderline impossible to live up to inreasonable levels of hype.
 
Aurongel

Aurongel

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
7,065
You're not wrong about the multiplayer, it sucks that they're doing away with it but I actually expect them to release a standalone multiplayer product based on TLoU-II at some point in the near future. Kind of like what Lost Legacy was to UC4.

I actually think the game will be received favorably but if my theories of Druckmann misdirection are correct then I think that aspect of the plot will draw a TON of ire from fans of the first game. At the end of the day though, Naughty Dog always does right by their characters and I don't really see them suddenly dropping the ball now.
 
Badcoo

Badcoo

Member
May 9, 2018
1,630
I don't think it's fair to compare UC with TLoU. UC primarily a character driven, where the conflict mostly comes from Drakes need to find whatever ancient. The crux of TLoU conflict is challenged by it's environment, the zombie outbreak/ infestation.

TLoU was amazing and I wouldn't toot on part 2 until I've played it.
 
OP
OP
mindsale

mindsale

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,911
Hellshy said:
What did they retcon?
His motivations always seemed to be more then thievery and riches to me from the get go. I dont remember them revealing anything bee that contradicted the past.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

They retconned the existence of Nate's brother, profession of his mother, and source of literally all of his motivations for the prior three main games. It was like that cheesy moment in the last Bond where Blofeld reveals he'd orchestrated all of the prior villains like some unearned Moriarty.
 
More_Badass

More_Badass

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,707
The Last of Us was nothing original, every single moment and character pulled heavily from its genre.

What made TLOU fantastic was its execution, writing and performances, storytelling through gameplay, and everything I've seen of Part 2 has shown that that ND is on the top of their game once again. Personally I expect Part 2 to be better, in the same way that Uncharted 2 was better than 1. They already have the incredible foundation and amazing characters, a generation's worth of refining their tech, a very specific theme to laser-focus the games and storytelling around, and a wealth of character conflict and fallout to explore without the need for introductory pacing
 
Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,555
UK
Chronospherics said:
I think that The Last of Us Part 2 will have multiplayer, just not attached to the game. If that makes sense?

Still holding out for Naughty Dog's The Last of Us free to play battle royale. It would be such a good fit, even the name, The Last of Us, screams battle royale. At the end, it could say YOU ARE THE LAST OF US or something dumb.

So, while I'm disappointed that it's missing multiplayer, I'm still hopeful ND will come through on that front.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Damn, a TLOU BR game would be amazing!

I absolutely loved the online for the first game on PS3 and since then have put in at least 2,000 hours into Fortnite so the thought of mixing the two is perfect.

Also LOL at that win text, would be perfect :D
 
SayWord

SayWord

Banned
Dec 4, 2019
250
Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy were amazing games, highly doubt this game will disappoint fans of 3rd person narrative action adventure games.
 
monmagman

monmagman

Member
Dec 6, 2018
4,126
England,UK
Everything is hyped up to such a ludicrous degree these days(thanks internet)that it's not hard for something to come out and not live up to it.Nothing I've seen from Naughty Dog since the release of the first game suggests it won't be anything less than a great game.....people can debate if it's as good as the first as much as they want,I'm really not bothered.
 
Hellshy

Hellshy

Member
Nov 5, 2017
1,179
mindsale said:
They retconned the existence of Nate's brother, profession of his mother, and source of literally all of his motivations for the prior three main games. It was like that cheesy moment in the last Bond where Blofeld reveals he'd orchestrated all of the prior villains like some unearned Moriarty.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

As far as I'm aware we only knew that he was a orphan which he still is but has a brother. We didnt get a whole lot of time with Drake as a kid before 4 to assume much of anything about his past other then speculation. I honestly dont remember if there was an assumption or if naughty dog ever implied what drakes mom did prior to 4. I also dont know how his motivations exactly changed but I could just not remember.
 
OP
OP
mindsale

mindsale

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,911
Kamaros said:
yeah heavy loss but the co directors of The Lost Legacy filled up the role, and in my opinion they did the best Uncharted with a fraction of the normal ND budget and time :)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'd agree with you about its turnaround, but I think that was less planned as a stand-alone title and more "oh shit this DLC mini campaign is getting big."
 
EatChildren

EatChildren

Wonder from Down Under
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,096
If it's anything like Uncharted 4 I'll probably be painfully bored with a long winded pacing that desperately needs an editor and spend two - three years trying to get through it. I enjoy Naughty Dog's work well enough generally (I really like The Last of Us, even if I don't buy into the GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME thing), but Uncharted 4 proved to me that while the moment-to-moment dialogue and characterisation is in very capable hands the structure of a game as a whole is not necessarily as certain. It wastes so much time and meanders to no benefit to the narrative or cast, and has way too many stretches of brain dead gameplay.

I don't love The Last of Us like it's the return of the messiah or anything, but apart from Summer dragging on too long it's still a good, tight romp from start to finish. It knows its characters, its pacing, and how to develop them well. Give me more of that and I'm good. Give me Uncharted 4: Ellie's Boogaloo and I'll let you know what I think in 2023 when I finally fucking finish it.
 
OP
OP
mindsale

mindsale

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,911
Hellshy said:
As far as I'm aware we only knew that he was a orphan which he still is but has a brother. We didnt get a whole lot of time with Drake as a kid before 4 to assume much of anything about his past other then speculation. I honestly dont remember if there was an assumption or if naughty dog ever implied what drakes mom did prior to 4. I also dont know how his motivations exactly changed but I could just not remember.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

When Nate is held hostage by Katherine Marlowe at a table in... Libya? I can't recall where - she slides him a dossier of his upbringing which mentions his mother's "illness" (depression? schizophrenia?) and her suicide.

In 4 we learn that literally all three of his prior adventures were following his famous antiquarian mother's research and maps. It completely strips Nate of his talent and drive.
 
PeskyToaster

PeskyToaster

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,336
Chronospherics said:
I think that The Last of Us Part 2 will have multiplayer, just not attached to the game. If that makes sense?

Still holding out for Naughty Dog's The Last of Us free to play battle royale. It would be such a good fit, even the name, The Last of Us, screams battle royale. At the end, it could say YOU ARE THE LAST OF US or something dumb.

So, while I'm disappointed that it's missing multiplayer, I'm still hopeful ND will come through on that front.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

God that would be a dream game right there. The theme and gameplay of TLoU MP is perfectly suited to a battle royale. The only thing is how to do "the drop" thematically. I wonder if they would even do something like you go out and scavenge them come back to your camp like Tarkov. That was essentially how the multiplayer was framed in TLoU 1 but maybe flesh that out more. Obviously people here slept on the multiplayer else they wouldn't dare question the gameplay chops of the TLoU.
 
Evolved1

Evolved1

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,619
Honestly I feel like everything they've shown of Part II has been an improvement. Like, by a large margin. And TLoU is my favorite game of all time and Factions is my most played videogame thing ever. Literally 1000's of hours across PS3/4.
 

Deleted member 35653

User requested account closure
Banned
Dec 8, 2017
744
You seem much more informed than me, I didn't knew they were partially ditching Coman McCarthy in favor to Neil Druckmann's writing.
The only valid criticism I can make to your post regards multiplayer, it's true it was a success in the first game but it was more of a surprise than anything else, people went with 0 expectation like "oh well the single player was great, let's check out this multiplayer", a fine addition as we discovered but in no way a major selling point of the game.
 
Thera

Thera

Banned
Feb 28, 2019
12,876
France
mindsale said:
What are your thoughts for the title? Will it reach the same heights as the first game or exceed them?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't think it will reach the same heights mostly because I expected "nothing" and the game took me off guard. Like GTA III at his time, RDR or MGS.
So I don't expect part II to reach the same high, I grow old and I know how to manage my hype now.

But it is mostly about the story. From what I saw of gameplay presentation, a lot of aspects seem to have improved. I mostly avoid combat in part I but I think it will be very difficult to do in part II.
 
Nakadai

Nakadai

Member
Jan 10, 2018
509
I sadly agree. I'd love for the game to be as good as the Last of Us, but I doubt that within narrative or gameplay, it will succeed in that lofty quest.
Also the loss of Bruce Straley is massive.
I'm afraid it will have weaker plot and characterization (Ellie is much less interesting than Joel as a protagonist as well), while the great combat is cut out of the game to make room for more uncompelling walk and talk (per Uncharted 4 and Left Behind).
 
Dragon1893

Dragon1893

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,499
I guess that depends on your expectations, which in the case of many people will be unfairly high.
 
Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Banned
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
MickZan said:
I have faith. I remember when they showed part 1 at E3 and people were saying the same thing. Ended up being pretty much exactly what they showed. I don't t hink ND has ever shown something and downgraded it afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The more recent gameplay is a pointless comparison because its a different time of day and different characters, none of the animations in the most recent gameplay matched the detail and complexity of the bald baddie in the first gameplay.
But it's just part of the game making process that things will change, some things turn out better some things turn out worse.
 
papercan

papercan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
800
After uncharted 4 i have incredibly low expectations so i doubt it will underwhelm me.
 

Deleted member 18161

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,805
It will be a critical darling 98MC but a lot of people on enthusiast forums will not enjoy it much like RDR2.

It will sell 30 million just like RDR2.
 
Extra Sauce

Extra Sauce

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,011
I think there's a decent chance it will disappoint film/literature buffs for the reasons OP mentioned but most gamers will lap it up and call it a masterpiece regardless of how good the narrative turns out.

I for one hope it won't disappoint but sequels to perfectly told stories rarely meet the same standard of quality. we'll see.
 
Hellshy

Hellshy

Member
Nov 5, 2017
1,179
mindsale said:
When Nate is held hostage by Katherine Marlowe at a table in... Libya? I can't recall where - she slides him a dossier of his upbringing which mentions his mother's "illness" (depression? schizophrenia?) and her suicide.

In 4 we learn that literally all three of his prior adventures were following his famous antiquarian mother's research and maps. It completely strips Nate of his talent and drive.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'll have to pay closer attention to that scene if I play again. There could be more there that contradicts her background but an "illness" could happen to anyone including a prominent antiquarian.

As for Nates talents we will just have to agree to disagree on that one since I think it's pretty clear in all 4 games that his talents are on full display. Yes 4 tells you that he is using his mother's research as a jumping off point but we literally solve puzzles and discover things as drake . I never once felt like I was just following an instructional guide created by his mother.
 
Sarcastico

Sarcastico

Member
Oct 27, 2017
774
I'm on the other side of the fence. I found the gameplay of the first to be painfully boring, and the story was meh. However, I see a lot of promise with the sequel.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.