JUST GIVING A HEADS UP WARNING FOR THE BRUTAL GIFS AND PICTURES BELOW
There have been many games where violence has been pushed to the very edge. One of the most brutal games I've witnessed this gen was Mortal Kombat 10. This is the first game since Manhunt that made me cringe in so many ways, but the difference between MK10 and Manhunt is that I was intrigued to see more brutal fatalities from other characters while Manhunt was disturbing even with its PS2 visuals. The reason for wanting to see more was because Mortal Kombat's brutal fatalities were always entertaining to watch throughout the years.
At times it can be viewed as not taking itself seriously and taking a stylized approach with its violence. Mortal Kombat 10's graphics aren't jaw-dropping in a realistic way compared to other games this gen even if the fatalities made me cringe a lot with its over the top violence. Also, Mortal Kombat 10 has intro dialogues where characters go through funny interactions before a fight which is where most of the comedy comes from. This is one of the reason's why I don't take the game too seriously when it displays gruesome finishers.
They're other violent games that were brutal this gen such as 2016's Doom. Doom has some very brutal death animations, but just like Mortal Kombat 10, I view it as stylized and entertaining to the point where I want to see more.
Now, I'm not making this thread saying that The Last of Us 2 is more violent than Mortal Kombat 10, Doom, Dead Space, Wolfenstein, God of War 3, or any other crazy violent game out there. Far from it. It's the approach Naughty Dog has taken to make it look more real than those games and that has made people feel either uncomfortable or excited because of it. What makes the Last of Us 2 violence look real is the visuals, groundedness, details in the faces, and animations. To me, games and even movies that take the grounded approach with violence are obviously more real compared to supernatural, sci-fi, and other things. The visuals and character models for the Last of Us 2 is probably the best I've ever seen this gen. So, when you incorporate that with the grounded approach, it's almost like you're watching a real person go through pain or death. Not to mention the animations are easily the best this gen that I've seen so far. Also, the TLOU is a harsh and brutal world. It doesn't settle for comedy unless there's a quiet moment to lighten up the mood like Ellie's pun book, but you never get a sense that it's forced.
When looking at this woman here, you really feel like she's going through pain.
With this one, the detail and animation on the face really sell it that she's preparing to get hit with the hammer.
The wrinkles in the forhead, the grimace in the face, makes the facial expression look very real. Again, with the groundedness of The Last of Us 2 and incredible visuals, it feels believable.
Probably the most disturbing scene from The Last of Us 2 is the part when the Asian woman got her wings clipped.
The gunshot to the face displayed in the E3 2018 gameplay is without a doubt the most realistic I've ever seen in a video game. When the NPC gets shot in the face and you actually see the bullet hole and blood dripping down to the floor. Her eyes roll in the back of her head as she slowly closes them.
For this, the way the NPC on the right reacts to the explosion is so fluid. The gameplay animation is good enough to be viewed as a cutscene and the way the environment reacts behind him when he gets the machete to the head is really nice. It's like everything is moving which again makes it very believable.
This has to be without a doubt the best realistic looking NPC I've ever seen in a game thanks to the facial animation and movement.
The gameplay shot in full motion.
This is freaking cutscene quality happening in gameplay. I don't know how Naughty Dog is pulling this off. The realism is displayed here as you can see this man is fighting the pain determined to hit Ellie until the arrows were too much for him to handle as they stick to his body. The animation on his face as he reacts when Ellie fires an arrow at him is very realistic.
This is a shot from the very first teaser when Naughty Dog was showing off their updated engine in early development on the PS4.
When I first saw this shot, I didn't pay too much attention to it, but the more I looked at it the more I started to realize just how real it looks for a video game. The detail of this old rusty bathroom with blood everywhere. It looks like a real dead person.
What Naughty Dog is doing with its visuals, animations, and groundedness approach to violence in TLOU2, it looks and feels very real to me that no other game has ever done before. Again, I'm not saying it is more violent than other games that try to go over the top with its violence, but it is more real to me. The most violent game I've ever witness is Manhunt. Even with its PS2 graphics, the animations were really damn good and I think that sells the brutality of what it was trying to achieve. Not to mention the main character going waaay over the top to murder people in the worst possible ways, it felt unsettling to me. But because of its graphics, you knew it was a video game. With TLOU2, its visuals are pushed way beyond anything I've seen this gen. With the first TLOU game, it had a stylized look during its cutscenes. With this one, they are taking a more realistic approach to its visuals and to really give off that post-apocalyptic look in Seattle.
I don't view the violence in the TLOU2 as a negative, I view as a form of art. What gaming is capable of achieving with console hardware or on a PC.
There have been many games where violence has been pushed to the very edge. One of the most brutal games I've witnessed this gen was Mortal Kombat 10. This is the first game since Manhunt that made me cringe in so many ways, but the difference between MK10 and Manhunt is that I was intrigued to see more brutal fatalities from other characters while Manhunt was disturbing even with its PS2 visuals. The reason for wanting to see more was because Mortal Kombat's brutal fatalities were always entertaining to watch throughout the years.
At times it can be viewed as not taking itself seriously and taking a stylized approach with its violence. Mortal Kombat 10's graphics aren't jaw-dropping in a realistic way compared to other games this gen even if the fatalities made me cringe a lot with its over the top violence. Also, Mortal Kombat 10 has intro dialogues where characters go through funny interactions before a fight which is where most of the comedy comes from. This is one of the reason's why I don't take the game too seriously when it displays gruesome finishers.
They're other violent games that were brutal this gen such as 2016's Doom. Doom has some very brutal death animations, but just like Mortal Kombat 10, I view it as stylized and entertaining to the point where I want to see more.
Doom has amazing visuals, but nothing on a realistic approach like TLOU2. Dooms death animations are fun to watch and I can't wait to see more of what Doom Eternal has in store.
Now, I'm not making this thread saying that The Last of Us 2 is more violent than Mortal Kombat 10, Doom, Dead Space, Wolfenstein, God of War 3, or any other crazy violent game out there. Far from it. It's the approach Naughty Dog has taken to make it look more real than those games and that has made people feel either uncomfortable or excited because of it. What makes the Last of Us 2 violence look real is the visuals, groundedness, details in the faces, and animations. To me, games and even movies that take the grounded approach with violence are obviously more real compared to supernatural, sci-fi, and other things. The visuals and character models for the Last of Us 2 is probably the best I've ever seen this gen. So, when you incorporate that with the grounded approach, it's almost like you're watching a real person go through pain or death. Not to mention the animations are easily the best this gen that I've seen so far. Also, the TLOU is a harsh and brutal world. It doesn't settle for comedy unless there's a quiet moment to lighten up the mood like Ellie's pun book, but you never get a sense that it's forced.
When looking at this woman here, you really feel like she's going through pain.
With this one, the detail and animation on the face really sell it that she's preparing to get hit with the hammer.
The wrinkles in the forhead, the grimace in the face, makes the facial expression look very real. Again, with the groundedness of The Last of Us 2 and incredible visuals, it feels believable.
Probably the most disturbing scene from The Last of Us 2 is the part when the Asian woman got her wings clipped.
You have to understand how real that looks and feels. It makes me cringe very hard to this day. The visuals, animations, and sound effects, definitely the sound effects really sell this cutscene. Like you can feel the impact. It's a hard scene to watch and can be very unsettling for people.
The gunshot to the face displayed in the E3 2018 gameplay is without a doubt the most realistic I've ever seen in a video game. When the NPC gets shot in the face and you actually see the bullet hole and blood dripping down to the floor. Her eyes roll in the back of her head as she slowly closes them.
For this, the way the NPC on the right reacts to the explosion is so fluid. The gameplay animation is good enough to be viewed as a cutscene and the way the environment reacts behind him when he gets the machete to the head is really nice. It's like everything is moving which again makes it very believable.
The combat is very fluid so it looks real when Ellie is swinging the hammer so desperately.
This has to be without a doubt the best realistic looking NPC I've ever seen in a game thanks to the facial animation and movement.
The gameplay shot in full motion.
This is freaking cutscene quality happening in gameplay. I don't know how Naughty Dog is pulling this off. The realism is displayed here as you can see this man is fighting the pain determined to hit Ellie until the arrows were too much for him to handle as they stick to his body. The animation on his face as he reacts when Ellie fires an arrow at him is very realistic.
This is a shot from the very first teaser when Naughty Dog was showing off their updated engine in early development on the PS4.
When I first saw this shot, I didn't pay too much attention to it, but the more I looked at it the more I started to realize just how real it looks for a video game. The detail of this old rusty bathroom with blood everywhere. It looks like a real dead person.
What Naughty Dog is doing with its visuals, animations, and groundedness approach to violence in TLOU2, it looks and feels very real to me that no other game has ever done before. Again, I'm not saying it is more violent than other games that try to go over the top with its violence, but it is more real to me. The most violent game I've ever witness is Manhunt. Even with its PS2 graphics, the animations were really damn good and I think that sells the brutality of what it was trying to achieve. Not to mention the main character going waaay over the top to murder people in the worst possible ways, it felt unsettling to me. But because of its graphics, you knew it was a video game. With TLOU2, its visuals are pushed way beyond anything I've seen this gen. With the first TLOU game, it had a stylized look during its cutscenes. With this one, they are taking a more realistic approach to its visuals and to really give off that post-apocalyptic look in Seattle.
I don't view the violence in the TLOU2 as a negative, I view as a form of art. What gaming is capable of achieving with console hardware or on a PC.
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