Coming to Terms With The Last of Us: Part 2 - Complete Review and Analysis
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
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A complete review of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us: Part 2
Content:
00:00 Introduction: Dostoevsky’s Plague
06:36 Part 1: A Beautiful Lie
13:05 Part 2: Images of Cities Past
19:14 Part 3: Living a Narrative
24:56 Part 4: A Conflicted Journey
31:03 Part 5: Back to the Beginning
36:05 Part 6: Another Three Days
43:47 Part 7: An Ugly Truth
51:03 Part 8: Future Days
Sources:
Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment: amzn.to/2SdGAcq
Kevin Lynch - The Image of the City: amzn.to/34dbnM6
Julie Muncy - Last of Us Part II Is Great, but Can't Escape Its Father's Shadow: www.wired.com/story/last-of-u...
Like Stories of Old - Complete Reading List: kit.co/likestoriesofold/readi...
Business inquiries: lsoo@standard.tv
Music:
Max ll - Regeneration
Roland Lewis - Wait
Marie Hines - Long Way To Go (instrumental)
Twice Young - Night Drive (instrumental)
John Lucas - Where All New Life Begins (instrumental)
Thad Kopec - Sitting Still ft. Liza Anne (instrumental)
Lights & Motion - We Are Ghosts (alternative version)
Lights & Motion - Anomaly
Lights & Motion - As They Sleep
Lights & Motion - We Only Have Forever
Music licensed from Musicbed, start your 30 day free trial at: share.mscbd.fm/likestoriesofold
Additional Music:
Max H - The Peruvian Protest
Additional Music composed by Whitesand: / @whitesandcomposer - Hry
Next video is going to be shorter, I swear. Anyways, there were lots of strong feelings about The Last of Us: Part 2 when it was released. But I hope that by now, enough time has passed to give it a fair shake: to discuss where it succeeded, where it didn't, and what it meant for the art of video games in general. At least, that was my goal with this video. What were your thoughts on the game? Let me know in the comments below!
I have planned to watch every video on this channel as your content is superb and your voice is very soothing. I have watched many. Your videos make me to think. I don't know how to praise your work, it's awesome.
If I remember correctly you had also made a video on the part 1 (can you confirm). It's not on the channel now.
Thank you. I don't think I've seen a analysis of this game with this depth and awareness as this one, even from a gaming focus channels. Too many channels hav sensationalized it, joined the controversy/hate angle for the views, which is a real shame. Video games can and will achieve being an art from. We, as the audience and participants, need to realize and discuss as such. The way the world have reacted to this game did not feel fair to me. It's time to step back and look at this game without all the drama surrounding it. Look at it for what it really is.
I completely agree about the narrative dissonance issues. With the bold narrative choices they've made, equally bold gameplay decision with regression to Ellie's playthrough would've been a brilliant move, even if it might be a frustrating experience. They would still be able to offer more traditional pregoression playthrough with Abbey. I think it's one of the biggest missed opportunity they've made with this game. Perhaps, it is realistically impossible to make such decision in a blockbuster budget game. We've already witnessed bold choices to the narrative was enough to trigger a huge blowback. One can only imagine how worse it might've been with unconventional play mechanics.
For narrative, Abbey's narrative arc was heavy handed but I think it works overall. It's Ellie's that I feel missing. I think what you've presented in the last part of the video could've been more effectively told in the game. I think her finding her self-worth wasn't focused enough that the ending feels a bit underwhelming since we cut to the flashback that happened before all the events of the three days and Santa Barbara events. Would've been nice to see some more hints of similar narrative beats thrown around here and there. Of course, this isn't the only narrative issue but to me, this feels like the biggest letdown.
Overall, it is not a perfect game by any means. But despite its flaws, I think the game's ambitiousness should be commended and people should give this game a try with an open mind. (And on strictly technical side of things. The gameplay is very polished, animation, environments, sound design, music, overall presentation alone is worth spending few hours with this game.).
I don't mind the longer videos. I actually like them even more! Hope to see more video game videos too.
I was hoping you'd make this video...lots of love 🥰🥰
Why’s there like 50 freaking ads, lol
@@markitgeek I uses modded version of CZcams, so no ads😁
“When it was over I.... I couldn’t stop thinking about it.” So true.
@@arunkeshavadas7171 i disagree but to each their own
It's eye for an eye till someone stops
@@arunkeshavadas7171 Completely disagree. But that's your opinion.
And that's the game most success - it make people think, talk about it and most of it it make you FEEL.
@@arunkeshavadas7171 Though I do not concur, tis entitled to ones own thought.
The breakdown of Ellie's acceptance that her value is more than her immunity, to accept love with the risk of loss broke me. This was such a thoughtful, considered essay.
Beautiful higher level emotional intelligence
Yeah 🙄 because the requirement to access and enjoy any narrative is to have experienced that narrative first hand. We get it. You’re mad at a game. Go make a better one.
@@arunkeshavadas7171 Hm, yeah, I wouldn't play your game **shrug** good luck on your launch though. I'm suuuure there's a market for hyper-realistic WD ripoff developed by dudes pissed off in the comment sections of CZcams.
What's that? Your game isn't in production? Bummer.
LOL "my expertise tells me the Walking Dead is what the REAL apocalypse looks like and ONLY people who have lived through A REAL apocalypse knows this game sucks". Stay mad, bud.
🤣😂
@@arunkeshavadas7171 Problem with your argument is that Ellie taking revenge and trying to kill Abby isn't an act of survival. Whether Abby lives or not has no bearing on Ellie's life especially considering that Abby spared her life twice in the past so clearly not a threat to her. There is literally no way you can justify it as "a by product of survival". There are so many layers of emotions as to why Ellie couldn't move on and felt the necessity to still go after Abby with the risk of losing everything she had left but survival isn't one of them.
This story can simply be summed up by the one lyric that was repeated several times throughout the game.. "If I ever were to lose you, I would surely lose myself.."
Yooooo wtf?! This comment is underrated asl!
Fax
Oh wow, you think? It's like they repeated it for a reason.
@@phant0mdummy you must be fun at parties
@@phant0mdummy quite... unremarkable
The leveling down/losing skills as your character gets beat up/ injured/ mentally traumatized idea is genius.
There is a good ol' pen&paper fantasy roleplay like that.
It's called Hârnmaster.
Thought the same thing
Red dead 2 did that , with Arthur catching TB and becoming weaker in game later
Argument could be made that getting better at killing people is exactly what causes Ellie's decline
@@dylana.9057
I get where you’re coming from but let’s be honest, it didn’t have that much of an impact gameplay wise.
I love your suggestion about having essentially reverse progression of equipment and skills to support the narrative.
I understand the idea, but that would just be Naughty Dog shooting themselves in the foot; the majority of gamers would absolutely hate removing the "rewards for progression" aspect of games.
An issue I can see with his line of reasoning that gameplay doesn't add up to the story; there's a difference between the things Ellie did that traumatized her because she had a choice, and killing people because it's kill or be killed.
@@Chillaxaurus What do you think happens in war? Do you think people that kill on them are thinking about the ideology or of the war goal? Maybe some soldiers do, but the majority of the time that's for the people in HQ to worry about, but for the common soldier, it is about survival, about the person that is beside you. Yet, they can still get traumatized by the people they had to kill, no matter if it was because of orders, or if it was to survive. Killing people does affect you as a person regardless of circumstances, that is a psychological fact. Other things do make the effect worse, like torturing someone.
I mean, you were controlling Ellie, are you telling me you didn't feel any type of negative emotion when your enemies were calling out in desperation for their fallen comrades? When they were begging for their lives? Or when you heard dogs whimpering in pain when Ellie hurt them? Now imagine if you were the one actually stabbing and shooting, feeling the blood from their throats leaking out and dripping into your hand, feeling how their body becomes inert. I know I feel bad just by imagining it and I hope I never end up doing it. No matter the reason it makes you feel bad unless you are blinded by rage, and even then, some people DO get traumatized after killing the hated person. Abby did, and she hated Joel. That's a fictional example of that.
I don't think he is advocating the change in the progression system in all games, just this one. I think it would have been a genius regardless of its reception. I mean, they were already being pretty experimental and bold with the story so, why not go all out? Some gamers like a challenge after all, and for those who don't, the difficulty could be turned down. You will never know unless you do it. We need more bold developers, willing to test the limits of what gamers can like instead of just following formulaic procedures that maximize sales.
@@Chillaxaurus idk if the majority would. Instead of losing skills, gain negative things, and give people the choice. A skilltree of shit sounds super interesting.
Definitely a brilliant examples of building empathy deficiency vs building empathy
The Outer Worlds has this cool system where when some trauma occurs to your character, you can choose to get a penalty and a positive perk at the same time. That sort of thing could have perhaps worked here, with Ellie paying a price while gaining experience.
Honestly, I don’t hear enough appreciation for the music. Half the feeling this game gives off is thanks to the ABSOLUTELY SUPERB ost. Hell that soundtrack is almost they Conan soundtrack. You can almost see the story being being played out with sound alone. “Eye for an eye” is a great example. THAT is what I imagine revenge sounds like in music form
The music is awesome. The reaction to the game kinda overshadowed all of the brilliant technical aspects. Mac Quayle and Gustavo Santaolalla knocked it out of the park.
The score is one of the positives of this game for me. It’s like Star Wars in that sense, the score is never bad!
Hahahahaaa.... Crom laughs at you.
I’m realy amazed how much emotion is communicated with such a subtle and minimal soundtrack. It’s truly amazing
Magic of Storytelling I love the whole OST, but Eye for an Eye always gets my blood pumping.
I have no words. Your editing, your script, your very nice voice, the humanity or your vision, everything is just perfect.
I devoured every critique of this game, some lasting up to 5 hours, and this one of yours is by far the most well put together, touching and thought provoking.
That last quote by Dostoievsky was also the perfect way to end that critique, beautifully said, elegant and hopeful.
I must thank you for giving me one hour of pure bliss. Thank you again
I also watched the Luke Stephens review, as well as every other review on CZcams. This review really does wonders. Great suggestions and not as drawn out as Luke Stephens review (his review/analysis is still great). The suggestion of starting off strong and losing progression were great. I also think that the story may have benefited from splicing the two stories intertwined. Especially to prevent the huge momentum shift we feel on Abby Day 1. Either way a fantastic game...
I thought I was the only one to have been eating up all the essays lol
@@gordacapivara I can't let go of the feelings I had after the ending man, I need to constantly keep the characters active in my day to day by listening to different perspectives with regard to them. I do believe I am obsessed and quite frankly am not concerned
Well, that was an emotional ending.. I can't stress enough how talented and skilled you are with knitting a narrative and complementing it with a background music that just melt the heart and keep me coherently integrated to my being for hours after finishing the video. Your introduction and conclusion make the best of the videos. And if I was to give a note, then it is about the 2nd and 3rd part, and somewhat of the 4th and 5th, where I believe you started talking about the technicalities of the game more than what it represents. And so, it wasn't about the philosophy, perspective, morals, values, and emotions the game teaches us, what we get from the game and why it is valuable, which is usually what your beautiful videos are about.
So glad that you mentioned a very important aspect of Abby's story; The player is initially lead to the conclusion that we're supposed to primarily draw parallels between her and Ellie on both of their paths towards vengeance. But Abby has already fulfilled that arc and as she starts to find a new purpose for herself (in part that of Lev), you start to realize that Abby is actually not really another Ellie, but another Joel.
this channel is incredible
Simply put
Best thing on CZcams, full stop.
Very well constructed videos... I do like this channel..
and Deep! deeeeep
I agree 100%
This is by a country mile the BEST assessment of TLOU:II available now. Hands down. Critical without being inflammatory, insightful without being naive, and provides a nuanced interpretation of a complex and flawed story. I felt like I was introduced to new perspectives while simultaneously having some of my own views affirmed and challenged.
Bravo. Some of the best content on this platform.
I really liked the Upper Echelon Games one too
I really like this analysis too, as a fan of this game. I love reviews that make me think about a game differently
"without being inflammatory, inciteful"
Dur...
@@TheCybercoco whoops. Corrected.
The last part about ellie thinking it was all about her immunity really hit me I got so teary eyed no ones mentioned her say that line when Abby confronted her and I was wondering when someone would examine that
That piano cover of Future Days is so beautiful I can’t believe it wasn’t in the game.
Man do you have the link to that cover?
Looking for the link too. Anyone knows where can I listen to it?
It is, but it wouldn't fit with the rest of the music at all.
link pls
Have you found it?
I was absolutely obsessed with this game and I didn’t understand why at first. I thought about it and it’s because Ellie’s revenge story so relatable to me. I understand this probably isn’t the case for most people but if you’ve ever been in a situation like Ellie’s you would understand how accurate it is. Let me explain,
When I was young my best and only friend was bullied mercilessly in middle school by a group of bullies. I just stood by and watched like a coward because there were too many of them. Eventually we grew apart and he committed suicide before I could ever make amends with him. Just like Ellie grew apart from Joel I grew apart from my friend. Joel died just like my friend before I could ever fix the relationship. Ellie could do nothing to save Joel and I felt like I could do nothing to stop the bullying.
As days went on from days to months to years after my friend’s suicide, I had fantasies of revenge. These fantasies grew in my mind to become more vivid and more frequent overtime. Eventually it got to the point where I would just space out for hours at a time forgetting where I am planning revenge in my mind imagining all the things I could do to the main leader of the group. These fantasizes would get so intense that my breathing and heard rate went up as if I was actually doing it. I resisted the urge to act on them due to the legal consequences. Eventually I just got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. My obsession with revenge had gone on too long and was eating away at me. I would just blow up in anger randomly at people for years since this was always on my mind. I felt had to finally act on my thoughts to end my mental turmoil.
15 years after my friend’s suicide, I figured out where this guy lived and where he worked. I went as far as buying a gun with a suppressor and shaving out the barrel so the gun couldn’t be traced and drove to his house. I sat in the car for hours across the road gun shaking in hand, during the early hours of the morning during a workday. I was going to shoot him in his car from inside mine when he pulled out and make a clean getaway. That was my plan but he never pulled out that day. Idk if I would have had the balls even to ultimately pull the trigger honestly.
I drove home after the no-show. I find out that coincidentally the reason he wasn’t there was because he was arrested earlier that weekend and jailed for drug possession. Later he got convicted which warranted several years of jail time. I was pissed because that meant I was going to have to wait several more years before I got revenge. When you’ve been haunted by revenge fantasies for that long. You want to go though with it no matter the cost. The anger consumes you and takes over your life. It noticeably and negatively affects your relationships with people. I’m pretty sure this is why Abby still felt she had to kill Joel even after he saved her.
While my friend’s bully was still serving time (and still is), this game came out. I was thrilled because I felt I could finally live out my revenge fantasy even if only though a game. I’ll be honest, I was pissed when I couldn’t kill Abby. When Joel was getting killed though, I had a big sadistic smile on my face because I imagined me as Abby and Joel was my friend’s bully. I probably would have even done worse if I was in Abby’s position in the lawless world of the post apocalypse. At the same time though I was in Ellie’s perspective and spaced out thinking back to middle school where I was powerless in stopping my friend’s bullies. I wanted both characters to die horribly in each other hands yet both get revenge at the same time and live happy lives after killing the other. The problem is you can’t have both. The only situation in which both can rebuild their lives is if they attempt the seemingly impossible and try to forgive despite both characters despising the everliving shit out of each other.
This game made me realize I was both like Abby and Ellie. I see my friend’s bully just like Abby or Ellie see each other with nothing but pure hatred since I don’t have perspective. I realized that I was my own monster. I had grown to hate myself for not being there for my friend and not doing anything about it over the years has made me think of myself as a coward and not getting revenge just made it worse. The thoughts I had were heinous and genuinely despicable and without perspective paint me out to be a complete monster just like Abby was painted out to be that way initially. I considered that maybe this was the possibility for the asshole that caused my friend to kill himself and got arrested for drug charges. Maybe if I saw his perspective I would understand why even if it doesn’t excuse his actions. I doubt it but I may be biased in my thinking.
Anyways, recently because of this game and thinking about what it means, I have considered trying to forgive myself and my friend’s perpetrator. A lot of my relationships have been damaged and I no longer have any connections with anyone outside of family because of the anger and thirst for revenge eating away at me. I’ve been so emotionally detached. I figure killing him will likely just further alienate me from people and put me in the constant state of paranoia in getting caught in a criminal investigation so from a rational perspective it’s a bad idea. I threw away the gun a couple months ago to further remove the temptation and have now started my process in trying to forgive, not for him but for my sanity.
Sorry for the long ass comment as this is already paragraph 9. I applaud you if you made it this far. I just felt I needed to tell my story as I have told no one about this before. I just couldn’t keep this to myself anymore. I just thought this game was an absolute masterpiece in showing how the thirst for revenge effects a person and how perspective affects how we perceive the action of it. A lot of people couldn’t sympathize with Abby killing Joel after he saved her or Ellie severing her relationships and risking her friend’s lives in the pursuit of revenge but if you’ve been there then you would understand. I probably would have done just what they did in both of their positions.
You’ve been brave in sharing, and you’re much more brave in pursuing forgiveness, and a life of hope, meaning and responsibility. I wish you the best.
Let your life become the masterpiece it’s meant to be.
Thank you for telling your very personal story, which brought tears to mine eyes, and a sincere hope that you've learned to forgive yourself as I think your friend would, if he could. Peace
It is somewhat self-centerd to make an ex friends suicide all about yourself though. You act like "why is this happening to me" but actually nothing happened to you and the girl who died is the real victim here.
@@tyrlant2189 first of all I’m a dude and my friend was also a dude. Also, I don’t see how I’m making it all about me. I’m just saying how I personally related from my perspective. I miss my friend dearly.
@@BimmerWon hahaha. I think you might not be a 'CIS' because you think and type like a female. You need to be stronger if you are going to make it. Just don't become a negative, toxic person, especially over something like this. I have seen friends die up close and I am still fine- I sleep OK, because I stay mentally tough and stable for the ppl I care about. Take it from me: don't get all "wahh poor me" and become a toxic drain and ruin relationships being such a negative emotional person.
People that encourage you and pity you don't actually care about you they just want to make themselves look and feel better.
"this is the story we hoped for but the one we cannot have because it was built on a lie" DAMN! That is a whole video unto itself
What does he mean by that?
@@Metamine0 Exactly what he said. This was eventually going to come to a head, because Joel not only lied to her but killed another protagonist's parent.
That’s why the flashbacks with Joel and Ellie worked so well for me. They are bittersweet not necessarily because Joel died, but because they are a fantasy built on his lie.
@@reubenm.d.5218it always made me uncomfortable in those flashbacks too because whenever we think we’re getting another joel and ellie adventure… the lie would creep up on you at the most unexpected moment.
@@blackmanwithcomputer But this was retconned in, which is the issue.
Everytime I see the flashback on Joel sitting at the poarch, i just cry. All feelings mixed togerher just burst into explosion of emotions. Its hard to describe how moch is told just by one tiny scene-flashback. I just cant hold myself and just cry, every time - like few months ago, also right now...
@@arunkeshavadas7171 no, it was bloody brilliant...
Same
This might be the best video I've seen about the game. It's hard to bring Dostoevsky into a story about morality and make it feel fresh and not cliche, but you did it! Also, thank you for talking about ludonarrative dissonance in a mature way that wasn't as reductionist as "the game is bad because it makes you kill but also thinks revenge is bad." The point about the weapon upgrades is a good one and one I hadn't thought of before.
Agreed. Ludonarrative dissonance is one of those fucking annoying buzzwords so many people drop to sound smart but dont actually understand.
@@dingdongslick9344 now you can understand it too! m.czcams.com/video/04zaTjuV60A/video.html
100% agree on your point about ludonarrative dissonance. This video discussed it very effectively and made a point I hadn't considered before, but so many other people have drawn conclusions that fall apart under any scrutiny. The world of TLOU requires violence of its residents, whether they want it or not. To get from A to B, both Ellie and the player will find it nearly impossible to progress without violence. That is the opposite of ludonarrative dissonance. And the idea that by portraying violence the themes are contradictory to the gameplay is an incredibly inane criticism, it's the equivalent of saying ASOIAF's anti-war themes are contradicted by its characters contributing to war. Only in video games would criticism like that become widespread while being so unchallenged, the medium might be growing but its analysis is still in its infancy.
@@dingdongslick9344 I think this is exactly one of those videos. His ideas for getting worse in the sense of fighting skill as you go through the game, is an awful one
I love this essay, honestly. It’s so thoughtful and so intelligent. But re: the final Abby vs Ellie fight...which NO-ONE wants to do; is exactly because no-one wants to do it that is doubling down on how futile revenge is. ND really wanted to drive the point home and, I think they did. I was so, so relieved when Ellie finally stopped and I’m sure everyone else was as well, right? JMO 🙃
I did haha I love a good boss fight and wanted to see ellie whoop abbies ass once
As someone who has lived in Seattle my entire life, I had a great time traversing the world of the game, and never felt certain exploration/puzzle segments tedious. I was always excited to see what landmark I would recognize next. Perhaps my experience was different because I know and love this city, or perhaps I didn't feel bogged down by the busy work aspect (the setting certainly helped, to be sure).
And this was certainly one of the reasons why I was happy to replay the 3 days as Abby. I was also excited to experience a new story, with new characters. Lev and Yara were amazing additions, in my opinion. I almost wanted MORE of Abby's story.
And I loved how Ellie was a very flawed character in Part II - just like playing as Joel in the first game, I didn't agree with everything she did, but it didn't make me love her any less as a character.
I could have commented on a lot more things, but there's just too much to talk about regarding this game. I loved it to pieces, gave it a 10/10 in my head, even while acknowledging its weaknesses. And I totally agree with you that the message at the end is finding closure, and beginning the healing process. The ending was optimistic for me, not depressing. I hope Ellie makes herself a better future.
Lmfao i've live in Santa Barabara for 8 years now and felt the same.
If there's one thing this game has taught me about the condition of humanity, it's this: Hurting people end up hurting people.
People are not really there for each other when really needed
Action and lack of action humans fail each other
Hurt people hurt people
Hurt people hurt themselves
Trauma destroys your ability to connect with others
Patterns of connection are malignantly changed to patterns of protection for life
Tom Marvis, that is not always true. The true danger lies in generalizing that statement to all humans.
more like exhausting rather than anything lol
The Last of Us games have always been near and dear to my heart because the creators show the true power that an interactive video game can exert. It dares to be more than just entertainment. It shines a light on the complexities of the human condition and it shows you parts of yourself you never knew existed. This is true art.
What I like is it isn't just an interactive "movie" game but also has good gameplay in the first game and great gameplay in the second. The intensity in fighting the wlf and seraphites was absolutely engaging that when you get to a cut scene you're ready to put the remote down and get into the story
Spoken very correctly! I appreciate exactly the same!
last of us 2 has a waste, predictable and dissapoinment story. Characters left underdeveloped for the boldness.
They desided yo do a real life story with a theme everybody knew. On a post apocalipt fictional world. They could have done so much more. It's survival elementos and zombies where left secondary. You fight hunans most of the time
You can Say this is art. But by no means there was no reason yo make this a psicological movie? Why?
They broker the rules. They did what a vídeo Game should not do.
Game equals enjoynent by definition. Regardless of theme,plot, story.
This Game boy porpouse, removed and punish enjoynent. It left the player by porpouse with a sence of depresión. And what happens?nobody Will like to play it again. Because nobody wanted to refill such negativo expreriences this way
The end was si Open ended and uncrsesary and there is no part 3. The devd confirmed it . Last of us ended.
No surprice that Best Moments are the flashbacks
"It dares to be more than just entertainment. It shines a light on the complexities of the human condition and it shows you parts of yourself you never knew existed. This is true art" countless games do that far better than tlou like bioshock, mass effect, portal, the souls series. in fact i would barely call tlou as artistically good in the gaming medium.
ive noticed this running theme with tlou super fans and how they think these games are the only ones that are "true art". because its a game that strives to be a movie basically. i would actually argue that gameplay centric games like dmc and wasteland are actually more truly artistic than ND games are.
i swear naughty dog fans are some of the most pretentious fans ive ever seen. also naughty dog doesn't actually use the inherent exclusive qualities of gaming to convey its story. conveying ur story through cutscenes only means it is objectively not using the medium of gaming at all. its actually one of the worst example of interactive story telling. u want good ones? walking dead, bloodborne and Edith finch. are naughty dog games the only games you played man? cuz it sure sounds like it.
"shines a light on the complexities of the human condition and it shows you parts of yourself you never knew existed" ??? what does this even mean really? man relax and just put your monocle down jeesus ND fans are hilarious. i think they are great games but thats about it. there are far better out there in both narrative and gameplay. just say tlou is ur favorite series, rather than understate other so you can overstate what you like. as far as im concerned ND games BARLY passes the mark of "more than entertainment". although i hate using the term because its a meaningless one that just screams artistic snobbery.
@@bauloprete3905 Your opinion is as valid as your grammar.
As always, incredible video.
One idea I had while watching the fight between Ellie and Abby in the theatre - what if instead of solely playing as Abby, the perspective switched between the two after each grapple sequence? What if you're running towards Ellie as Abby, grab her, square pops up and you hit it, but then the punch/kick is actually clearly carried out by Ellie - and then once they break free of each other, your perspective now follows Ellie, and it switched like that back and forth at each focal point of the fight? I think it would have made that moment have a lot of thematic sense in a really creative way. Just a thought.
That would Be amazing, but difficult to pull because abby wasnt armed, so playing as ellie would be too easy
@@branislavjanko1178 I know this is kinda late, but generally speaking I don't think it would be *too* hard to adjust the fight scene a little bit to balance them both out mechanically.
This is a brilliant idea.
That part when you show how Abby not gained relief by killing Joel - that part hit me most! That was the lesson she learned from it and nice to know already that Ellie learned this lesson BEFORE killing Abby in the final. What a game!
How did she learn the lesson again? A flashback?
@@jasonalv7436 no, a feeling of even more emptiness after pointless killing Joel. She was not relief at all. If this is no lesson than what is?
@@FromPolandWithROAAAAR I mean yeahh, she has been killing people since the beginning of the game and she didn't considering any of those pointless killings as a lesson. Even when she tortured Nora, she clearly didn't feel relief but rather emptiness. But again, she still continues to hunt Abby so why did she stop? Because Abby carrying Lev reminded her of Joel carrying her? Well that was contradicted with her goating Abby to fight her by threatening to kill Lev in cold blood. Let's say that the game never showed Abby's side of the story to the player, would you then spare Abby? if so why?
Tbf, I'm glad that Ellie spared Abby and I think that the point of the game is Ellie sparing Abby but this wasn't built up in any way. There's no point in the game where Ellie learns to forgive Abby or start to empathize with her. So it's completely arbitrary
@@jasonalv7436 It wasn't built up in any way? Did we play the same game?
@@hilfsmittel7934 we probably did if you think that it was built up. There is nothing before Ellie spared Abby that supports Ellie sparing Abby. No foreshadowing, no development, it just happens because the writers didn't want Abby to die
My only complaint is that I can't "like" this twice.
Got your back, bro
It is good indeed sir
Heavy shit. It's videos like this that remind me why I love this channel so much. My favorite part was when he was discussing Abby's perspective, her quest for revenge, how little it mattered, and the impact it had on her relationships with her friends and her path to redemption towards the end.
The part that really resonated with me is when he brought up the final scene with ellie, and her choosing to finish what she started instead of leading a more simple life Dina and little JJ. It really emphasized that "trauma isn't a choice" and made me understand why ellie choose to go after abby again.
Also loved when he brought up Ellie's fear of ending up alone and the lie that she kept telling herself, that all she is, is her immunity. Loved the end especially. Where ellie let's it all go and ventures out into the unknown.
Really brought into words what I felt and feel about this while at the same time giving me a different perspective. Fantastic video
its videos like this that remind me why i love life so much
Dorsett Davis I cant believe he did this video. I’m really happy.
And she ends up alone. You missed the point of the ending
Hurt people hurt people
Hurt people hurt themselves
Trauma destroys your ability to connect with others
Patterns of connection are malignantly changed to patterns of protection for life
Maybe these two games are not perfect, but dog damn, what a monumental undertaking it is to try and tackle a subject like this! We need more people trying to do what Naughty Dog is doing with their games!
Honestly there isn't really any game, show, or movie that's "perfect" they can get close, but something that literally everyone can enjoy, and has no flaws, inconsistencies, or anyway it could of been made better in someway. What makes a medium meaningful is the effect it has on the individual. Something can be fun, but not have any deeper meaning, ask hard questions and challenge the person consuming it in any way other than its difficulty.
@@dylanhaugen3739 thanks that’s what I’ve been saying about this game
This game is a perfect example why we shouldn't do whatever we feel is right. So much of modern culture encourages us to do whatever we feel is good for us and as the game perfectly shows us it can be fatally wrong. If there's one thing this game succeeded at it's in exposing our bad emotional biases. I really hope people get that lesson and work hard to make themselves better because damn this game really convicted me to change my bad emotional biases.
Excellent comment.
I've never played a single player game a second time right after I beat it the first time before. And I got so much more out of it the second time. It's crazy how many little things you don't realize about the first half until the second playthrough. Still thinking about this game 3 months later.
Can't wait to sit and watch this whole video, just commenting right now to let you know I appreciate that you made a whole hour of this lol.
Edit: 54:30 holy shit, everything from this point forward in this video is amazing. loved your take on how that was the moment that ellie realized she was truly loved unconditionally outside of her immunity by joel.
Kinda off topic but I totally remember seeing you on vine years ago!
This video was so well done! I loved how you started and ended with a book qoute. You really put the "essay" in "video essay" and I do of course mean that in a positive way. It was insightful, entertaining, and well structured. I saw it all in one sitting, but I could've comfortably watched it in bits, which is a great feature to have. Loved it and looking forward to watching your old content and seeing your upcoming stuff as well!
“Once there is a vaccine, all will be well…” Ellie’s thoughts are ones which I’m sure we’ve all felt in the last two years. But we all know that it’s much more complicated than that. Yet that primal urge for everything to just magically be back to normal is ever present. In pandemics, in relationships, in all the mistakes we as a species and as individuals make. But if we want to truly heal, we need to work for it. To find it in ourselves to forgive or be forgiven, to put our trust in the experts and not just fall prey to blind fanaticism and wild emotion. We need to be emotionally mature critical thinkers if we ever want to find some semblance of happiness in this world. This is what TLOU2 teaches. Everyone stay safe, and stay smart.
This is spot on. Great video.
The importance of that last scene on the porch -- with Ellie offering to try to forgive Joel and Joel's conviction that Ellie is loved-- is damn important. It's what gives Ellie that moment of clarity she needs to finally give up on Abby.
I'm also very intrigued at the idea of the gameplay better reflecting Ellie's mental state. Losing skill points over time would have added great symbolism, but I also worry it would have been a little "on the nose" for the player. Until the perspective switch you are meant to soley sympathize with Ellie so it makes sense for the player to appreciate her becoming more powerful.
Perhaps the upgrades should have come with visible and tangible drawbacks. Allow the player to become more powerful but enforce some kind of penalty that over time show you the costs of Ellie's vengeance.
I also love the idea of weapons becoming more crude as her story goes on.
This was a great game that has stuck with me for a long time. Just like part 1.
This analysis hits it on the head. Well done.
In the foreword to the Infinite jest, Dave Eggers writes:
"The point is that if we are interested in human possibility, and we are able to cheer each other on to leaps in science and athletics and art and thought, we must admire the work that our peers have managed to create. We have an obligation, to ourselves, chiefly, to see what a brain, and particularly a brain like our own-that is, using the same effluvium we, too, swim through-is capable of". I think that your video essays are a case in point of the possibilities that he is talking of. The way they layer philosophy and literature into the readings of the subject matter while blending them with the perfect scores and the most sensual visuals not only qualifies them as stand alone works of art but more often than not seem to transcend even the original work in the scope of their artistry. It is insane to see how analytically you tackle and bring out such deep emotional nuances in these works. Every video of yours rekindle some deep buried understanding of what it is really like to be a human in this world. Thank you for that! And thank you for raising the bar for fellow content creaters everywhere! Can hardly wait to see more.
I think you touch on something here, this work, hive mind, perhaps is trying to achieve an understanding, or validation within ourselves and collectively that a flaw in collective consciousness, collective behaviour is Lateral violence , is displaced violence , bullying, scapegoating, blaming, is directed against one's peers rather than adversaries. ....This construct is one way of explaining minority-on-minority violence in developed nations. And why the greater human population has failed to rise up against the 1%
This video gave me a deeper appreciation. I will note also though that Ellie would occasionally play the start of future days when she picked up a guitar in the story. I read into that as she was not ready to play the song Joel played for her. At the end when she lost her fingers she tried to play it again but obviously couldn’t, that was heartbreaking because it meant that she would never be able to connect to Joel that way again, because of the fight she ensued with Abby. That is the only narrative meaning I could give to that fight. It would have been better if she hadn’t done that and she did just cut Abby down but the way it plays out adds extra heartbreak as it severs that connection with Joel that Ellie had.
I haven’t played it yet again because the ending made me way too sad!
And her leaving the guitar I think is partially because it would remind her of fighting Abby and losing her fingers instead of it reminding her of Joel and teaching her to play. She had to leave it behind to remember Joel in a good way as much as possible
Fuck, my heart...
More like her lost fingers represented her trauma and hence being unable to connect, as trauma tends to do.
She spent a lot of the game trying to be like Joel and it was destroying her because deep down she's a different person (hence their opposite view of the hospital choice). I felt it showed that it wasn't her song, it was Joel's. If Joel was ever to lose her, he'd lose himself. But he'd never want her to lose herself for him. He saved her because he wanted her to be who she was, not to be like him.
To me, the loss of her fingers, and therefore her ability to play guitar, has more to do with Ellie paying the price for going off on her quest for vengeance, hurting those that cared for her and taking countless other lives in the process. Its a karmic symbol of accountability for her actions.
While we are at it, by leaving the guitar behind at the end, relinquishing an important symbol of her connection to Joel, she is effectively both accepting Joel's passing and accepting the consequences of her actions, finally taking responsibility for her deeds.
Part 2 was actually more sobering and heartbreaking than Part 1. It may not be a "Better game", but I've never gone through the same emotional journey with any other video game. From excitement, to joyful, to shocked, to upset, to betrayed, to exhausted, to exhilerated, to cold, to put in awe. The list could go on.
Great video - you earned a sub from me.
I'm not sure I agree about the final fight - the way I interpreted it was that Ellie believes that she will overcome her trauma and end her suffering by finally defeating Abby. To me, it's critical to this interpretation that she doesn't stop until she has actually *defeated* Abby - when Abby is drowning and Ellie has already won. It's at this moment that Ellie realizes that she doesn't feel any better - she's won, but it's not changing anything. So she stops because she realizes that she needs to find a different way to address her trauma.
I suppose one could argue that the way it ends is a little too clean and tidy in that regard - Ellie figures it out at *just* the right time - but I don't know if it would have been as clear of a narrative beat if Ellie didn't actually beat Abby herself, if she just found Abby, cut her down, and let her go. Or maybe I would have just interpreted it differently.
you touch on something here, this work, hive mind, perhaps is trying to achieve an understanding, or validation within ourselves and collectively that a flaw in collective consciousness, collective behaviour is Lateral violence , is displaced violence , bullying, scapegoating, blaming, is directed against one's peers rather than adversaries. ....This construct is one way of explaining minority-on-minority violence in developed nations. And why the greater human population has failed to rise up against the 1%
You have a great gift for beautiful writing and insight into human emotions and their intentions. I enjoy all your videos. They are always so stunning and peaceful.
Thank you sir.
"About how feelings don't care about facts"
Goodness, such a good line, and how true it resonates.
As usual, loving the content you create, I hope you always enjoy yourself to provide us with such love, thoughts and care in your videos. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
It also works the other way around.
@@ronmaest thanks Mr Shapiro
Tragedy 🎭 Humans language mastery over feelings
Damn, One hour.
I made my first video on this game after I saw the backlash, mostly as a way to deal with my experience of it. Its half the length of yours and took me a week 12h/day to edit.
I've come to respect these long videos ever since. Thanks for taking the time to edit this my dude. :)
I would say plug but I really liked that video.
I'm loving this longer content you have been doing. I hope you do one like this every once in awhile.
this was such a beautiful video. exactly the kind of essay i was looking for after i finished playing. thanks for making it
The last ten minutes was so powerful and has made me rethink my life
Devastating if lost father this time
One thing I absolutely love about the story is something I didn’t realize until after my first playthrough. Ellie spend these three whole day tracking Abby down, and it seemed like Abby was consciously evading Ellie, darting out from one shadow to another, always just one step ahead. In truth, we learn from Abby’s perspective that she had no idea Ellie was even there until Owen and Mel’s deaths at the aquarium on Day 3. She had her own things she was dealing with, primarily Lev and Yara. If Ellie had never gone, things would have played out much the same for Abby’s story, minus the deaths of friends like Manny and Nora. Ellie was so blind and persistent in her revenge quest that it was pretty much all she thought about like all of everything revolves around her, but like I said, Abby had no idea she was even there.
Edit: Oh, you actually mentioned this at around 33:00! It’s interesting how differently the story hits for different people. For me, I thought Abby’s journey was much more interesting and engaging than Ellie’s. I found myself caring much more about her and her friends and these two Seraphite kids than the respecting players in Ellie’s story.
On a side note, about Abby’s fear of heights and the Seraphite bridge: I’m extremely afraid of heights, like Abby is. The whole scene on the bridge was incredibly well done in conveying her fear to me, who also shares that fear. When the tension broke and she fell through the glass ceiling and into the pool and had to take a minute when to calm down once she reached the edge, I also had to pause the game, cry, and de-stress. It was one of the few times I’ve come dangerously close to a panic attack. It was unbelievably well executed.
The Last of Us Part 2 is a very special game, I think. It’s not perfect, and it has a lot of flaws, but as many others here have said, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it - even more than two years later. I love the game more the more I think about it, and I really hope we get a Part 3. I’ll be there on day 1.
The music in this video is truly beautiful.
You are wholesome and I am happy to be one of your subscribers.
I would like to thank you for contextualising the story in such an elegant fashion. I was never one of the rabid haters but this video certainly helped make peace with the flawed narrative and appreciate the moments that I found so moving.
Flawed ?
@@DG_na_rien_compris_à_madmax yes. The story is an absolute mess. I'm not going down the anti progressive rabbit hole but clearly Abbie was treated more favourably than the original characters. Ellie is literally a shadow of the character she was in the first game.
@@lordwilliams34 Abby clearly had it worse than Ellie considering she lost all her friends and love interest not to mention being captured and possibly tortured by slavers and literally being crucified at the end. I have no idea from what point of view you consider she was treated more favourably.
@@weaverquest favoured as in portrayed more sympathetically. Don't get me wrong. I'm not whining about Joel but it's ironic how much more interesting he is in a game that he is barely in.
@@lordwilliams34 Have you considered the perspective of the writers and the director? What if what your mad about, what you think is flawed, is exactly what they want to tell you/us? Storytelling can be subjective and objective, they clearly chose the former. A subjective storytelling then can never be flawed, and you're supposed to find what they want you to find, or to see what they want you to see. Just like in real life, we sometimes need to see a different perspective to fully understand something.
Wonderful essay. I had similar problems with the game, but I know I’ll appreciate it much more on a 2nd play through. Thank you for helping me process and deconstruct this incredible story.
I would like to say that you showed me a whole other level of storytelling I never knew could exist. Thank You.
Your videos draw so much emotional energy from me it is well worth it when the barn door closes on this video it really hits a crescendo
I also cannot stop thinking about this game and it’s now 2021.
Well this video was excellent; SOO good infact that my girlfriend who doesnt know much about the last of us stopped what she was doing and listened and gave her opinions of what she thought and enjoyed it.
Very well done, Sir.
The style of editing and your narration makes these videos amazing.
After watching a playthough i forgot it pretty quickly, but this made me re-analyze and get a lot more emotional about it.
Favourite channel on youtube. So full of heart, intellect, wonder. Just the depth and effort that goes into it shows. Pure quality, thank you infinitely for all you do!
I just have to say for the record, you can style through most of those sections. And some sections you don’t even have to kill anyone so it kind of does matches up to the story if you play it that way
Yes choices to act, or not act
I really enjoyed your ideas around the 30:00 mark mentioning how you could actually regress as the game went on. I especially liked the part where you talked about gameplay being affected by Ellie’s trauma, I’m not sure if I was making it up but I think when you are heading towards the resort sounds start becoming either harder to place or the snarling of the infected sounds more overwhelming than usual. But I wish there would’ve been more instances like that where you get that feeling of being surrounded and/or completely isolated. Maybe they thought it would be cheap to have Ellie’s trauma and flashbacks be so in your face but I felt like it could have made for a lot of gameplay variation and added even more weight to her loss
Big issue with that though: the majority of gamers would hate that. I mean, I understand his view, but it's still a game, and removing the "rewards for progression" aspect of games would be shooting themselves in the foot. Look at the outrage at this game, with the amount of people who didn't understand even basic shit in the story...the game would've flopped terribly with this idea.
Also, Ellie didn't have a choice in killing those she did during gameplay; it was kill or be killed, what she experienced throughout the first game too. The moments that traumatize her are whenever she's doing something knowingly where it's not a kill or be killed situation. She knowingly put herself in the situations with each of the characters she kills/tortures.
@@Chillaxaurus I feel like if it rewarded your stealth gameplay that would've worked.
@@mikau1585 I don't think you're talking about the same part of the video...his whole idea was to give you everything and then slowly take it away; that would piss way more people off than it'd be worth, and would pretty much bring it into a genre of "anti-game". I get this for a small indie game that doesn't have the expectation of following the most basic formula games have, but it wouldn't work on a AAA title.
And your idea of rewarding you based on stealth goes against what was said too; there's no rewards that could balance out removing gameplay aspects/weapons/skills as you progress.
I think one of the problems with TLOU Part II is that Moderate difficulty, which is what most people picked for their first playthrough, is too easy, and gives you plenty of resources and ammo which incentivises you to kill rather than stealth through most encounters. I'm playing on Grounded+ now and it is so much more rewarding and tense, and I'm killing far less enemies.
@@44sunsets I totally agree with this. On Moderate, you can often feel like a unstoppable Terminator mowing your way through helpless hordes of enemies, but on the higher difficulties, which I would say are the intended experiences of the game, you never have the luxury of killing enemies just cause it might be exciting. Every moment and every encounter is a desperate fight for survival, and you're doing literally anything that will let you get out alive, whether that just means running away or killing those that try to stop you.
This is the video I have needed for months. I couldn't articulate what you have spent countless hours creating, and I thank you. More authentically than I can put into words.
This is a beautiful video, full of references and analysis in detail. Your voice is calm and I like how you found this type of symbolism in certain things. Well done.
It's gotten to where I have to check the comments before deciding if it's worth watching the video. I'm glad I did both. Great breakdown of the story. It's easier to hear criticism from someone who appreciates the scope and beauty of it.
On a second and third play through it's interesting to hear some of conversations take on a different meaning once you know the full context. Also as each of the two stories is told entirely from that persons perspective it's easy to forget who knew what and when. Most criticism I see of characters actions is based on them knowing something that actually didn't happen in their half. For example in Ellies story, she is so shocked at witnessing Joel's death, she misses the conversation between the Fireflies over killing her and Tommy and that ultimately Abby made the decision to spare them. We only get that detail in Abbys side and by the end I had forgotten that. It was only on my second play through I spotted that difference. First thing I noticed on my second play through was when Abby awakens in the lodge after a bad dream when we first see her, she's just had the recurring dream about her dads murder. It certainly explains why she was so driven to go off on her own and why Joel and Tommy saving her meant so little. Yet we don't see the actual dream until Abby half so I'd forgotten that detail.
I loved your point about Ellie thinking everything is about her. I thought it was really interesting that Abby's story has really nothing to do with Ellie or really even Joel until the end. We forget we are often just bit players in other peoples stories.
One point I'd like to add is the bit about Ellies fear of ending up alone. I think the fact Joel lied for so long also hurt her a lot. He swore to her face over and over about it and still lied. The person she trusted most betrayed her. That is what leaves her isolated and alone. When she gets back to Jackson who can she talk to about it. She can't even tell her closest friends. When everyone wonders why she's being mean to nice old Joel, how can she explain. When she's talking to Dina about Bill she says its better to be alone as someone else can become a burden. Dina uses the same word when she finally tells Ellie about being pregnant. (If you listen to her conversations with Ellie beforehand, a lot of it is her trying to suss out how Ellie will react to finding out. Something else I only spotted 2nd time round with the benefit of hindsight. The level of detail in this game in incredible).
I think in the end, Joel being honest with her on the porch meant a lot. He could have lied and said he regretted what he did to try and win her back but he didn't. When he saved her back at the hospital he did it for himself. He did it because he couldn't bear to lose her. He lied to for two years for the same reason. But now he's paid the price for two years and he accepts the cost. He would do it all again even if he gets no benefit from it himself. He would save her if it costs him his most precious thing, his relationship with her. This shows the growth of his character. I think this is part of what lets Ellie move on. She accepts they will never see eye to eye and accepts she can love him anyway. It means he died knowing she still loved him and that was a lot of the guilt that was driving her.
I felt Ellies flashbacks were the first time she was actually remembering them. In her happier memories, each ends up tainted by his lie and is a reminder of their relationship breakdown. She can't talk about Joel because it hurts too much and wonders how Dina can talk about Joel and Jesse so freely. I think her memory of Joel is just a mess of pain and grief. She can't draw his face until the end of the story (showing she has begun to heal). I don't think she remembered they had reconciled until the beach. Perhaps something about the change in Abby and how she was behaving with Lev triggered the memory. Not of the selfish Joel who lied and hurt her but of the loving protector who would give their life for some they loved.
Strongly agree. Think also about the parallels between Joel with Ellie at the hospital and Abby and Lev at the boat. Abby wants to leave with Lev (who is unconscious, mind you, like Ellie at the hospital), but there is a threat of Lev being taken away from her by Ellie with her knife (potentially mirroring a scalpel and a doctor, symbolically). From this perspective, we see how Abby is forced to fight Ellie and nearly kill her in order to save Lev, like how Joel probably felt forced to kill the people in the hospital to save Ellie. Also, we don’t get to see what happens after, but there could be conflict between Abby not telling Lev how they got away, like how Joel lies to Ellie. Just a thought that occurred to me while reading your comment.
Lynn There are a lot of parallels but I don't think Abby would need to lie to Lev. She's nothing to hide really. At worse, she'll get another "I told you so" from Lev. ;) Joel was kind of trapped by his choice. He saved Ellie because he was scared of losing her and he lied to her for the same reasons. In the end he accepted that if losing her was the consequence of saving her it was a price he was willing to pay.
I also thought it was interesting that Abby gets to experience what Ellie went through. Being helpless to stop someone you care about being hurt when they get captured by the rattlers. Ellie in her quest for revenge got to experience some of what Joel went through over Sarah, being driven by rage and grief over losing someone you love.
@@dorkangel1076 no dude. He did do it for himself. He could Home to lose her. He saved her. He wasnt being selfish
The doctor was on his way annd the only one who treates to kill him. All the others we're spared.
Again. If You need to kill a kid without a consent and call it " justificable" Mankind is doomed already
The flierflies we're monsters that believed themselfs saviours
@@bauloprete3905 how black and white your world must be.
Bautista Siciliano Joel didn't care what Ellie wanted. Marlene says you know she is willing. So does Joel but he doesn't care because it's not about consent or what Ellie wants, its about him not losing someone he finally cares about. Understandable but selfish. You also seem to have forgotten he then shoots Marlene who was unarmed and comes back to finish her off while she's lying wounded and helpless on the floor pleading for her life. The Fireflies at the hospital didn't know they would need to kill her to make a cure until they examined her. If they could have done it any other way they would have.
To correlate the external infection with the internal traumatic emotional struggles that exist in a realm of the illogical and irrational was entirely spot on. Thank you for your clear articulation about one of the greatest masterpieces to be created in modern times. Whilst I too would have altered some moments to better fit within my personal narrative and perception of how I would have liked certain elements to be, all in all, the emotional struggle and conflict I endured made me feel alive again.
Please keep making amazing content. The longer the better I say!
Beautifully done. Thank your for the immense effort and careful thought you put into this analysis. It really revealed nuances of this gorgeously heart wrenching game I had never thought of. Can’t wait for the next video!
When I finished tLoU2 I sat alone in quiet for hours.
You nailed so much of it. I said "it is about empathy" and on a meta narrative sense how video games often take that from us killing hundred of enemies.
My one disagreement is the final part. Ellie fighting Abby at the end is the most exhausting and breaking experience I have had in a game. I didn't want to fight. I was tired, I wanted to walk away, for all just to end. The game forces you saying "the big final boss, that's what you want in games" mocking the notion of false closure through traditional story telling climaxes.
Ellie losing her fingers on her fret hand is so crucial. The last price she pays before her realization in this tragedy. Not only can she not fully connect to Joel through music, but she cannot pass it on to the child she's been raising.
Games operate on conflict and destruction. The Last of Us as a series makes me think about those consequences, how awful violence is and the emotional trauma it brings. I want creation, new life, music, love, and connection forged with others. There is a choice and games often ignore that reality.
Thank you for your beautiful thoughtful video essay. This is one of the best channels on CZcams and I sincerely hope you continue to create.
Death Stranding did all of this 1000x better
Love how deep he gets about the narrative that the gameplay mechanics tell
Love your videos! Long or short I'm here for them. I really like the way you deconstructed this, gave me a fresh appreciation for the story itself. It really just showed how sad and beautiful the story was, and I wasn't caught up with my likes or dislikes of part 2. This one's a favorite for sure. Great job!
Or I should say, no longer caught up with whatever notions I had of the story.
What an amazingly eloquent, well thought out video essay. I watched every second of it without realizing the hour had gone by
Truly an excellent essay! I'm glad I found your channel.
Im going on a long trip tomorrow and this is definitely going to help me get through it. Thx man
Where are you going?
@@dr.embersfield1551 Brazil
47:26 the quintessential summary of the vid and the game. Watch it from start till the end though to get full context. Kudos to LSOO it made me look at the whole shebangnin a different light.
I’m so happy I found this channel. Every one of your videos leave me with a fantastic feeling and new found views of content that I love. Thank you ❤️
The cutting of this video to synchronize text and images is a piece of art.
45:45 was one great sentence! Fantastic interpretation, loved every minute.
You gave justice to this beautiful tale thank you again.
Really love your analysis, always providing me with new directions in thinking. Thank you alot.
I really REALLY love your longer videos.
I really liked the game, but this video made me truly realise how tragic yet beautiful the story is. Absolute masterpiece.
Of course it's not perfect, but I don't expect something to be perfect to actually be masterful. In fact, minor imperfections even add to the art imo.
Thank you so much for this breakdown!
I don't understand how people can insult me for thinking the game is a masterpiece. The definition of masterpiece is "a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship.' It does not mean perfect 10/10 because nothing can reach that standard
Donald Trump, many people don't want to have their views challenged, they saw Joel as the hero in the first game, they understood his actions, they empathized with him, with his lose, his pain. They wanted him to have the stereotypical happy ending. Because of this they were blinded by their own love of Joel as a character and seemed to think he deserved to never have to pay for the pain he's caused others. Joel's honestly one of the best examples of a sympathetic villain I've ever seen in fiction, you understand his actions, you feel his pain, but that doesn't change the fact that his actions likely doomed thousands of not millions to death from the infection, but also the lives he took in getting Elle back, and in the process betraying Elle, she wanted the cure to be made, she was willing to make the sacrifice to make it happen but Joel took that from her, because he didn't want to lose her. No matter how much you may empathize with Joel, you can't deny the fact that his actions were selfish, and cost countless lives. I see people even trying to justify his actions by claiming the cure may not of even worked to try and justify his actions. People refuse to accept the idea that Joel was wrong or that Abby had a right to hate Joel for killing her dad. So many people just think the games message was that " revenge is bad " or that it's just sjw propaganda because there's a gay relationship or that Abby is buff, really shallow criticism but sadly enough for people who don't really care about deeper meaning or complicated concepts or who just hate the group's being depicted.
@@dylanhaugen3739 exactly
Sometimes understanding, validating cognitive dissonance is just not possible. (the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioural decisions and attitude change.) father daughter relationships are intense and so are mother son relationships. What if Joel and the people attached to Joel are symbolism of something else. Perhaps God.or the Antichrist. Father. Dad. Or other hero archetype. Nobody escaped intergenerational trauma here. Joel is gone. But she’s all that’s left at the end. She’s alone. She remembers the unconditional love Joel gave her. She has failed to give unconditional love back to anyone. She rejected him, ignored and distant. But his love was more consistent and mature? He prioritise her, and we see he/they genuinely like each other and connected. The reality this unconditional love from Joel, this relationship never ends, influencing her. Inferiority or superiority or painful hurtful empathy for him passing
Can identification with though through meaningful stories teach mindfulness to the masses? I wonder if and how many The Last of Us: Part 2 gamers actually acquired a more compassionate perspective from which observe the same narrative each one of us tells ourselves to make sense of life experience. My hope is that this new form of art can become a significant tool to promote psychological freedom and ultimately help to reduce as much unnecessary suffering in this world. Thank you LSOO for such an important contribution spreading awareness around what otherwise could be overlooked as superficial entertainment
Only those who go into the game ready to learn will.
Too many people are too stupid to actually learn the right lessons from art. In many ways I probably fall into that category 😅
this has deeply touched me. thank you. really. ive understood more about myself through this essay. your work is always great to me. keep it up.
Thx you for this moment. A profound one. I love your channel so much :)
Amazing editing. The CGI acting looks so good and human when watching with your commentary.
A beautiful and wholesome explanation. This was a emotional experience to watch even after completing the game two full times. This is, surely, a masterpiece in it’s own way! Thank you!
Love this video; I'm glad time is allow more nuanced takes on TLOU:P2. You brought up many ideas and aspects that hadn't occurred to me and also put better words to ones that had. Campfire Pro seems like a cool writing tool that I'm certainly willing to try out!
This is an absolutely stunning essay. Thank you.
i dont usually leave comments - but i had to say how beautifully done this video is. The exploration of concepts match with the explanation of narrative in such a ingenious way..... this was a video essay but it felt like so much more. amazing
I appreciate this documentary/video-essay. I really loved the TLOU2 because of the narrative, messages, themes, characters, and environments. As I deal with some current issues in my life, I felt a strong attachment to these characters. We're all beings that need to somehow get along, be empathetic, and realize that we all struggle. It's a matter of whether we choose to do it alone or together.
Very well done. Thank you for such a thoughtful approach to a complex story
Really amazing analysis, saw you grow from tens of thousand to now more than 300 thousand. Keep growing up!
In "Living a narrative" you describe how you didn't want to stop and smell the roses but only to find Abby and get it over with. I felt the same but I appreciated it so much that the game made me feel like this. This is exactly how Ellie is supposed to feel. Driven by her obsession to kill Abby. You can constantly feel that "you know what? This is not so bad!" and "Maybe I should stop for a second and reflect". But you can't because that landmark is right there! You just need to get there and get it over with! And you stop living. And you stop feeling. You just get from milestone to milestone.
A very important part of stories like these is that they are like Greek Tragedies. No one is the objective good person, all we can do is examine the characters, and why their traits and perspectives inevitably led them down their path.
God damn. Your essays are absolutely phenomenal.
I've only watched a handful of your videos and every single one has been incredibly awesome.
Thanks for the effort and sharing the way you see things.
On the 'ludonarrative dissonance' - Ellie becomes more disturbed because of who she kills not simply because she's been violent. Specifically because she tortures to death Nora - the person who held her down at Joel's death. In essence she is reenacting her trauma, and this, coupled with the fact that Nora is a kill that can't be rationalized as 'self defense' is why Ellie is so disturbed after that scene. So the gap between the narrative and gameplay isn't really an issue for me. Like the player, I feel like part of Ellie enjoys the killing but another part is disturbed at what she feels she has to do.
Haven’t even started watching but I’m already so excited
Man I needed this. Amazing work!
And honestly, this is one of those channels I wouldn't mind watching a lot more. Hope you don't actively try to make them shorter!
Amazing work! And thanks for putting this out there!
Necessary video-essay. Thanks man, great work.
Oooh I’m so early!!! So excited for this, you’ve made my Wednesday! 🥰
One hour of this still can’t get enough
One hour of my bio lecture four mins in I’m already tired
Lovely video, so insightful as always
Beautiful essay once again! Thanks a lot for making this :) It is a message that makes lot more sense in this crazy world today.
Amazing people are still producing content left and right from this game
Oh man, I finished this video and I was crying again. Thank you for this, TLOU franchise is just my favourite just bc how true and alive its characters feel. I felt in love with Ellie in part 1, understand her in part 2, same for Joel. Im a first playthough I was conflicted with Abby, kinda liked her but man she miles Joel. On a second one, without the hurry for knowing what will happen I enjoyed her story a lot more, shes a really interesting character.
I hope we get the chance to see that new Ellie, if not, she went back to Dina in my mind and shes now free from her guilt and happy.
This analysis was amazing. Really interesting stuff, thanks for your work!
Amazing video. Thank you for this, Stories.