{"id":28609,"date":"2020-06-30T12:40:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T10:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=28609"},"modified":"2020-06-30T12:40:38","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T10:40:38","slug":"review-the-last-of-us-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/review-the-last-of-us-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Last of Us Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Without a doubt, <em>The Last of\u00a0 Us Part II<\/em>\u00a0is one of the most highly-anticipated releases for quite some time. After the first game proved to be a sombre yet brilliant smash hit when it first arrived on the PS3 back in 2013, fans have been clambering for a continuation of the post-apocalyptic survival story.; but with the sequel now here, has it been worth the wait?<\/p>\n<p>The game picks up a few years after the original, and continues the story of the unlikely duo of Joel and Ellie, but whereas in the first game you primarily took control of Joel, you&#8217;ll mainly be playing as Ellie as she hunts down a mysterious group in order to find answers. The story is as captivating and heart-wrenching as you&#8217;d expect from the series,and while it does take some detours away from the key plot, it does find its way back to deliver some jaw-dropping moments.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the gameplay, if you played the original, you&#8217;ll know what to expect here: exploring semi-open ended areas, fighting humans and infected creatures in stealth or full-blown combat, solving relatively simple puzzles, and more. The formula is as fresh and exciting as ever and doesn&#8217;t wear out its welcome right throughout the 20+ hour playtime, mostly thanks to some truly awe-inspiring environments and situations that mix up the action.<\/p>\n<div class=\"arve-wrapper\" data-mode=\"normal\" data-provider=\"youtube\" id=\"arve-II5UsqP2JAk\" style=\"max-width:702px;\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\">\n<div class=\"arve-embed-container\" style=\"padding-bottom:56.250000%\"><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/II5UsqP2JAk?iv_load_policy=3&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;playsinline=1&amp;autoplay=0\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen class=\"arve-iframe fitvidsignore\" frameborder=\"0\" name sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/II5UsqP2JAk?iv_load_policy=3&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autoplay=0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And that idea of keeping you on your toes is a testament to the dynamism of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pricecheck.co.za\/search?search=the%20last%20of%20us&amp;category=17&amp;utm_source=blog.pricecheck.co.za&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog_Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II&amp;utm_content=Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Last of Us II<\/em><\/a>&#8216;s gameplay variety. Rather than repeating a loop for 20-odd hours, you&#8217;ll go from tense combat situations, to cinematic chase sequences, to slow story-driven set-pieces. There&#8217;s always something to mix up the pacing of the game, and it makes <em>TLoU 2<\/em> feel more like a comprehensive gaming experience, with bits and pieces from Naughty Dog&#8217;s best attributes, rather than a straight action-survival game. And for those who played Naughty Dog&#8217;s previous release, , some of the new tweaks will be immediately familiar.<\/p>\n<p>There are of course some new tricks in The Last of Us Part 2&#8217;s arsenal, and ones clearly inspired by developer\u00a0 Naughty Dog&#8217;s past release,\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pricecheck.co.za\/search?search=uncharted%204&amp;category=17&amp;utm_source=blog.pricecheck.co.za&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog_Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II&amp;utm_content=Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Uncharted 4: A Thief&#8217;s End<\/a>. <\/em>Similar physics-based puzzles and rope mechanics that were prevalent in Nathan Drake&#8217;s final adventure appear in <em>TLoU 2<\/em>, along with some of the presentation elements (such as Ellie having a notebook she can flip through, akin to Drake&#8217;s) are also introduced. This does make the game feel closer to Naughty Dog&#8217;s other award-winning franchise, but still manages to keep that &#8216;<em>Last of Us<\/em> grittiness&#8217; intact.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28610\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Last-of-Us-Part-2-gameplay-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Last-of-Us-Part-2-gameplay-1.jpg 800w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Last-of-Us-Part-2-gameplay-1-300x169.jpg 300w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Last-of-Us-Part-2-gameplay-1-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s no denying that <em>The Last of Us Part II<\/em> is easily one of the best-looking games you&#8217;ll find on any platform at the moment, with the tiniest of details being meticulously crafted and beautiful to look at. However, there are subtle visual hiccups (usually a awkward animation or slow-loading texture), but in the grand scheme of the game&#8217;s presentation, they don&#8217;t hinder or affect the experience at all.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Last of Us: Part II<\/em>\u00a0elevates and improves upon what made the original such a beloved release, while also feeling like a true follow-up in terms of story and delivery. It&#8217;s essentially a must-buy for any PS4 owner, and while we&#8217;re heading to the end of the PS4&#8217;s life-cycle, it may even convince some to pick up Sony&#8217;s console just to experience Joel and Ellie&#8217;s harrowing story.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Last of Us Part II<\/em> is available on PS4.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n    .wp-pros-cons {\r\n        background: #F9F9F9;\r\n        border: dashed 2px #27C110;\r\n                }\r\n\r\n    .wp-pros-cons .wppc-btn-wrapper .jd-wppc-btn {\r\n        color: #fff;\r\n        background: #212121;\r\n    }\r\n    .wp-pros-cons .wppc-btn-wrapper .jd-wppc-btn {\r\n        border-radius: 5px;\r\n    }\r\n\r\n<\/style>\r\n<div class=\"wp-pros-cons wppc-view1\">\r\n    <H3 class='wppc-pros-cons-heading'>The Last of Us Part II<\/H3>\r\n    <div class=\"wppc-boxs\">\r\n        <div class=\"wppc-box pros-content\">\r\n            <div class=\"wppc-header\">\r\n                                <div class=\"wppc-box-symbol\">\r\n                    <i class=\"far fa-thumbs-up\"><\/i>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <h4 class=\"wppc-content-title cons-title\">Pros<\/h4>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-pros-cons-list wp-pros-list\">\n<li class=\"joomdev_wpc_pro_single\">Breathtaking visuals<\/li>\n<li class=\"joomdev_wpc_pro_single\">Visceral combat<\/li>\n<li class=\"joomdev_wpc_pro_single\">Triple-A production value<\/li>\n<li class=\"joomdev_wpc_pro_single\">Interesting gameplay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>        <\/div>\r\n\r\n        <div class=\"wppc-box cons-content\">\r\n            <div class=\"wppc-header\">\r\n                                <div class=\"wppc-box-symbol\">\r\n                    <i class=\"far fa-thumbs-down\"><\/i>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <h4 class=\"wppc-content-title cons-title\">Cons<\/h4>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-pros-cons-list wp-cons-list\">\n<li class=\"joomdev_wpc_con_single\">Small visual bugs<\/li>\n<li class=\"joomdev_wpc_con_single\">Weaker third act<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n    <div class=\"wppc-btn-wrapper\">\r\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pricecheck.co.za\/search?search=the%20last%20of%20us&amp;utm_source=blog.pricecheck.co.za&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog_Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II&amp;utm_content=Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II\" target=\"_BLANK\" rel=\"dofollow\" class=\"jd-wppc-btn wp-block-button__link\">\r\n            Find the best price.        <\/a>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\n<h4>Find and compare the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pricecheck.co.za\/categories\/17\/Video+Games+&amp;+Accessories?utm_source=blog.pricecheck.co.za&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog_Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II&amp;utm_content=Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">best prices on Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Switch games<\/a>\u00a0on PriceCheck!<\/h4>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pricecheck.co.za\/categories\/17\/Video+Games+&amp;+Accessories?utm_source=blog.pricecheck.co.za&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog_Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II&amp;utm_content=Review_The_Last_of_Us_Part%20II\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"no-display appear alignnone wp-image-21641\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.pricecheck.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Buttons_ViewOffers.png\" sizes=\"(max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.pricecheck.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Buttons_ViewOffers.png 550w, https:\/\/blog.pricecheck.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Buttons_ViewOffers-300x57.png 300w\" alt=\"view offers\" width=\"335\" height=\"64\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We review one of the most highly-anticipated games of 2020, The Last of Us: Part II!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":28611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115,2869],"tags":[3161,6607,1821,1601,6604,873,1614,6063,718,4098,6605,6456,6606,5776],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/The-last-of-Us-Part-2-review.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28609"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28609"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28614,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28609\/revisions\/28614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}