Flashback sequence. In June 2013, The Last of Us Landed on PS3. From the first 10 minutes, the game, developed by the absolutely paralyzed, Naughty Dog Studio, harpooned the player to carry an emotional charge that would split the stones in two, until the final condemnation with double reading.
Filled with moments of pure terror and tension that gave way to realms of sadness and poetry with unease, and amidst a desolate landscape as magnificent as it is grim, it’s an understatement to say that the (mis)adventures of Joel and Ellie left an indelible mark on many players’ video game memories. has given; At the same time it’s an excellent swan song for consoles at the end of their lives.
Seven years later, in June 2020, The Last of Us Part II A mess at the end. Refining its recipe with a precision worthy of a Swiss watchmaker, Naughty Dog delivers a game of absolutely incredible visual and visceral power, taking the player through absolutely insane emotional elevators.
Through its descriptive and formal liberality, and sometimes even its extremes, which may unnerve some, The Last of Us Part II There is a task that haunts the memory for a long time.
A more beautiful version
Like its remastered version released on PS5 in September 2022, the second chapter is being re-released benefiting from new preferential treatment.
Here is the trailer…
Already superb on PS4, TLOU Part II’s graphics are boosted by 4K resolution, pushing one level above the level of detail that was already astounding in the previous version, especially when traversing jungle areas. There is also less transition time for a quick return to action.
This version is not just a “simple” facelift. It is cleverly accompanied by interesting additions. The first is an additional gaming experience, called “No Return”. A roguelike survival mode, where the goal is to hold out against waves of enemies for as long as possible, choosing your way through a series of random encounters. These skirmishes will put you face to face with various enemies in places symbolic of history The Last of Us Part II
All punctuated by boss fights.If the “Free Play Guitar” mode is purely anecdotal, we really appreciate the inclusion, in the version, of three sections of levels that were set aside during development. work in progress. Playable in one mode, each is accompanied by an introduction by Neil Druckman that explains the reasons for these cuts, as well as audio commentaries from the developers that unlock as we progress. A great initiative behind the scenes of creation.
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Among other additions, there is also the possibility to unlock in-game audio commentary from the game’s creators, which occurs when you first start the story and sporadically as you progress.
If the initiative to include an online audio podcast in the wake of TLOU Part II is lauded, enthusiasm is very (very) clearly tempered by the fact that it will be reserved for the most English-speaking among you, as there is No subtitles. You have to go on the web and read the transcription…
We have already seen much more practical and least stressful. Given the revenue generated by such licenses backed by Sony, offering directly accessible subtitles rather than inviting players to look elsewhere was minimal…
For our overall assessment The Last of Us Part II, she apparently hasn’t changed an inch. So we reproduce below what we wrote four years ago.
The poetry of ruins is too beautiful to cry
In TLOU 2, the first scene is the setting. We thought the studio had reached a sort of peak in its knowledge in the past, but we obviously didn’t know it very well. We lack superlatives to describe the Naughty Dog teams masterful work on the title. Crying is beautiful.
If the framework of the story offers magnificent mountain and hilly landscapes like Wyoming, which Michael Cimino and his Gate of Paradise would not have rejected, what can we say against this great shot of a farm set in the middle of a field? Of wheat, where the rays of the setting sun love the wheat? A shot whose composition is reminiscent of cinematographer Nestor Almendros’ fabulous work on Les Moisons du Ciel by Terrence Malick. Examples of these plans can be thought of as a canvas and we can extend them at will.
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Traveling the country on horseback (a little) and on foot (a lot), the player’s jaw drops more than once when he comes to and travels through the city of Seattle, which in fact forms the heart of the game. The architecture of the ruins, the skyscrapers of the city cut their disturbing silhouettes in the background, with a surprising depth of field, while we stand a little stunned, the walking and scattered remains of a civilization that collapsed on itself.
Everything, everything in the game, gives the impression of being the subject of a truly astonishing attention to detail. Every blade of grass, every ruined wall, every effect of light, gives the impression of having been placed there with scientific rigour. A chance to gauge how much visual storytelling weighs in a game: everything has meaning and a story to tell.
And if some people fear about the repetitiveness of the city environment that centers a very important part of the story, even there the mischievous dog teams are responsible for calmly anesthetizing the doubts.
“A Story of Trauma and Redemption”
“The Last of Us was a love story. The Last of Us Part II is a hate story. On the surface, it’s a simple ‘revenge story.’ But as you delve deeper into it, its deeper themes emerge. will come. This is a. story about tribalism; about how we demean and dehumanize each other.
It is also a haunting story; When should we let things slide? But when should we maintain them at all costs? It is a story of shock, redemption and compassion.” explained Neil Druckman, the game’s game director and screenwriter.
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A magnificent profession of faith indeed. Adopting a narrative structure imported directly from Rashomon, Druckmann was also supported in his heavy work by the sharp penmanship of screenwriter Haley Wegrin Gross, who was largely responsible for finding the narrative arc around the character of Abby in the play.
The first experience in the world of video games for the concerned person, who used his talent in the world of the series as a screenwriter. She notably worked on Nicolas Winding Refn’s Westworld and Too Old to Die Young.
In a story that multiplies flashback sequences, but without ever losing the delicate thread of its plot, the player is drawn into a story of extreme darkness that has the appearance of an ancient tragedy. The characters are driven by hubris; That is exaggeration, despair, pride and overconfidence, which can lead to fatal mistakes.
An extraordinary emotional elevator
Alternate tense sequences where the characters’ anger explodes into visceral violence of incredible brutality, with weightless, deeply moving sequences, some of which we see with bruised hearts like eye wounds. His soul, the player goes through several stages. Amazing emotions, some of which have the force of an uppercut. It is the genius, in any case, the science of writing, of a pair of screenwriters who carry Robert Plutchik’s famous cycle of emotions to perfection.
An American professor and psychologist, the author of the classification of common emotional reactions, he believes that there are eight basic emotions: joy, fear, disgust, anger, sadness, surprise, confidence and anticipation.
In his Wheel of Emotions, he proposed his 4 basic emotions qualified as primary (fear, anger, joy, sadness), which combine with memory and reflection mechanisms to give 4 other basic secondary emotions: confidence (linked to joy), disgust (sadness associated with), anticipation (associated with anger) and surprise (associated with fear).
Pure digression don’t you think? Not at all. We went through all these emotional spectrums in the game, thanks to the absolutely masterful staging.
A visceral experience
As long as we talk about this terrifying tangle of emotions, we have to thank the direction and the cast, which made this possible. Very high-end animation (especially facial), is enhanced by Troy Baker (Joel), Ashley Johnson (Ellie), Shannon Woodward (Dina), Jeffrey Pearce (Tommy, Joel’s brother) and Laura Bailey (Abby). about themselves, sometimes pushing their respective digital avatars to a point of fire never before reached.
Through its thematic richness we can see the themes (especially religion, which deserves a full development in itself, with almost all the biblical names in the play along with its characters); By the strength of his story, his words and his staging; By its attractive technical quality, it seems to us The Last of Us Part II Almost eliminating this playful dimension specific to video games, to provide a visceral, sensory, raw experience that comes as close as possible to a cinema or television series.
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Eventually, it becomes exhausting, our brains are on fire, that we put down our controller at the end of this adventure, while we stay for long minutes in front of our screen, tiredly thinking about the final credits rolling under our eyes. and emotion.
Nostalgia is already winning over us. And with it a very vivid, harsh feeling of living an intimate, sometimes painful, extraordinary experience, thanks to a work that will be a landmark in the history of video games.
This means that the second season of The Last of Us, which has just announced its casting, will have to be very (very) solid on its foundations to reach the level of its original model.