The Last of Us Part II was, without a doubt, one of the most hotly-anticipated video games of the year, and perhaps even the decade. The long-awaited sequel to 2013’s narrative-based zombie apocalypse title The Last of Us, many expected that this project – much like its predecessor – would be loved by critics and players alike. Unfortunately, however, that was not the case.
In the days that followed the game’s release, fans have taken to Reddit to voice their dissatisfaction with the experience, particularly its opening. And as is to be expected of any fanbase, the complaints these people filed do not deal with the objective quality of the game itself so much as their subjective opinion on its story.
Specifically – and spoilers ahead – the fans on Reddit are very, very angry about a few crucial plot points in the early part of the game. First and foremost, they do not want to accept the fact that Joel, the protagonist of the first outing, gets murdered by a new character.
The fact that this new character then becomes one of the protagonists of The Last of Us Part II, not to mention that Ellie, an important side character in the first game, also comes to forgive this person rather than kill them to avenge Joel, is just icing on the cake.
Of course, Naughty Dog knew that this was the response they’d get when they implemented such drastic changes to the plot and character dynamic of their title. While most Reddit users wonder how the developer could do something so stupid without giving it a second thought, the game’s actual designers will probably sit back and grin, knowing full-well this was all planned.
See, a good video game doesn’t just give you what you want the way you want it. Far from it. Much like HBO’s Game of Thrones, it screws with your feelings and leaves you frustrated rather than satisfied. But hey, that’s life.