‘The Last of Us Part II’ fell short and became what it questioned within the Video-Game Industry.
As a lifetime gamer, I have seen plenty of violence and bloodshed in video games. I can sit through a rough game if the story is good enough. This was not the case for The Last of Us Part II. Though the story of Joel, Ellie and Abby are fascinating, I do not believe the violence at the forefront of gameplay supports the questions Part II was trying to present. Why do we enjoy violence? Due to the overwhelming brutality and constant bloodshed, The Last of Us Part II misses the mark and becomes what it questions, a gory, violent game just for fun.
The Last of Us Part II introduces us to a whole new level of brutality without batting an eye, making it feel just like every other violent game. Sims (2020) says “…by upping the ante, it gets caught up in the very cycles of violence it’s trying to critique” (p. 4) by forcing players into even more violent situations, Part II ended up being worse than some of the current blockbuster titles. The story is great, but the brutality caused many people to set the controller down and ask themselves, what if I do not want to kill them? “Much has been said about the game’s bleak, realistic approach to violence, which isn’t entertaining as much as it makes you feel sick for simply continuing to play.” (Sims, 2020, p. 5) The violence in Part II is unnecessary and left many players feeling disgusted after playing through the game.
From the murder of a main character in front of the player to pressing the button for every strike while beating someone to death, the bloodshed and gore throughout Part II is unavoidable and frankly sickening. “The Last of Us Part II lets you play as stealthily as you want, but plenty of times it forces you to go along and kill people without being given another choice.”(Motamayor, 2020, p. 6) By removing choice and forcing players into these encounters without a non-violent solution, the player is forced to do unfathomable things. Motamayor (2020) says, “In one pivotal scene, Ellie has to beat someone to death to get valuable information, and the game makes the player press a button to land every single blow. Horrified, I set my controller down and watched the screen for minutes to see whether I could avoid this task entirely; eventually, it was clear I couldn’t.” (p. 6) I watched plenty of gameplay videos where the player is begging not to do this, not to beat someone to death. The level of gore and bloodshed made many people not want to play Part II.
While The Last of Us Part II is a record-breaking game, I believe it was violent just to be violent. I believe Part II brought to the table nothing more than just another gory game and I find it hard to find any redeeming qualities in the game style. Sims and Motamayor make compelling arguments of the game’s redemptions, from the story of Abby and Ellie, to forcing players to ask themselves why they enjoy violence. I believe, unfortunately, by taking away choice and forcing players to brutally kill everything and everyone in their path, The Last of Us Part II missed the target and became just another violent game on the shelves of stores.
Resources:
Sims, D. (2020, July 1). The Last of Us 2 and the Limits of Video-Game Violence. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/07/the-last-of-us-limits-video-game-violence/613696/
Motamayor, R. (2020, July 11). The Brutal Redemptions of ‘The Last of Us Part II.’ Observer. https://observer.com/2020/07/the-last-of-us-part-2-redemption-naughty-dog-analysis/