izigame.me

Part II delivered one of the most mishandled narratives I've ever endured. (spoilers below)
Starting with Ellie—she felt like a complete stranger who suffered from character regression, reduced agency, and an overemphasis on trauma over growth. Then there was Abby, a character that the writers were desperately trying to make me like by petting dogs, doing "good guy" quests to forcefully contrast Ellie's dark descent, or... watching the most cringeworthy impromptu sex scene that screams "WTF" I've ever seen in media. Oh, and Abby's segments all occur at crucial moments in Ellie's story too, creating a jarring disconnect between the overabundance of timelines. Manny, Owen, and Mel (a pregnant woman fighting zombies LOL)—are no better sadly. Hell, it's clear most characters exist only as cogs in a machine that are then unceremoniously one-tapped the moment their role is done.
Next up, Joel's death. It's not just that it happens—it's how. The scene felt rushed, sacrificing a character who deserved far better in favor of shock value, which failed anyway as it was quite obvious due to foreshadowing that such a scene was coming. A far smarter approach would've been to build Abby's perspective first, letting us connect with her before revealing the conflict with Joel and Ellie. Finally, the game’s insistence on revisiting Joel through flashbacks only degraded his loss, creating yet another jarring disconnect since the story was now randomly refusing to commit to its own choice.
Additionally, the game's incongruent message about revenge left me profoundly irritated: Abby kills Joel in cold blood, shows no remorse, and gets to sail off with Lev. Contrasted, Ellie sacrifices everything—Dina, the child, even her guitar-playing fingers—chasing justice, only for the game to pull back at the last second with a heavy-handed "woah there, revenge bad" lecture. In no universe can this feel anything but totally hypocritical, especially as Ellie's already killed countless people by that point, so why would she spare Abby?
And don't get me started on the plot holes, bizarre coincidences, and immersion-breaking details I noticed. A few examples include:
- Enemies conveniently choke or toss Ellie aside instead of finishing her with a bullet.
- Ellie sustains injuries which would otherwise be fatal multiple times, such as a direct hammer strike to the forehead or a tree branch piercing multiple vital organs.
- Joel and Tommy randomly trusting a stranger.
- Abby believing there's only one man on Earth called Joel.
- The high walls of Jackson being ignored in favor of sending characters on risky patrols.
- Abby’s physique evidently demanding 3,000+ calories a day in a post-apocalyptic world.
- A horde of infected apparently thriving in freezing winters.
- Pregnant ladies experience falls, car crashes etc. but don't suffer miscarriages.
In summary, I doubt I'll be returning for another playthrough as Part II has left me disconnected from all the characters I loved, and I no longer care about the story as there's simply nowhere to take it next. Honestly, Part I ends well enough that I'm quite content with the notion of pretending this sequel never happened, after all:
"There was a sequel, wasn't as good." - Joel Miller