It's a rain of 10/10, 20/20 and other A ++ that falls on The Last of Us, Part II , following a post-apocalyptic video game released in 2013, at the time unanimously welcomed by critics and players, and sold over 17 million copies worldwide. Even before its release on June 19, this second opus collects praise. While we have only gone half the way, for many, the studio Naughty Dog has just released the best game of 2020. We tested this PS4 exclusive, a vengeful odyssey as upsetting as it is terrifying but who fishes by excess of generosity.
>> Watch Matthieu Belliard's morning show in replay and in podcast here
Pandemic, survival and revenge
The story of The Last of Us begins in 2033. Modern civilization has collapsed since an infection with cordyceps, a parasitic fungus, appeared twenty years earlier. It transforms carriers into mutants which in turn infect other humans by biting them. The United States is in ruins and here and there small groups of survivors are organizing. In Boston, Joel, an old taciturn survivor, takes care of Ellie, an immune teenager, synonymous with hope for humanity. Together, they will cross America to join the Fireflies, a militia which refuses control of the territory by the army and promises salvation to humans.
The second part resumes four years after the end of the first. Joel and Ellie settled in a village of survivors in Wyoming. Protected from the infected and the bandits, they find a semblance of normal life there until a dramatic event interrupts this tranquility. Touched personally, eaten away by a desire for revenge, Ellie sets out again on the road, direction Seattle, with new companions. We will say nothing more of the story, except that it is once again worthy of the best series, with its share of twists and turns. It is not for nothing that an adaptation is underway on the side of HBO.
The woman is a wolf for the man
On a narrative level, Naughty Dog, who had already revolutionized the way of writing video games with the Uncharted saga , performs here a new demonstration. Even more than the first opus, this second part brilliantly interweaves the intensity of the action and the emotion of the script. The Last of Us, Part II is a clever montage of sudden adrenaline rushes, blood-chilling sequences, quieter exploration phases and scripted cinematics that blow you away. Thus, the game does not hesitate to cut the progression of the story with flashbacks bringing thickness to characters who will remain among the most interesting in the history of video games.
However, let's be clear, The Last of Us, Part II is very violent. The scenario, really dark, pushes Ellie, passed from child to adult from one game to another, to unleash her savagery of survivor. Hemoglobin is flowing afloat and you have to have a good heart. A true predator, heroin does not go unnoticed. On her way, she meets new infected, always as terrifying. Blind but very sensitive to sound, they make formidable enemies. The slightest step on broken glass can bring back to you a pack of "runners", "slappers" and other "colossi" who will leave you no chance. Infiltration is therefore always the watchword to hope to progress.
And this is even more true when Ellie has to face the most dangerous of monsters: the man. Taking advantage of post-apocalyptic chaos, several factions have advanced their pawns. The young woman is on a crusade against the Wolf, a revolutionary militia that opposes military control. Armed to the teeth, smarter than the infected, its members patrol everywhere and are much more devious to eliminate. Depending on the number of enemies, it is therefore necessary to think carefully before advancing, at the risk of causing an often fatal frontal confrontation. Forcing the player to think and strategize is one of the most successful points in The Last of Us, Part II .
Discover "GAMERS" the podcast of Europe 1 Studio
Do you remember the episodes of Assassin's Creed better than your history lessons? Did you wait for the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake as a kid on Christmas morning? Discover GAMERS, Europe 1 Studio's new podcast, and immerse yourself in the secret stories of cult video games. Creators, developers, managers and artists take you behind the scenes of the biggest gaming sagas…
>> Find the episodes on our Europe1.fr site and on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Dailymotion, YouTube, or your usual listening platforms.
An unnecessarily long adventure
But The Last Of Us, Part II is also a victim of his over-generosity. Always wanting to add more, the game drags on unnecessarily in length. Where its elder ended in just over 15 hours, it takes twice as much for the future. And the scenario, as neat as it is, finds itself distended by sequences where the progression is far too slow. The transition phases in particular, where Ellie must go from one point to another can seem interminable as they follow repetitive encounters with infected or enemy factions. So much so that reaching the objective of the mission sometimes takes more time than fulfilling the objective once arrived.
Mechanics powered by the game system, very focused on survival. In this world in ruins, you have to make everything yourself: care kits, silencer for weapons, homemade bombs ... Except that resources and ammunition are limited. If you are not careful, you may find yourself running out of bullets in the middle of a shooting. In order not to get there, you have to search every room, every drawer, every store. This obsessive quest turns out to be exhausting in the long run. After ten hours, we tended to zap this stage more and more, which does not prevent progress but significantly complicates the deal.
The advantage of this careful exploration is that it shows all the graphic majesty of The Last of Us , Part II . The first album, released in the last year of the PS3, had pushed the limits of this console. The second does the same with the PS4. The city of Seattle in ruins, nibbled by nature, has nothing to envy the scenery of the film I am a legend . From sticky sewers to abandoned buildings to streets filled with memories of the world before, everything is extremely neat. Incredibly rich, The Last of Us, Part II is without hesitation one, if not the most beautiful game of this generation of machines.