Not content on half-finishing their story and leaving the door ajar for an easy sequel, Part II tells a full story. Part II offers up what felt like more endings than Return of the King, stepping past a couple of natural resting points. It isn’t without a heap of tremendous set pieces, some of which are “Children of Men’s tracking shot” good, the second half of the game does drag at one or two points, even going so far as to threaten wearing its welcome out. It’s a brave, bold direction for Naughty Dog to take and I questioned halfway through how they could possibly execute on the idea. “They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” Though the presence of incredibly strong women isn’t a surprise for Part II, the game pivots, subverts expectations, and uncouples itself from the conventional. Mary’s Hospital massacre that punctuated the last act of The Last of Us, even if the effect paints him as a tragic villain whose actions put in motion a procession of violence that permeates Part II. It’s easy to empathise with the cause of Joel’s St. The Last of Us Part II doesn’t suffer the same fate, emerging as a spectacular sequel that boasts a far darker world, bankrupt of morals and one at the mercy of cause and effect. It did a lot of tremendous things in establishing the world, its characters and explored mature themes, and though it circumvents the ludonarrative dissonance that infects Nate Drake’s treasure hunts by establishing a precondition for violence, the necessary act of killing often impeded Naughty Dog’s clear storytelling might. The Last of Us introduced us to an America at the precipice, all through the lens of Joel and Ellie.