TLOU2 2 Year Anniversary

In celebration of the 2 year anniversary of TLOU2, we’re going to talk about how far we’ve come on the long and winding road of digesting Ellie and Abby’s brutal Cormac McCarthy like tale. And we’re going to take a look at where we are possibly going in the future.
00:00 Opener
00:17 Call to Action
00:28 Seeing TLOU2 Everywhere
01:14 It's Been Two Years
03:22 Influencing Future Games
04:00 How has TLOU2 impacted your life?
04:24 Created Nor Destroyed
04:36 Blood Meridian
05:10 Closing
05:49 Murder Train
===THUMBNAIL===
The virtual photography featured in the thumbnail of this video is the beautiful work of @Voldsby, whom I encourage you to follow on Twitter: / voldsby
===Primary Music in this Video===
Look for the Light by the amazingly talented Created Nor Destroyed
Linktree: linktr.ee/creatednordestroyed
==Additional Music==
Left Behind by Gustavo Santaolalla
====More Wolf of Thorns====
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Check out my other TLOU essays and videos:
• The Last of Us
*English Captions provided by the one-and-only PatientElijah*
Much love from WOLF OF THORNS 🤠
#TLOU2 #TheLastofUsPartII
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[@canada1529]

The first game was something special. I was really young when I first experienced it, (I kind of wish that I had been older, to better appreciate the nuance of the story and it’s characters) but even then, it captivated me. And not just because of some cool monsters or action scenes. It was a powerful story about love and connection. I’d never heard a story like it before, one that focused so deeply on the characters and their emotions. I became genuinely and strongly attached to Joel and Ellie. And I was inspired. Their story of love made me want to push for that kind of connection with people in my real life. It made me actively try to act more mature and nice to the people around me. . . . And then the second game hit me even harder than the first one. I was terrified it would be a shitty cash grab sequel, but I was relieved to find that the second game was even more emotionally impactful than the first one. And not entirely in pleasant ways. To this day, Ellie and Joel are among the most compelling characters I have ever seen, and that transcends even just video games. And by the end of the game’s opening, **some bitch named Abby** just comes along and drives a golf club into his head while Ellie begs her to stop. I couldn’t even be sad in the moment. It made me feel genuine hatred and bloodlust unlike anything I had ever felt towards a fictional character before. I *literally* needed to take a break just to cool off, because I was irrationally upset. It was only after that when I started to actually feel sad. So when Ellie decided to go on her revenge quest, I was all on board. I was feeling exactly what she was feeling. But as the game progressed, I could kinda see where the story was going. Ellie was losing herself to revenge and becoming a monster, “revenge bad, blah blah blah” But I just didn’t care. I could see the mental and physical toll this experience was taking on Ellie, another character that I genuinely cared for, but I wanted it to keep going. I wanted her to suffer (and to a much lesser extent, myself as well) just to see Abby’s blood spill. But then the game has the fucking **audacity** to ask me to play as Abby. The same **bitch** that killed Joel. And that’s the part that changed me. The second half of the game where I played as Abby. Somehow, I managed to understand her. And with time, I actually managed to like, respect, and care for her. The game was so masterfully crafted that by the time the final confrontation came between Abby and Ellie, I was on the verge of tears because **I didn’t want to see either of them get hurt**. Seeing the world through her eyes, and being put in her shoes opened up my perspective in a way that I could not have experienced in any other way. It took me beyond Ellie’s and my own experience and showed me another side to the same story. It showed me that there’s actually no “bad guy” at all. And that’s what this game does so well. I have honestly never experienced anything like The Last of Us Part 2 before. Something that made me feel every end of the emotional spectrum, and something that genuinely convinced me to re-examine my own biases and empathize with other people. **After playing the second game, I genuinely wanted to become a better person.** I wanted to try and **understand** the people around me, especially the ones I wasn’t on good terms with. It opened my eyes and changed my perspective on how I need to approach conflict, and morality. I’d give anything to forget these games and re-experience them for the first time all over again.

[@WolfofThorns]

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing your experience with all of us and just articulating what you were thinking and feeling throughout. Your reiteration of your experience strikes me as the perfect roadmap for what Neil and Halley probably intended with the overall emotional journey of the player, which only reinforces the watershed moment this truly is in the history of gaming. And I'm glad that we were all here together to be a part of it, controversy and all.

[@Laxton_Himself]

Great comment; worthy of the pin. It’s a shame that too many people don’t see the ways the game is challenging your existing viewpoints. Absolutely they want you to rage over Joel, but that’s all some see, rather than the fact that had you been Abby, you’d have done the same. Hopefully, the story has one last part 🤞🏻

[@Governator3]

Lil bit late of a response to this, but I think this game is a sort of empathy barometer. If you have a hard time empathizing with other people's viewpoints, you are going to have a hard time understanding the messages and themes of the game and will end up not liking it. I won't blame people for lacking empathy but for those who do have it, this game is just on another level of storytelling that I have never seen before in a video game and will probably never see again.

[@TanWam]

Something it taught me was that no matter how deep you get into a hole, no matter how much it feels like you’re destined to lose yourself and no matter how many mistakes you’ve made in the process, in the end you can always regain the control to save yourself and not lose who you are.

[@WolfofThorns]

Beautiful and powerful words, TanWam! Thanks for sharing

[@marshallbell7501]

Being a realist is more important than having hope.

[@dribblepi5554]

100% shame majority of people gave up on the game once joel died after that scene they gave up on the game

[@marshallbell7501]

@@dribblepi5554 I was wicked disappointed about Joel but as far as the game and the action, platforming, suspense... it was a 10/10 easy

[@Drekon009]

Hole, very weird mysterious thing; the more you take, the bigger it gets. Sometimes it's a passage, sometimes a dark pit. May we all find the positive path

[@jazzwizard2800]

I'm actually currently playing through the last of us series with my girlfriend, as she has never played them before, and even after my 13 playthroughs of TLOU and 6 or so playthroughs of TLOU2 I'm still learning more about the series and digesting it's themes and narratives and admiring the sheer artistic talent that went into this series that I have fallen head over heels in love with.

[@WolfofThorns]

Right on, Jazzwizard! I love it when we are able to share something like TLOU with those closest to us, and I love that you keep discovering things in your own journey revisiting the material time and time again. That's really the best kind of art--just a gift that keeps on giving.

[@rogercasulleras3224]

Times flies by fast man... 2 years already, feels like yesterday Can't really say for sure what it meant/how the game impacted me, because it's an amalgamation of a ton of feelings... But it sure was a journey like no other, and for that I think it's imo one of the best games ever Can't wait for Naughty Dog to break our hearts again in their future projects 👀 Take care Dan! and everyone too!

[@WolfofThorns]

Hey, Roger! Yeah, it's crazy how fast the time goes. Those grains of sand never stop raining in the hourglass. I'm excited to see what surprises lie in store for us just around the corner. Seems like we're on the verge of a The Last of Us Renaissance.

[@TheMarine316]

I can’t believe it’s been two years since this masterpiece released, I’ll admit I’ve gone back & played this at least a couple times a month since release… 34 in total, the quality of the overall product keeps bringing me back & frankly there hasn’t been a game in the last two years that has been able to compare to the last of us part 2 in my eyes.

[@sakimtornado]

u completed it 34 times??

[@ryanduncan6801]

It's a masterpiece I've never counted how many times I've played it I play the first 1 when I wanna be a savage and reminisce about the man who last everything struggled to be a myth then in the end he became a legend and will always live on in our hearts - Joel

[@TheMarine316]

@@ryanduncan6801 preach brotha

[@TheMarine316]

@@sakimtornado yup & I’m not ashamed, I love this series to death

[@WolfofThorns]

I feel you there, Marine. In some ways, we are very spoiled by quality and storytelling of this kind, but it leaves me hopeful for what we may see in the future. And here, here to 34 playthroughs. Cheers!

[@WhySoAwkward]

Happy birthday TLOU Pt2! Can't believe it's already been two years.

[@therevealingscience]

Its unbelievable two years has gone by since this masterpiece of a game released. I remember feeling the anticipation when release day was getting closer. To this day, I have never felt so many emotions in one game before. Not even the first Last of Us did that to me, though I felt the emotions in that game too. This was on a whole other level. What I appreciated about The Last of Us 2 is that Naughty Dog did not play it safe. They showed the realism and brutality of that world. The Last of Us 2 showed what grief can do to a person and how they change overtime. The two perspectives between Ellie and Abby was genius. There are two sides to a story, and they honed in on these two perspectives brilliantly. Joel was an amazing character and his death was a gut-punch for me. However, I wasn't completely surprised by it. I figured there was going to be consequences for his actions at the end of Part 1. Having Ellie witness his death was one of the most traumatizing scenes I have seen in a video game and the acting in that one scene was Oscar worthy. The writing, the production, and really everything about it exceeded my expectations by a mile. To me, as I'm sure others have felt as well, it didn't seem like I was playing a game. It felt real, like I was there with them. I felt Ellie's grief, and Abby's to an extent. I lost it with Joel and Ellie's last conversation on the porch, and this is where the intricate details of this game come in play. The next morning(in the beginning of the game)when Ellie and Dina are riding their horses they are discussing movies and Ellie mentioned to Dina that she was inviting Joel over to watch a movie with her. Note that Ellie has not hung out with him in two years. You didn't realize until the end of the game how poignant that was and devastating. There are so many nuances and incredible details throughout this experience and it amazes me to this day how Naughty Dog achieved this. I can go on and on, but this comment would be much longer. On another note, I can't wait for The Last of Us remake. Playing that masterpiece with TLOU2 graphics and gameplay, um yes please!

[@WolfofThorns]

Very well said, Dimitri! And I cannot wait for the remaaaaaaaake!

[@talullakobayashi6805]

Tlou has a special place in my heart. I find myself pretty coldhearted for movies, books, games.... but the best way I can explain this masterpiece is The Last of Us has a soul. It is one of a kind that wakes up lots of emotions, gets you to the tears and makes you feel more you even knew you can. It is special story about cruelty of human race and what we are able to do to each other. Story about love and how we are afraid to let that feeling in us. Story about apocalypse that made hummanity different, but gaveus amazing view to what kind of future we can expect.....

[@saraht0nin_]

been too long since i’ve heard that voice of yours 🖤 thank you for putting this together for us- always appreciated. i couldn’t figure out for awhile why this game struck such a chord for me. it sparked this obsession as soon as i played it- i went back and played it through again within 3 days. then i watched playthroughs to hear other peoples comments, trying to figure out if someone else could verbalize what i couldn’t: why did this game stick with me as much as it did? for me, i understand ellie. she chases her revenge like an addict chases a drug, a feeling i know all too well. and abby- her desire to fix everything around her and try to help everyone at the expense of herself… giving up her room for manny, her love of owen to mel, trying to get owen back to the wlf, saving lev and yara… as someone who constantly puts my own needs last, that spoke to me the more i played and watched. it put a mirror in front of me and forced me to examine my own behaviors and the consequences they could have on myself and others- and boy, is that jarring to have from this type of media. it’s a masterpiece, and i feel awful for anyone who doesn’t have the capacity to see that. much love all 🖤 can’t wait to see what we’ll uncover with the remake coming soon!

[@WolfofThorns]

Saraaaaaaaaah! Hey, you! Thank you for sharing your very personal allegorical connection to Ellie's pursuit of Abby, as well as your connection to Abby's catharsis side of the cycle. And yes, I am little kid levels of excited for Part One and I can't believe it is barreling toward us at a break-neck speed. I can't wait to see what is in store for us. I would say "Endure and Survive", but I know you always do, Sarah. Keep shining.

[@andrewsilverio8289]

Damn, 2 years. Time flies! I remember the hype waiting for my pre-order timer to count down. I haven't played the game since January after beating it on Grounded Permadeath Whole Game. But I will never forget the emotions this game made me feel. Happy Birthday to The Last Of Us Part ll!

[@AFriendlyWookie]

The last of us 2 (series has a whole but mostly 2) helped me when a girl I was seeing died On the 12th of January 2021 i lost a very close friend, We started to date but never made anything official and after they passed I was a mess (still sorta am) and I didn't know how to deal with it. I found my self replaying the first last of us for probably the 10-15th time I was just on autopilot at first but diving back into the world it honestly felt different and it felt like it was my first time playing it again, same for the second game it felt so much more real to me I felt everything the characters felt, never thought I'd cry playing a game for probably the 15th time but I did and it helped my vent some emotions and was a good distraction during the darker times

[@WolfofThorns]

Wow. Thank you for sharing such a personal and such a powerful experience with us. I'm glad that these games could, in some way, great or small, give you some measure of catharsis as you continue your journey processing everything with your loss. My heart goes out to you. A friendly Wookiee indeed. ♥

[@stealth909]

I loved TLOU2, it was by far my fave game to replay. The story is divisive but expertly written and pushes the story along brilliantly. The combat, graphics, controls, jump scares and areas to explore are all flawless. Naughty dog have a knack for cinematic games. Unchartered being the obvious one. I can’t wait for what’s coming next.

[@ajscarecraft5560]

Part 1 and 2 are both of my favorite game of all time

[@apnerds]

What are the odds of you also being a tlou superfan and a superfan of how I met your mother like myself. Insanity🔥 Happy 2nd anniversary to the most impacting game I’ve ever played in my life❤️

[@WolfofThorns]

Happy 2nd Anniversary, AP Nerds, and, if applicable, in the spirit of HIMYM, Happy Not-The-Father's Day!

[@happyadz8352]

Hey wolf. Happy two years and please let me commend you on your dedication to this game and its fans, you have provided so much entertainment and friendship. I truly think the most life changing thing about this game was the community that grew out of it and many thanks to you for being a pillar of that community. Much love - Happy.

[@WolfofThorns]

Heeeeeeeeey, Happy Adz! Thank you for the kind words and Happy two years to you as well! And, yes, our positive and supportive community is an unexpected but welcome fruit from such a haunting, beautiful, and brutal series of stories. Much love indeed right back at ya.

[@deanjones7066]

So I played LOU2 within a week, pouring hours into it daily. I loved the narrative arc and enjoyed its exploration of passive violence from the player, emotional connections between characters, the world building and all the allegorical imagery. But one thing really affected me like no other game. Its extremely violent and maybe a month after playing I had night terrors and dreams, actually screaming out loud during sleep and waking myself up. They started a few days after completion. My girlfriend was worried and thought I should see someone about them. I've not had them since and it only happened during the month I finished the game. It did make me ponder on the effects of video game imagery and the mind. Has anyone else had similar experiences?

[@WolfofThorns]

Wow, Dean, that sounds intense and thank you for sharing your experience with us. While the narrative absolutely rocked me emotionally during my first few times experiencing it, I did not personally experience any dreams or night terrors as you describe, but that doesn't mean anything, really. As much as we're all similar, we're also all very different, and all of our minds, fascinating things that they are, also work differently. Perhaps others here have had similar experiences. Either way, thank you for sharing, Dean. Endure and Survive!

[@jimc.3563]

This was a wonderful reflective video on a fantastic game. No piece of media has ever made me feel the specific way The Last of Us Part II does, and because of that, it really is my single favorite piece of media ever across all video games, movies, TV shows, and books. I’ve played it 13 times now and every time I feel like I get something new out of it, whether it be from its narrative, the world, or the gameplay. It’s an immaculately crafted game and I’m very excited to see what’s in store for this amazing franchise.

[@WolfofThorns]

Hey, Jim! And very beautifully articulated as well. Thank you for sharing your experience

[@toryspelling7737]

TLOU2 changed my life

[@dubaitaib]

By the time Sony announced a Part I remake, I had never played any TLoU, and since I bought a PS4 Pro this last March just to play these Sony exclusives, it felt right to do so as soon as the remake was announced, so I could avoid spoilers. TLoU was absolutely perfect for me. I cared deeply for Joel and Ellie and TLoU 2 has been an amazing rollercoaster for me. I just finished it for a second time just today, and I can say it has been the best experience I could ask for. I usually put Ocarina of Time, Shadow of the Colossus or Mass Effect in my top 3, but TLoU 2 will reign from now on as the best videogame I’ve ever played. I wish I could have enjoyed Joel and Ellie’s ride from day 1.

[@walterprater8738]

Truly amazing work Wolf!! One of the lessons that TLOU2 confirmed for me was that even though we may not be responsible for the ills that damage our lives, it IS our responsibility to heal ourselves from them and move forward.

[@WolfofThorns]

Absolutely, one hundred per cent, Walter. I could not have worded it better myself, sir.

[@tonedeaftakes]

Always with the killer videos. Glad to see you back, Wolf. Keep howlin'

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you, Pincell! 🐺

[@jackmitchell_kc267]

I can’t believe it’s already been 2 years

[@zach3861]

This may sound simple, but I hope TLOU2 inspires more media to just really say something. Most stories no matter how well written tend to be digestible with surface level concepts, with you basically understanding everything by the end without much forethought. The Last of Us Part II has never made me stop thinking about its narrative. Its story is endlessly interesting and challenges so much about it characters and ourselves. No other piece of media has ever left such a true impact on me.

[@WolfofThorns]

I feel you on that, Zach. The great news is, I can well imagine that some young developers of tomorrow are being powerfully imprinted and influenced by TLOU2 today. I think we're in store for great things.

[@anarhperez]

What a beautiful video, Wolf! I remember the first time I’ve played The Last of Us Part II and how it impacted me as a person. I felt in love with characters that I related with in such an intense way that even now, two years after the release of the game, I still think about it constantly. And thanks to that, I also found you and your channel, and I'm happy for that cuz I love your content. I've missed your videos

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you for the kind words, Ana! I hope you've been doing well, and yes, the time does fly. I hope you've been doing well. Are you as pumped for the P1 remake as I am?

[@anarhperez]

@@WolfofThorns Yeah, I'm super excited for the remake! The graphics look stunning! I can't wait to see how the gameplay will work. I hope they use the same mechanics from TLOU2, it would be fantastic! And I’m happy that they will provide a PC version cuz that will make possible to me play the game until I get a PS5 (I have to save a lot of money for that haha)

[@diegoldsnake]

If you want peace you have to surrender, stop that fight you have to yourself, to others and situations. Then things start to flow and came in the right place. Forgiveness to yourself and others it is the path to free of guilt we sometimes feel.... (Sorry for my english) I finish this game a couple of weeks ago, i have to wait two years to play it and evading every spoiler but the wait totally pay off....now im seeing every Tlous2 video i found and yours it is amazing! Congrats and glad to see the game still it is valid after two year...Greetings Wolf!

[@Carlos-ln8fd]

Still my favorite game ever. Aside from playing it one of the best parts is commenting on it with people like you guys.

[@secondnatureful]

brilliant game: 10/10. great video once again.

[@mrs.miiau28]

I think the most valuable thing TLOU 2 has taught me is that stories do not have to have happy endings all the time. In fact, some stories are even better and much more meaningful if there is no happy ending. I think we got so used to every character being happy or content at the end of a story because the media has fed us the idea that this is the right way of how story-telling works. But it‘s so much more realistic and raw and fathomable that not all stories in life have happy endings. At least not completely. In life, things rarely go to plan. There‘s joy and happy moments and times where everything falls right into place, but there’s also change, loss and heartbreak and pain. I think TLOU 2 is the story that captures what life is really like and what life is about in the most realistic and heartbreaking but also the most beautiful way I’ve ever seen in any form of media. It has raised my standards for storytelling in games to a level that will be hard to come close to by anything other than TLOU.

[@WolfofThorns]

I know what you mean, Anne. TLOU2 and RDR2 have certainly spoiled me on the quality of storytelling I expect from narrative video games, so I feel you there. TLOU2 actually has a secret happy ending, but that's a video for another time.

[@MeesdeFilmliefhebber]

While the first Last of Us game opened me to the glorious and diverse world of movies, and how impactful stories, characters and themes can be for the world and the people in it, it never quite made as much of an emotional gutpunch as Part II. I was already incredibly hyped for it because of the masterful trailers, and once I properly finished it, I had experienced pretty much every single emotion I knew. Playing that story and experiencing all the struggle, pain, suffering, grief, joy, hate was perhaps the most intense thing I have ever done in my life, and once again it opened my eyes to the reality of our world and the people in it: how things are never as black and white as they appear, that hatred and blind anger will not fix anything, and that empathy and being willing to listen are absolutely crucial to end violence between different people. Ellie and Abby are (next to Nathan Drake, Aragorn and Elena Fisher) my favorite characters of all time, and even watching essays about them on KZbin brings back so much fond and painful memories every damn time. They teach me about hope in the darkest of times, and that redemption from the deepest pit is still possible. Neither game is without flaw, and I frustrate myself with certain things each time I get back to them. But I would never disregard these two masterpieces because of one thing I don't like. They mean the world to me, and I truly and fully believe that the HBO show and Part I are going to be just as much of a work of beautiful art as the original.

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings, Mees! I love how you touched on having hope in the darkest of times and self redemption is still possible, no matter how deep into the pit we may feel we are. Endure and Survive.

[@Revenger_OMF]

amazing video as always

[@michaelstump7508]

It taught me that leaks suck. Ruined what could have been a great launch for them. Because as a result, people criticised the game for stuff that didn’t make sense, by people who didn’t even play the game for themselves. I love this game.

[@azzaman96]

For me the most significant thing I've taken away from my 10 playthroughs of TLoU 2 is; Abby smash! But in all seriousness, I love this game and am shocked that its already been two years since its release! This game got me through the 2020 COVID lockdowns, and cannot wait to purchase Part 1 for the PC!

[@WolfofThorns]

It is satisfying to smash things (and people) with Abby. And, yes, Aaron, the time just flies--the only thing it knows how to do.

[@azzaman96]

@@WolfofThorns hahaha! Love your content Wolf, keep up the great work!

[@thebatmanofneo-gotham5667]

I've said this before on KZbinr AP Nerd's own video about The Last Of Us Part 2, which is that this game's story is a living embodiment of the Firefly's phrase, "When you're lost in the dark, look for the light". The game may look like it's main message is "revenge is bad", as criticized as that point may be, and sure, that may be partly true, but it's not the overall full lesson the game was trying to get across. Part 2 isn't just about the dangers of revenge, it's also about learning to find yourself again, achieving your inner peace, and regaining sensibility after losing someone close to you and being lost in a negative mind space. Joel was going through this when he lost his daughter, Sarah, and after building a close bond with Ellie over several months, he managed to successfully reclaim his humanity and learned to move on from his personal tragedy. I believe this is also why Joel said what he said to Ellie in the end of the game, "If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance, I would do it all over again". He likely knew what he did would have consequences and come back to haunt him, but he didn't care, because knew he did what he did out of his newfound love for Ellie. He took back his role as a father who loved his child and would do anything to protect them, even if it meant going through the pits of Hell. It was Joel's way of looking for the light, and he accepted it. This same cycle of losing your way is further continued with Ellie, as she herself got lost in the obsession of revenge after Abby killed Joel. She wasn't being herself, she started acting uncharacteristic, she was dead set on punishing the person who wronged her, no matter who stood in her way. Looking back at it, it's actually quite understandable that Ellie felt his way. As far as we know, Joel was one of the rare few people to show any kind of love, compassion, and attachment towards someone who's been living with survivor's guilt and PTSD, the others being Riley, Marlene, Dina, and Tommy. So naturally, when Joel is taken away from her, her state of mind is not going to be intact. This is obviously shown throughout Part 2 when she tortured and interrogated Abby's friends. By the end of the story, Ellie came to realize that though she lost a lot, killing the person who gave you trauma wouldn't have solved her issues nor brought her any long-term peace, just as it didn't bring Abby any peace. So just as Abby chose to end the cycle of being lost in the darkness, so too did Ellie by sparing her and letting her go. She recognized the futility of her quest, so ergo, she chose for herself to close the book and move on. She chose to look for the light. She chose to, as Joel himself put it, "keep finding something to fight for".

[@toryspelling7737]

“Guess what, we’re shitty people Joel. It’s been that way for a long time.” “No, we are survivors!”

[@kasra123]

I'm a clinical psychologist with a fair degree of Jungian background and area of work called emotion regulation and meaning in life. What this game showed me again and again is the collective need for depth and meaning in life as well as the relevance and need for symbolic experiences. It follows an archetypal narrative grammar and is packed with hidden meaning, cross references and layers of complexity. Things that, we as a collective, are craving for since we are in an existential vacuum and crisis of meaning. But the thing that fascinated me most about the TLOU series was the sheer load of stress and terror it evokes. I cannot tell how emotionally overwhelmed and disturbed I was left by this game (again, I consider myself an expert in emotion regulation). It left me depressed for weeks and longer. But why do I say fascinate? Why do I frame this as a good quality or even a virtue? In a time and waste land of quick fixes, instant gratification and shallowness, TLOU's biggest strength is its realness. It gives us very good insights into the conditio humana. It's exactly this grounding in reality that elicits a spectrum of deep and intense emotional experiences which, if coped and handled properly, give back a sense of meaning, belonging and connectedness. However, if not handled properly, give us terror, disturbance and trauma. To allow, accept and tolerate this array of human emotional experiences and not to suppress and avoid them is the core task of any TLOU player. It is exactly this act that redeems us and helps us overcome our suffering, pain and wrongdoings, which we are ultimately part of since we embody, enact and operate Ellie, Abby and Co as players. It is exactly the act of realizing our self-deception and darkness and integrating our shadow into our being. "No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell" - C. G. Jung

[@WolfofThorns]

Man, that's one of my favorite Jungian quotes, Kasra123. And I believe you illustrate the experience, or dare I say the healthy handling of the experience, beautifully. Suppression and avoidance are certainly the enemies of introspection and meditation. In the wake of this massively heavy experience with Part II, I can't wait to see where the conclusion of Ellie's arc takes us in Part III... though I suppose we'll all have to.

[@silvercloudj]

My biggest takeaway from The Last of Us Part II is how we cannot change out trauma but we can change how we let it affect us before it changes those around us too.

[@WolfofThorns]

Very beautifully said, Selber

[@marcileatherboots1]

Biggest takeaway? Be true to yourself. It is okay to be wrong, to stumble and fall (metaphorically and/or literally), but get up, dust yourself off, learn from the experience, and be better than you were on the other side, all while finding something good and right to fight for.

[@ricardobautista-garcia8492]

This game have taught me that we are never prepared to make difficult choices in outstanding circumstances. Our morals do not change so long as our quality of life is high and free of danger.

[@ricardobautista-garcia8492]

A friend of mine mentioned the following regarding the game: "there are no bad guys and good guys, it's just primitive tribalism and everyone doing what they think is right based on the info they have at a given moment"

[@agentxkentucky]

For me, this game means everything. When I played the first one I suffered a loss, though it wasn't close to losing a child like Joel. I felt everything he felt, how I would do anything to have a chance to have that back. When I played the second one, it was probably during one of the lowest points in my life. I felt what Ellie felt, I mean I was living it in my own way but I felt the anger, the hate, just the want to get revenge because the wrongs that were done to you were so great you can't see any other way to absolve it. So, when I played it through a couple of times I realized that Joel's death wasn't an end it was a beginning, though how brutal it was and even after all the trials Ellie went through, when we got to the scene with Ellie at the farm I knew there was a chance to start over. Even when she went to Santa Barbara and back, there was still a chance to start over. All of these journeys, Joel, Ellie, and Abby. We're all signs that no matter where you are at, no matter what has happened, you can always start over. This game meant everything to me. Always have, always will. Endure and Survive.

[@WolfofThorns]

Endure and Survive indeed, Marceline. Thank you for sharing your experience with us!

[@owonysquatch]

I only just got into The Last of Us late last year and was absolutely blown away by what I have been missing out on for so long. No video game franchise has made me feel the way I felt playing these games than any other form of expression or story has before. But in the way of the TLOU2 specifically, it's difficult to put into words exactly how I felt playing the game for the first time. At points I loved it, at others, I hated it. I remember getting to the point of the game where you get to Abby's point of view and putting down the game for about a week. But eventually, I came back and got to the point where you cross the Seraphite bridges as Abby and all of the sudden realized, "Holy shit, I actually care about this character". Like many others, it challenged me in a way I never truly imagined video games could. Ultimately, The Last of Us reinvented in my mind how stories can be told and how much impact you can make with so little. By the way, thank you for creating such an amazing community surrounding this game. It does kinda sadden me to see all of the hate towards this game whenever you search it up online so seeing all this positivity here really puts a smile on my face and keeps me coming back.

[@WolfofThorns]

Thank you for the kind words, OwonySquatch, though I didn't create any community. It was here before me. I'm just a part of it and I think this content kind of just draws us all together, if that makes sense. But thank you for your kind words, and more importantly for sharing your personal experience with us. I actually think it's beautiful that you experienced this range of feeling with the story, having to walk away from it, then braving to come back, only to end up caring for Abby deeply. There is very little out there, in my experience, that can make us feel such a powerful range of emotions while also doing so much internal work and self reflection.

[@ajbanky7870]

I would still love to hear your interpretation on what must've been going through Abby's mind at the very end when Ellie spares her. Also on the boat ride

[@customgangstaz5873]

Damn time flies

[@solwayfirth1245]

im not very good at working with words. but i am very empathic. i completed the game for 5 times and it made me cry my ass off like not other game could. every new playthrought made me see more and more details and i loved that. i love the game

[@WolfofThorns]

No worries about not being good with words, Solway. I thought you articulated yourself beautifully. Thank you for sharing with us!

[@ricardobautista-garcia8492]

Excellent video. I recently finished the game. For me; the saddest scene was Ellie's madness as she is downing a weakened Abby. I am glad I was able to find people that liked the game. On a side note, the discord link does not work.

[@louiekim824]

Can’t believe it’s been 2 years since the release! This game is truly my favorite game and I hope they release the Part 3 very soon. Honestly I’m waiting for that one more than the Remake. Hopefully I don’t have to wait another 5 years for the Part 3.

[@WolfofThorns]

Hey there, Louie. I think it's going to be a little bit until we get Part III, but I think the remake and the multiplayer game are going to be quite the feast until then!

[@louiekim824]

@@WolfofThorns Unfortunately I have to agree… 😭 I just love the Part II so much I’d pay more than double the price of Part II for Part III… however I’d love to see how much the devs changed the Remake. It’s going to be a blast!! 😆👍

[@rickytricky5719]

TLOU2 is such an incredibly well done and detailed game to almost every aspect: story, map, gameplay, soundtrack, graphics and many more. Making the player have a full immersion to the moment can relieve the player of their life and get in the protagonists' shoes. It portrays true humans in an untrue world in a complex and really interesting way which the player can interpret at their own way with foreshadowing, paralel stories and secrets (besides what I have already mentioned) and the only other ip I have seen to reach this quality is Red Dead Redemption 2

[@PedroFerro1000]

Damn, two years! I almost can't believe it. But The Last of Us Part II was definetly one of the best, if not the best, game I ever played and I also had many great discussions with my friends about this beautiful game.

[@rickytricky5719]

Ellie Stinson... That would be legen- Wait for it! -dary!!!

[@WolfofThorns]

😆

[@WordsDarkerThanTheirWings]

At the end of the first game, all I could think was, "Well that was fucked up." But even still, that game stuck with me. I grabbed my pre-ordered copy the moment the store opened, and I raced home to play it. When it got to the scene where Joel was getting slaughtered, I truly felt for Ellie. Joel, not so much. You see, I was 100% percent on Ellie's side. What Joel did was wrong, and by taking away Ellie's choice, he not only broke Ellie's trust (and heart), he also damned the world. So when he was getting his head beat in, yeah I cried, but I was also thinking he kinda deserved it (not the getting tortured part, just the getting killed part). I still was on Ellie's side through her revenge mission, though the more brutal she got, the more I was like, "Hold up." But even though I KNEW she was going too far, I still had to get to Abby. At the perspective change, I wasn't angry. Sure it was a bit off-putting being thrown into a slower part of the game after the speeding train that was the first half, but I wasn't angry. I was just curious as to how this part of the game was going to pan out because I trusted Naughty Dog to give me an amazing experience. It wasn't until coming back to the Aquarium after escaping the burning Seraphite island that I realized what I had done. I saw a dead dog laying at the entrance, and as I'm trying to figure out why there was a dead dog there, it hit me. The speeding train that was the first part of the game, everything that it was building up to, finally crashed into me at that moment. I was appalled because *I* had done that. Not Ellie. Me. Because at that moment, I was engulfed into the game. There was no longer an Ellie or an Abby, there was only Me, Gillian. *I* had killed Alice. *I* had killed Owen and Mel. And *I* was about to witness everything that I had done. And let me tell you, I was not prepared for it. When I opened up the room where the bodies of Owen and Mel laid, I was crying. When Abby threw up, I wanted to throw up as well. But then Lev found the map, and a different dread settled in my stomach. I just wanted it to end, but the game kept saying, "But wait, there's more!" The fight in the theater was painful, but I made it. And the little reprieve at the farmhouse was much needed. What happened after that made me want to put the game down all together. I kept asking myself, "Why is the story still going? Haven't these 2 been through enough?" As I sat there on the beach beating the ever living crap out of Abby, all I could do was beg for it to stop. It wasn't until Abby got on the boat and was riding away with Lev that I realized that everything with the Rattlers, saving Abby's and Lev's lives, and then the fight on the beach needed to happen. Both of them needed to be at their lowest point for them to truly be able to move on, and in a way, they saved each other's lives. When I tell people about this game, I always tell them that this game ripped my heart out, stomped on it, then shoved my heart back into my chest right before it beat me with a mace. It then picked me back up, put me back together and gave me a nice soothing shower. And then it promptly ran me over with a truck and backed over me like 5 times before it was done with me. Back in November, I got Ellie's tattoo tattooed on me to remind myself to be like a moth and always look for the light. Now after saying all that, I think I'll go and replay it again. Ya know, just so it can destroy me like it did the first time I played it.

[@WolfofThorns]

Wow, Gillian, thank you for sharing this with us. I don't think I've ever seen a more apt description of the game's impact as the verbiage you use to describe the game to people. And I hear you--there's nothing quite like rushing back to embrace that feeling of being destroyed in the most immersive way possible.

[@josephhernandez3836]

Wolf I fucking love your videos

[@WolfofThorns]

Aw, Joseph, thank you for saying that!

[@Tourettes42069]

Gaming!

[@TheOnlyTaps]

🙏🏿❤️

[@WolfofThorns]

💖🙏

[@puzdawg3547]

I have only been able to play this game once as the subject matter is so depressing.

[@Wojteq69]

Fun fact: I've completed TLOU2 story today first time

[@WolfofThorns]

Congratulations! Well.... I say that with a certain amount of caution, as, if you were anything like me or most of us, you are probably feeling very emotionally rope-burned right now. I know I was!

[@EnisMemic]

No game has ever triggered me as much as tlou2 did.. That game litterally changed my life. I don't mean it changed my artistic perception via its graphics or its cinematography, it actually changed the way I think and interact with people. I remember all the hate that the game received back then and I also remember defending it in like a dozen of comments section of hate videos abt it lmao Defo top5 OAT in my book

[@Slikn94]

0:29 Do anyone know what film is this footage?

[@rogercasulleras3224]

From the 4th Season of 'Stranger Things' on Netflix

[@Slikn94]

@@rogercasulleras3224 thanks!!

[@rogercasulleras3224]

@@Slikn94 No prob :D

[@lb003g0676]

My favourite thing about the game? Part 2 feels like the culmination of years of criticism of Naughty Dog, for creating titles that display narrative dissonance. The creators of the stumble-prone, 'oh crap'ping, genocidal nice guy Nathan Drake found a way to answer that criticism. They created a game where the violence felt completely intentional, uncomfortable and cathartic. Every time you kill as Ellie and often as Abby, you remember you enjoy this, but you're an awful person for enjoying it. It's not moral. I also can't wait for how this volume factors into the overarching series. I truly cannot wait for Part 3 to vindicate the decisions people don't understand now. I can't wait for Ellie's story to execute on the cadence. She must find a reason to keep going.

[@sweatynessies6792]

I wish more games could display 2 perspectives 2 stories because than it’s harder to say for the good guy won.

[@WolfofThorns]

It will be very exciting to see how TLOU2's dual perspectives influence narrative games of the future

[@sweatynessies6792]

@@WolfofThorns Ya I would love for example a call of duty where you can experience more of both sides.

[@vergilsmotivation7817]

Oh man. 2 years have gone by so fast! I remember getting the game 3 months after it released. Shouldve bought it sooner if it weren't for my dumbass listening to the haters saying it was a terrible game. Its one of my favorite games now. 😁

[@WolfofThorns]

I'm glad that you experienced and fell in love with the game for yourself.

[@crimsonvoo7505]

17 Times played for me... not 1 has been played on grounded... I did permideath on easy with game play modifiers on and won lol

[@WolfofThorns]

All that matters is that you play the game your way, you know?

[@crimsonvoo7505]

@@WolfofThorns I tried grounded but didn't get very far. I'm surprised I wasn't lucilled by the kids with snowballs wrapped in barbed wire

[@JackC11111]

You should watch the show "The OA". Neil Druckmann basically copied the transgender character Buck Vu/Michelle Vu and even used the same actor that played as him for TLOU2 - Ian Alexander. When you watch the scenes with Buck you are basically watching Lev but not in a CGI format. The story is also very emotional and will change the way you look at the world in the same way TLOU2 does, but even more so. You have to give it a chance though because it can get weird. It's basically an even stranger version of Stranger Things. It's a Netflix original and has two seasons. If it wasn't for The OA the character Lev would have never existed. In an interview, Ian Alexander even said Neil Druckmann reached out to him to play the character Lev because of the show. It would be interesting if you did a video on how he stole the character from the person who stars in and wrote the show - Brit Marling.

[@Carlos-ln8fd]

I'm not sure if that's true. Lev was originally not a transgender character but just a kid who was escaping from an evil cult. They didn't know why he was escaping exactly. According to Druckmann, a person from the crew suggested that he was transgender and that's how that started. I mean, I guess you can say they're lying but with the limited information we have available it seems like just speculation.

[@JackC11111]

@@Carlos-ln8fd But the character from The OA is transgender and has the same actor. That's a weird coincidence to me.

[@steadychaosproductions3376]

In a vacuum, without all the bad PR, without all the delays, leaks and copyright strikes, without measuring it against TLOU 1, TLOU 2 is a hell of a game. The problem is, this game is not in a vacuum.

[@user-vj4tk6jw8i]

Dishonor disgrace and hate.

[@petermunoz6109]

I await the day when HBO's The Last of Us has caught up with the conclusion of Part II. I hope that we have a more comprehensive and complete story. Maybe the community can all come together and have a honest conversation about how deep this story really was.

[@unknownyoutuber3422]

Personally, I don’t think tlou2 was THAT bad, but I think it could’ve been better. I think if they did like a post credits thing at the end of the first game which shows Abby reacting to her fathers death leading into the first game and if Ellie and Abby’s stories were better written and had good balance of switches between the 2 instead of 1 huge part dedicated to one or the other (or just cut out the parts of abby’s segment that were unnecessary to the story), then the sequel would’ve been better received by the fan base instead of there being a huge divide among the fan base on whether it’s good or not. Even though I don’t think the game was as bad people make it out to be, i do see the reasoning as to why people believe it is that bad. Overall, I think the basic premise of the last of us part 2 makes sense, but it was poorly written which is the problem. Abby wanting revenge on Joel for killing her father does makes sense. The thing is that she came out of nowhere and there was nothing building to her wanting to kill Joel, she just did it and then you didn’t get her reasoning and her side of the story until after Ellie’s whole segment and at that point, most players hated her. The writing of the story of last of us part 2 wasn’t in a good order and was all over the place.

[@redowanrahman3471]

i was so disappointed in this game, 7 years of waiting and all we got was disappointment

[@alisoyupak2730]

I loved this game as did millions lmao

[@BuckBeakGaming]

The Last of Us Part 2 showed me that Abby is has one heck of a swing with that Golf Club but all jokes aside The Last of Us 2 sucks there's nothing redeeming about this garbage SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom is a way better game than this dumpster fire