Naughty Dog says that The Final of Us Element II is its most significant and most ambitious title to date. Not too long ago, we got a modest (two hour) taste of this ambitious project, but we walked away extremely happy. It nearly goes devoid of saying that The Final of Us fans ought to be excited for the game’s launch on February 21, but right here are 4 other huge takeaways from our time with the game.
Prepare to really feel rage
The original Final of Us explored a kid/parent connection among Joel and Ellie. Naughty Dog says that if the initial game was about exploring that sort of enjoy, then the sequel explores a entirely unique sort of emotion: rage.
Ellie grew up in a broken globe – a planet exactly where a fungal outbreak transformed most of humanity into zombie-like monsters. Nonetheless, by the finish of the initial game, Ellie reaches a secure haven exactly where it appears that she may have the likelihood to create a new life and encounter some of the joys that numerous of us take for granted. As Element II opens, Ellie lives inside a fairly secure neighborhood of people today and she even has the likelihood to discover a romantic connection with a further young girl named Dina.
Nonetheless, at some point in the game, Ellie faces a tragedy that entirely alterations her outlook. Naughty Dog remains tight-lipped about the nature of this tragedy, but the occasion sets Ellie off on a quest for revenge. In The Final of Us Element II, we’ll get to see how Ellie behaves just after she’s had the security of a “normal” life ripped from her – we’ll get to see the lengths with which Ellie will go to punish these who have hurt her. You can see the discomfort etched into the lines in Ellie’s face just about every time she sneaks up behind an enemy and slides her knife into their throat. The Final of Us Element II is not a game for the squeamish.
Movement is important to survival
Like the initial The Final of Us, Naughty Dog’s action feels grounded and brutal. Enemies coordinate their attacks and even get in touch with to every single other by name. Ellie’s luck can immediately run out of she is surrounded and outnumbered. One particular of the ideal tactics remains to remain hidden for as lengthy as probable and choose off your foes a single-by-a single. Thankfully, environments are big sufficient that I identified it uncomplicated to run and come across a hiding spot to catch my breath. Nevertheless, enemies will not neglect that they saw you and are continually on your heels, which adds a lot of tension to the action. I felt like I was continually on the move – taking a handful of sections to loot a area or craft an item prior to I had to hide once again from a roaming patrol.
In contrast to Joel, Ellie now has a jump button, so she can scamper and climb all more than the atmosphere. Climbing more than issues is from time to time a good way to prevent your captures, but it can also make you much easier to spot. I identified that it was frequently superior to go low. Ellie can each crouch or go prone. Laying down in tall grass tends to make Ellie tougher to spot, but as enemies get closer they will be far more most likely to see you. In The Final of Us Element II, you are by no means entirely hidden or secure.
New enemies assist heat up the action
The Final of Us Element II’s enemies are smarter than ever. Not only will human foes coordinate their attacks, they have a handful of new tools to use whilst hunting you. One particular of these tools is basically man’s ideal pal. Humans now employ hunting dogs, and they will use them to sniff you out. Employing Ellie’s hunter’s vision, you can see your personal scent trail and watch these animals gradually adhere to that trail to your present position. Dogs are a challenge to stealth kill since they can sense you coming, so you require to take them down from a distance with a bow and arrow or some other silent weapon. Regrettably, you will really feel like a monster just about every time you kill a dog. At a single point, a sniped a dog’s master, and the pup began to whine and paw at his master’s feet. I didn’t have the heart to kill the dog, which might have been a error, since the animal at some point caught my scent and hounded me till its teeth had been in my throat.
A further new enemy is a version of infected known as the Shambler. These lumbering brutes are not as well quick, but they are tanks who cannot be stealth killed and will force you to burn via a lot of ammo. At a single point, I smashed the glass of a vending machine to get at the goodies inside and I inadvertently alerted a Shambler who was subsequent door. The beast charged into my area and startled me. I attempted hacking at the monster with a hatchet, but the creature released a toxic plume of gas that sent Ellie coughing her way to an early grave. Shamblers are risky creatures, and you ought to really feel no shame in avoiding a fight with these horror shows.
Crafting is nevertheless king
Crafting was an essential element of the initial game, and it remains a substantial concentrate in the sequel. As you discover these dilapidated cities, you can scavenge old properties and industrial districts for components to make new weapons and other supplies. As in the initial game, the similar components can be applied to make a overall health pack or a molotov cocktail, forcing players to make a strategic decision: do you heal up or give your self a further offensive tool to assist clear out the subsequent area? This strategic pattern is repeated various occasions in the crafting menu for The Final of Us Element II. You will not normally be in a position to make all the things you want, but you will have a lot of possibilities to make anything excellent.
One particular of the new gadgets I crafted is a trap bomb that can be strategically placed all through the atmosphere and triggers automatically like a landmine. I applied these bombs sometimes to cover my tracks and they became a handy early warning program, alerting me anytime I was becoming followed.
Some crafting things will be locked behind the upgrade menu. As with the initial game, Ellie finds tablets all through the atmosphere, which she can use to upgrade her abilities. I applied some tablets to enable Ellie to crawl more quickly and get a bigger enhance from overall health packs, but you likely will not come across sufficient tablets to upgrade Ellie entirely. In reality, at a single point, I identified a hunting magazine that unlocked an completely new upgrade branch filled with issues like decreased weapon sway and more quickly movement speed whilst aiming. So, it is probable that some players will not even unlock or uncover specific upgrades in the course of their playthrough.
For far more about The Final of Us Element II, be certain to watch the most current trailer or catch up on the initial game by reading our overview.