3.5/5 ★ – BladedTech's review of The Last of Us Part II Remastered.
I've just finished The Last of Us Part II Remastered and will write a review soon. Here are my spoiler-free thoughts: The story takes unnecessary turns that would be better suited for a third game. The emotional impact of the story was not as strong as I expected. The gameplay is as solid as ever, but I had to turn on target lock in the accessibility settings and scan for items and enemies to make some segments playable. This is because most of the exploration bits lack direction. Also, I don't feel like I'm playing the game the way the developers intended. After a combat encounter, I'll continue to wherever I need to go and find nooks and crannies that are purpose-built to escape enemies. On that note, even the big Infected enemies are pretty straightforward, and I was able to defeat them after just a few tries.
In addition, I played No Return, and I'm completely hooked. The game is so much fun! The loop of upgrading yourself and your weapons before a randomized level is enough to keep me engaged for hours.