The Last of Us: Part II

If you want more: Joel and Ellie and friends, TLoU’s world, emotional crises
Notable differences: Significantly longer, features way more characters, subtle tweaks to the gameplay
Availability: PS4, PS5

If you haven’t played The Last of Us’ direct sequel, then Part II seems like an obvious follow-up to the first game. But before you jump in, you might want to consider a few things. Though Part II is a great game, the existence of the excellent HBO adaptation changes things. It might be worth waiting to see the rest of the story play out on-screen with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, especially if the show was your introduction to the world and they are “your” Joel and Ellie. These games may have sold us on this classic duo, but the show has brought us a new level of emotional intimacy in these characters—so much so that I’m starting to find the games a little rigid in comparison.

The Last of Us: Part II is everything you loved from the first one, but it feels way more fluid (even compared to the recent 2022 remake of the first game). The added ability to go prone adds a new dimension to the combat and there are some more interesting environmental puzzles than what was in the first game.

If you’re planning to head into Part II, however, be ready for a long game. Seriously: there’s kind of two games in one here. Also, a warning: The PS5’s wonderful homescreen, which sometimes features photos taken from the community, will sometimes feature clear and direct spoilers for this game. If you’ve somehow managed to steer clear of spoilers in the five years since Part II hit the PS4, few things will suck more than Sony’s shoehorned social features literally showing you how a specific character dies. Launch into the game as quickly as you can when firing this up on a PS5.