Pokemon Go‘s annual holiday event is returning next week, developer Niantic has announced. The event kicks off at 8 AM local time on December 22 and will feature a ton of festive activities and bonuses, including increased appearances of Ice Pokemon, exclusive Research tasks to complete, and more.
Throughout the holiday event, Ice-type Pokemon such as Spheal, Snover, Snorunt, and others will appear in the wild and hatch from 5 km eggs more frequently than normal. The Fresh Snow Pokemon Vanillite and its evolved forms will also make their debut in the game during the event, while Alolan Sandshrew, Dewgong, Jynx, Walrein, and more will appear as Raid bosses.
In addition to all the Ice Pokemon, a couple of festive costumed Pokemon will be available during the Holiday 2020 event as well. You’ll be able to catch Pikachu, Delibird, and Cubchoo wearing holiday-themed outfits. You’ll also have a chance to encounter Shiny Jynx in Raids.
Beyond the increased Pokemon spawns, there will be a variety of event-exclusive Field Research tasks to complete. These will lead to encounters with Cryogonal and Vanillite, among other rewards. Niantic is also adding some new holiday-themed avatar items to Pokemon Go’s style shop, including a Greedent Sweater, Whimsicott Earmuffs, and Winter Coat.
Finally, Niantic will offer various bonuses during the celebration. Throughout the entire event, you’ll be able to carry 40 gifts at a time and open up to 45 gifts each day. The following bonuses will also be available on specific days:
December 22-23 — 2x Raid XP
December 24-25 — 2x catch Candy
December 26-27 — 2x Star Piece duration
December 28-29 — 2x Lucky Egg duration
December 30-31 — 2x catch Stardust
The Holiday 2020 event runs until 10 PM local time on December 31. You can read more details on the Pokemon Go website.
The downturn has caused some in the industry to question CD Projekt’s strategy. Daniel Ahmad, a senior analyst at Niko Partners who often tweets about industry happenings, said that this reflects an “overreliance on one large game release every few years…Any sort of uncertainty/issues will lead to this. Ultimately the decline isn’t because the game isn’t selling well, but because of future prospects / current known issues.”
As I noted before, the over reliance on one large game release every few years is never a good thing. Any sort of uncertainty/ issues will lead to this. Ultimately the decline isn’t because the game isn’t selling well, but because of future prospects / current known issues.
CDPR’s stock is taking a hit IN THIS MOMENT. But let’s pull the camera back… 5 days 1 month 6 months 1 year They’ll be fine. Stop stanning billion dollar corporations. They’ll recover from this. They already made their money back from CP2077 dev. They’ll get away with this. pic.twitter.com/wSlufQLvts
Others have downplayed the stock price, calling it merely a bump in the road for one of the world’s biggest video game developers. For example, reporter and consultant Mike Futter noted that CD Projekt’s stock price is still ahead of where it was a year ago.
To be clear, stock prices are a fickle beast, and they reflect dozens of factors that are bigger than the release of just one game, even a blockbuster like Cyberpunk 2077. That said, the roiling controversy surrounding the game–and particularly its last-gen console versions, which are so buggy and broken that Sony and Microsoft have begun offering refunds–has overshadowed its positive review scores and impressive sales numbers.
CD Projekt issued a statement on Monday acknowledging the technical issues on PS4 and Xbox One and urging those who are unsatisfied with the experience to seek refunds. They also said that an update is planned within the next seven days that will hopefully alleviate some of those shortcomings. For more on the game, be sure to check out our full Cyberpunk 2077 review. This isn’t the first time the game has shown issues in need of fixing–the latest patch, version 1.04, addressed seizure-inducing scenes affecting those with epilepsy, music copyright issues for content creators, and a number of other problems.
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Wonder Woman 1984 and Star Trek’s Chris Pine is in talks to star in Paramount and eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons feature film.
As reported by THR, Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are set to direct the feature that is based on the popular role-playing game owned by Wizards of the Coast. Goldstein and Daley also wrote the latest version of the script that was based off a previous draft by Michael Gilio.
No plot details were given for this new Dungeons & Dragon movie, but it will be the first feature film based on the property since Jeremy Irons’ starred in New Line’s adaptation in 2000.
In our review of 2000’s Dungeons & Dragons, we said “if making a movie is akin to running a marathon, then Dungeons & Dragons is like an infant trying to crawl. This film truly gives the already legendary Battlefield Earth legitimate competition as the worst, most inept big-budget movie released by a major studio in recent memory. Though it doesn’t have Battlefield Earth’s extra camp factors (the Scientology connection, Travolta), it may well actually be even worse. Quite an achievement.”
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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
An update for NBA 2K21 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is now live and it makes some visual changes, particularly regarding players and teams. The patch notes are outlined below.
Several teams have had their City uniforms updated, including the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers. Players on those teams, like the Celtics’ Kemba Walker and Clippers’ Paul George, have had their likenesses updated as well to bring them more in line with their real-life counterparts. Other players have improved signature facial animations, though it’s unclear which players this applies to. There are also updates for the Toronto Raptors’ logo and City courts for teams like the Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers.
Along with updates to the City for various teams is a holiday makeover. The City in NBA 2K21 will be decked out in Christmas accouterments starting December 15.
One notable change made to NBA 2K21 on next-gen consoles is the size of the “green release” window. When shooting while being heavily contested, the window has been decreased. This difference will make those already tough shots even tougher to sink.
This third update also packages fixes for various gameplay issues, including problems with settings occasionally resetting after entering and leaving the menu during a game. Other fixes include stabilizing MyNBA Online, ironing out random hangs during the lottery in MyWNBA and The W, and addressing issues with collision detection in Pro-Aam games. There are also a “number of under-the-hood support items” added in preparation for MyTeam Seasons.
NBA 2K21 Update 3 Patch Notes
General
Court floor updates have been made for:
Philadelphia 76ers Primary
Philadelphia 76ers City Court
Utah Jazz City Court
Brooklyn Nets City Court
Denver Nuggets Statement Court
Denver Nuggets City Court
Uniform updates have been made for the following teams:
Philadelphia 76ers (updated City uniform)
Chicago Bulls (updated City uniform)
New York Knicks (updated City uniform)
Cleveland Cavaliers (updated City uniform)
New Orleans Pelicans (updated sponsor logo)
Los Angeles Clippers (updated sponsor logo)
Boston Celtics (updated sponsor logo)
Brooklyn Nets (updated sponsor logo)
Denver Nuggets (updated sponsor logo)
Los Angeles Lakers (updated sponsor logo)
Washington Wizards (updated sponsor logo)
The following players have received likeness and/or signature facial animation updates:
Paul George
DeMar DeRozan
Bradley Beal
Kemba Walker
Draymond Green
Rudy Gobert
Ben Simmons
Hassan Whiteside
Robin Lopez
Steven Adams
Isaac Okoro
Kelly Oubre Jr.
Cassius Stanley
Richaun Holmes
Precious Achiuwa
Josh Green
Aaron Nesmith
Tariq Owens
Edmond Sumner
Jalen Smith
Kira Lewis Jr.
Saddiq Bey
Steve Novak
Kelenna Azubuike
Devin Vassell
Chimezie Metu
Alen Smailagic
Naz Reid
Zylan Cheatham
The primary logo for the Toronto Raptors has been updated to reflect the latest design
Corrected a lighting issue in the historic Amway Center (Orlando Magic) arena
Addressed an issue with shorts displaying incorrectly in certain situations for classic teams
Resolved a rare hang when importing a face scan via the MyNBA2K app
Gameplay
Tightened up charge and block collision animations to prevent unwanted sliding
CPU defenders will now properly recognize the direction of a screen even after it has been flipped
Smaller “green release” windows on heavily contested shots
Fixed an issue with double-teams that was being used as an exploit
Adjusted breakout time of in-game emotes to prevent unrealistic movement
Corrected an issue with play graphics where the line for the pass would begin at MyPlayer, even if they did not have the ball
Resolved an issue with certain settings sometimes getting reset when entering and exiting the menu when in a game
You are now able to change the Tempo and Rebound settings when you toggle the ACE manager ON/OFF
Players will no longer be able to move unrealistically while defending inbound passes during Garage Hoops games
The City
The City is being decked out for the holidays! Coming Tuesday at 8AM PST!
Continued optimization and refinements to performance in the City
Various improvements and enhancements to buildings/objects/landscapes/lighting in the City
Further improvements have been made to invites and joining friends in the City
Streamlined the process of entering a store when you have a ball or vehicle equipped
The try-on feature should now properly work for the various standalone stores throughout the City
The Rep multiplier will now correctly appear in the postgame recap
Corrected an issue where the VC balance would not update immediately upon earning in various City events
Continued enhancements to the Puma Mania, Mobil 1, Kia Challenge, and Wacky Wednesday events
Fixed an issue in the postgame recap where the overall rating was not correctly showing the tenths of a point (it would appear stuck at 99.0)
Addressed user-reported issues with Garage Hoops games and related flow
Added collision to the baskets in Warehouse Challenge games for players running underneath
Resolved an issue where the timer/counter would sometimes not track during workouts in the Gatorade Training Facility
Corrected some visual issues when using the subway
You are no longer able to enter and purchase items at stores for Affiliations you do not belong to
Pro-Am/The Rec
New Holiday uniforms have been added for Pro-Am games
Updated uniforms have been added for Rec Center games
Resolved user-reported issues with private matchmaking for Pro-Am Team games
Improved the ability of CPU players used as fill-ins for Pro-Am Walk-On games
Addressed an issue with invisible collision under the hoop in Pro-Am games
Addressed tracking issues with stats during games in the Rec Center
Resolved a hang that could occur in Pro-Am when editing the uniform while other players on the team were still in a game
MyCAREER
Continued improvements to arena personnel positioning and behavior during postgame events, particularly in relation to on-court interviews
Your MyPlayer’s body type will now properly be kept individually per save
Addressed an issue with the saved camera setting being reset after the pregame shootaround in MyCAREER games
You can now skip through the animation of your MyPlayer walking back to the bench after being subbed out
Resolved a rare issue where newly applied tattoos could disappear when changing your MyPlayer’s appearance
Fixed a rare hang that could occur in the Jump Shot Creator menu when customizing your shot
Fixed an issue where your difficulty could be reset after participating in a training session with Chris Brickley
Addressed a logic error in The Long Shadow when determining if your performance was good or bad in the Combine and Private NBA Team Workout
Corrected a situation in the Dunk Contest where the Round Recap overlay could stay on the screen for too long, obscuring the following dunk
MyNBA
Uploaded Player DNAs and prospects in uploaded draft classes will now retain their tattoos
Start from Offseason will now include the rookies in the 2020 NBA Draft
Addressed a hang that some users reported when attempting to start a new MyNBA while using a custom roster
Addressed a hang that some users reported when attempting to download/apply Team Designs into a MyNBA
Editing tattoos will now work correctly in MyNBA Online
Fixed a progression issue in MyNBA Online that was causing many players to have their overall rating incorrectly decrease over time
Resolved various stability issues in MyNBA Online
Contracts for released players will no longer appear on the salary cap when dead cap rules have been disabled
Players will now continue to age after their age has been edited
Various improvements have been made related to player training and flex scheduling
You are no longer able to edit players in a ranked MyNBA league
Improved G League player generation to allow for a more realistic prospect pool
MyWNBA/The W
Players will now be wearing the expected/correct clothing during The W Online games
The camera will now always keep both the player and the ball on screen in The W Online games
Added baseline media to WNBA arenas and made continued improvements to the positioning and behavior of all characters
Fixed a rare hang that could occur during the lottery in MyWNBA or The W
Addressed an issue in MyWNBA where the League MVP would also be shown as the Rookie of the Year after simulating through a season
MyTeam
Added Online VS, the difficulty used in both MyTeam Limited & Unlimited, to Play With Friends games
The camera will now be positioned properly when a shooting foul is called during Triple Threat Challenge games
A number of under-the-hood support items have been added in preparation for upcoming MyTeam Seasons.
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Since 2019, we’ve known that Netflix mainstay The Office was due to leave the streaming platform for its NBC mothership platform Peacock in 2021. While previous reports indicated that The Office might stay on Netflix through the end of January 2021 at the very latest, one final way 2020 is getting its last kicks in is the announcement that this will not be the case. In a release sent out by Peacock, 2021 means 2021: The show will leap to Peacock on New Year’s Day.
“This memorandum is to inform everyone that we expect a significant spike in sales starting on January 1, 2021 when Peacock starts streaming the documentary footage that was shot at Dunder Mifflin Scranton between 2005 and 2013,” Peacock said in an announcement.
Sales brags aside, legitimate though they might be, The Office creator Greg Daniels pointed out one of the more exciting benefits of having The Office on an NBC platform: “Having The Office back in the NBC family opens up access to a lot of extra content that we originally shot.” As opposed to the vanilla broadcast versions that were available on Netflix, Daniels explains that he and the show’s original editors went back into the original footage and found never-before-seen footage which was “cut for time but is still fun to see.”
On Peacock, Daniels says viewers will get the option to watch the classic version of episodes or “superfan” extended cuts with both the new footage and other deleted scenes. It’s unclear if all seasons of The Office will have this, but Daniels specified that these alternate cuts will be made available for Season 4 first.
Winter has arrived in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. For the next few weeks, players in the Northern Hemisphere will find their islands blanketed with snow, which means they can now catch snowflakes and build snowboys. That’s not all; there are also new wintry DIY recipes to learn and craft.
These DIY recipes will teach you how to build various pieces of ice furniture. To get them, however, you’ll need to build a perfect snowboy, which can be a little tricky if you’re not already well versed in the delicate art of snow craftsmanship. If you find yourself in that camp, we’ve put together some tips to help you build perfect snowboys and collect all the new DIY recipes below.
How To Build A Perfect Snowboy
Two snowballs will appear around your island each day throughout winter, and you’ll need to carefully roll them up and combine them to make a snowboy. All you need to do is walk into the snowballs to start rolling them, but you’ll need to take care while doing so, particularly at the beginning; the snowballs will initially be too small to roll by hand, so your character will kick them around a couple of times to pack more snow on.
You’ll need to be careful when you’re kicking the snowball; if you kick it into another object or the river, it’ll break, and you’ll need to enter and exit a building to force another one to spawn. After about a dozen kicks, you’ll start rolling the snowball up by hand. You’ll want to roll the first ball up until it’s just taller than your character’s body, as you can see below.
Once you’ve completed the snowboy’s body, repeat the process with the second snowball. Since this one will serve as the snowboy’s head, it should be a little larger than your character’s head and a bit smaller than the first snowball. You can see a size comparison below.
Once the second snowball is the right size, roll it into the first and your snowboy will spring to life. You’ll know immediately if you made the snowboy correctly, as he’ll mention how perfect he is and compliment you on your craftsmanship if you did it right. (If you messed up, the snowboy also won’t be shy about voicing his displeasure.)
If you want to ensure you make a perfect snowboy each time, there’s an easy method to measure the snowballs exactly. First, use the Island Designer app and pave a pathway that’s 10 spaces long horizontally. After that, roll both snowballs to their maximum sizes and place each one at opposite ends of the pathway. Finally, roll one of the snowballs over the pathway and into the other ball. Since snowballs shrink as you roll them over paved surfaces, the ball will be the perfect size once you’ve rolled it all the way across the pathway.
As a reward for sculpting him perfectly, the snowboy will give you a large snowflake and a DIY recipe for a piece of ice furniture. The snowboy will gradually melt over the next few days, but he’ll give you another large snowflake each day while he’s still around. Unlike regular snowflakes, which you can find around town and catch with your net, you can only obtain large snowflakes from snowboys, so remember to talk to them each day.
Snowboy DIY Recipes
There are 15 snowboy DIY recipes in total. Each requires at least one large snowflake and a handful of standard-sized ones to craft, so catch every snowflake you see floating around your island to ensure you have enough materials. You can see the full list of snowboy DIY recipes below:
A movie based on the classic fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons has been in development for many years, and last year it was revealed that Game Night’s Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley were in talks to direct. It’s now been reported that Chris Pine might star in the film.
According to Deadline, Pine is in negotiations to take the lead role in the D&D movie. Goldstein and Daley will still direct, and have also written the screenplay. The movie is being produced by Paramount, who also made the Star Trek movies in which Pine starred.
Dungeons and Dragons doesn’t currently have a release date, but Deadline states that it will start production in Belfast in the first quarter of 2021. An earlier Dungeons & Dragons movie was released in 2001, but it was a commercial failure and poorly received by critics.
The new D&D movie is only one of several high-profile fantasy films and TV shows due in the next couple of years. Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel series is currently shooting in New Zealand, and HBO recently confirmed that its Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon will start production in March. Netflix’s The Witcher Season 2 is also filming, although star Henry Cavill recently suffered an on-set accident. In addition, Robert Jordan’s classic The Wheel of Time book series is being adapted into a new TV show by Amazon.
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The Rock’s Black Adam movie–which will introduce The Justice Society of America to the DC movie universe–has reportedly just found its Cyclone in Trinkets star Quintessa Swindell. Swindell’s stock has been continuing to soar since a breakout 2019 performance in HBO’s series Euphoria, and this casting choice demonstrates their growing range as an actor.
The Rock took to Twitter on December 14 to announce the news himself. Obviously, he’s pretty excited to bring a piece of JSA into the DCU.
Ready to rumble⚡️💪🏾 A pleasure to officially welcome, Quintessa Swindell to our BLACK ADAM cast. They’ll be taking on the role of CYCLONE. Can’t wait to work with them and we ready to rumble in the DC jungle. #bringit#cyclone🌪 #blackadam⚡️ Production starts spring 2021 pic.twitter.com/kIlHkZBmgh
Swindell’s casting announcement marks the fourth role to be announced so far for Black Adam, but little is known about the film overall. It was recently revealed that Underground and The Invisible Man star Aldis Hodge was cast for Hawkman, making him the third actor to sign on after Dwayne Johnson in the titular role, and Noah Centineo, who will play Atom Smasher.
Black Adam will be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who previously worked with Johnson on the upcoming Disney movie Jungle Cruise. The current version of the script was written by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani (Informer). At this point, there is no public start date for production set and no announced release date.
The next DC movie set for release is Wonder Woman 1984, which will be coming to movie theaters and also HBO Max on Christmas.
It’s time for the final WWE PPV of 2020, as TLC–known for its tables, ladders, and chairs–comes to the WWE Network on Sunday, December 20. The year will end with a bit of a bang as TLC tends to be an extreme show, considering it’s named after a relatively extreme match. The wrestling promotion will close out 2020 with some big matches, many of which have titles on the line.
Taking place at Tropicana Field in Tampa, Florida–the new home of the WWE Thunderdome–TLC will take some of WWE’s biggest superstars and put them inside a wrestling ring located on a baseball field. It’s like two sports for the price of one. The event will be streamed live, so make sure to check out the start time in various time zones below.
Start time:
4 PM PT
6 PM CT
7 PM ET
12 AM GMT (December 21)
11 AM AEDT (December 21)
Like every other PPV, there will also be a pre-show, which you can watch for free on Twitter, YouTube, and on the WWE Network. The one-hour-long Kickoff Show typically features one match and a cast of famous faces analyzing the upcoming match.
How to watch:
If you’re looking to watch WWE’s TLC PPV, you’re going to have to sign up for the WWE Network, which costs $10 a month. The streaming service no longer offers one month for free, but it is well worth the price of admission, as there is plenty of other content to keep you entertained, like old episodes of Raw, Smackdown, WCW Nitro, PPVs, and original content. There is also a free tier, which you can use to watch the Kickoff Show of the PPV, but not the main card.
The match card is still coming together for the upcoming PPV, so we’ll keep you updated as more shows are booked. As of this writing, there are six matches on the card, two of which are TLC matches.
Match card:
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. AJ Styles – TLC match for the WWE Championship
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens – TLC match for the Universal Championship
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Carmella – Smackdown Women’s Championship
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Asuka & Lana – Women’s Tag Team Championship
The New Day (c) vs. The Hurt Business – Raw Tag Team Championship
There is still time for more matches to be booked for the event. While WWE PPVs have been running a bit shorter during the COVID pandemic–which has actually been great–there shouldn’t be more than four additional matches booked for the PPV.
We’ll keep the match card updated in the following days leading up to the December 20 event. And like everyone else on the internet, we also have opinions about the outcomes of these matches. So check out a few predictions below.
Predictions:
The New Day vs. The Hurt Business
If you’ve spent any time listening to GameSpot’s wrestling podcast Wrestle Buddies (what a plug!), then you know how I feel about The Hurt Business. Their stock is on the rise, as this group–led by MVP doing some of his best mic work ever–are making their mark on Raw. This feels like it could be a passing-of-the-torch moment, with longtime champions The New Day handing off the belts to the next up-and-coming stars… Well, “up and coming” is a bit of a silly thing to say considering Cedric Alexander is the only current member who didn’t debut in the early-to-mid ’00s. Regardless, this will be a fantastic match, and Hurt Business will get the win, with a long feud coming between them and The New Day.
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka & Lana
Remember the Women’s Tag Team Championships? Well, they’re back in the spotlight with the tale of Lana being bullied by Nia Jax–a storyline Jax was involved with a couple years ago where she was bullied by Alexa Bliss. This feels like the first time in quite a while where there has been any real emphasis on the titles. The problem with this match is that Asuka & Lana winning the titles doesn’t feel incredibly plausible: there is no reason for the duo to get the titles, especially with Asuka as a singles champion already. Jax & Baszler will get the win, and hopefully, WWE can rebuild the women’s tag team division.
And make sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday, December 20 for live coverage of TLC.
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Over the next week, we will be posting features for what we’ve nominated to be thebest games of 2020. Then, on December 17, we will crown one of the nominees as GameSpot’s Best Game of 2020, so join us as we celebrate these 10 games on the road to the big announcement. Be sure to check out our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in ourBest Games of 2020 hub.
There’s often a fine line that must be tread when making sequels: Give people what they want, but still surprise them with something different. The Last of Us: Part II‘s expanded scope offered even more to appreciate about Naughty Dog’s harrowing post-apocalyptic world, yet the story of conflict between Ellie and newcomer Abby ultimately inspired an earnest and interesting, if at times heated discussion about storytelling in games. Along with being a great follow-up that ratcheted up the white-knuckle tension and anxiety of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, its achievements in empathetic storytelling made The Last of Us: Part II one of the most unforgettable games of the year, and in PlayStation’s history.
Like its predecessor, The Last of Us: Part II strives to tell a similarly profound story about the bonds that can form in the bleakest of circumstances, while this time introducing a second protagonist to both compliment and complicate a plot that is already wrought with heavy themes of morality. The Last of Us: Part II puts you in control of characters that are in uncomfortable positions so that it–and by extension you–are forced to examine the human condition and cycle of violence in the harshest of times.
The Last of Us: Part II is a revenge story, and the game’s presentation is remarkably effective at getting you invested in the initial pursuit of righting a certain wrong. After the game’s shocking opening act, which introduced us to Abby, Ellie proceeds with her odyssey across the country, going through that familiar yet engrossing cycle of survival, exploration, and heart-pounding battles to the death.
Playing The Last of Us: Part II feels satisfying and invigorating. There’s a rush of adrenaline when facing off against rival factions or hordes of feral infected, whether you barely scrape by or take down your foes before they even know what hit them. There’s a sense that the game presents its violence in a way that will always come off as cruel and unforgiving even in the name of survival, which effectively places you in that bleak atmosphere where you’re forced to adapt to every situation the game throws at you.
Aside from the carnage, The Last of Us: Part II still shows remarkable tenderness and heartfelt moments that break this tension. Instances where Ellie and her girlfriend Dina talk about watching old movies like Point Break with Joel, or when Ellie remembers visiting an old museum, feel life-affirming–and are all the more effective when contrasted with their bleak realities in the present day. It’s a difficult thing to balance, but The Last of Us: Part II succeeds at placing you in a world that can be surprisingly friendly and caring, yet demonstrably cruel and unjust. To survive its world, you have to adapt to the circumstances, but doing so often comes at a personal cost.
The Last of Us: Part II is a story bolstered by its characters, and seeing the sequel examine Ellie–one of the most iconic characters in gaming–through a sobering lens led to some of the most powerful and uncomfortable narrative moments of 2020.
This is a game that, when the storytelling hits its highest highs, plunges the player into deep emotional lows. While this can make for a grueling experience, it’s still fulfilling to see events and character moments play out, and witness the nature of people bent and twisted by an unforgiving world filled with uncompromising people. There’s a pervading sense of dread and sadness in watching Ellie’s spiral into violence. Though it seemed justified from the outset, the game recontextualizes actions in a way that turns assuredness in your–and Ellie’s–actions into self-doubt and even guilt. However, in its most profound moments, The Last of Us: Part II illustrated that Ellie, above all, was an adult who was fallible and could make catastrophic errors in judgment.
The switch to Abby in the game’s second half is a significant turning point in the sequel. From here, we see Ellie not as the protagonist who survived David’s camp in the first game, or as someone who had a peaceful reprieve with Dina in the sequel’s opening act, but as the antagonist of someone else’s story. If Ellie is the spine of the game, then Abby is its heart. The swap to Abby offered a rare and unique opportunity to examine Ellie and the chaotic events of the original game through the lens of someone who had gone through her own share of anguish.
What makes The Last of Us: Part II’s approach to storytelling work is that it presents its revenge story from different sides, while examining Ellie with unflinching scrutiny. Abby, meanwhile, isn’t innocent in her story, but her side is still a heartbreaking experience that ultimately feels more redemptive than it would initially seem. You see firsthand the slow deterioration of her inner circle following the end of her overzealous quest for revenge in the opening act, which gives rise to some unexpected growth with her eventual bond with outcasts Lev and Yara. In addition to the highs it reaches with the story, Abby’s arc also includes some of the game’s most intense and gripping gameplay sequences, with a particular highlight being the descent into a ruined hospital that houses one of the scariest monsters to ever grace the series.
Gallery
At its heart, The Last of Us: Part II is a story bolstered by its characters, and seeing the sequel examine Ellie–one of the most iconic characters in gaming–through a sobering lens led to some of the most powerful and uncomfortable narrative moments of 2020. The addition of Abby heightened this sense of discomfort, yet the character manages to present some much needed perspective on the state of the game’s world beyond the scope of the previous protagonists. For these reasons, The Last of Us: Part II also became one of the more controversial games of the year.
The Last of Us: Part II’s choices in gameplay and presentation may not always make for a smooth landing, and it often takes a long time to see its payoff, but it manages to provoke a discussion and emotional response in the ways that matter. It can inspire impassioned conflicts and challenge beliefs, but does so in ways that foster growth and encourage seeking out new perspectives on the bleak setting of the series. With its story set in a morally ambiguous world where every character carries the scars of trauma, the sequel presents a question: Who among them gets to decide who’s in the right? The Last of Us: Part II makes many brave and profound choices with its focus on the toxic cycle of violence and its study of Ellie as a character–and not just as a protagonist. In doing so, it is one of the most engrossing and painful experiences of the year, and it’s a game you should not miss out on.
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