Game images by RAWG
The Last of Us Part II
Naughty Dog
About This Game
Super ReviewThe Last of Us Part II is a deeply unsettling, yet masterfully crafted narrative experience. Players navigate a brutal world, engaging in stealth and visceral combat while grappling with a revenge-driven story that explores the dark consequences of violence and loss. Its intense graphic content and mature themes demand careful consideration, making it suitable only for older, very mature players.
Super Review
Parent verdict
With a 'Decent' health score, The Last of Us Part II offers a powerful, cinematic story experience, but it comes with significant caveats for parents. This is best reserved for highly mature older teens, typically 16 and above, who are equipped to process extreme violence, disturbing themes, and emotionally heavy content. The game’s strengths lie in its profound narrative and exploration of difficult moral questions, yet these are delivered through incredibly graphic and relentless gameplay that can be overwhelming even for adults.
What players actually do
- Players engage in stealth to avoid or ambush human enemies and infected creatures, requiring tactical thinking and environmental awareness.
- Players scrounge for limited resources like ammunition, crafting supplies, and healing items, reinforcing survival instincts and resource management.
- Players participate in intense, often gruesome, combat sequences using firearms, melee weapons, and environmental traps, demanding quick reflexes and strategic execution.
Where it shines
- The game delivers a complex, character-driven narrative that explores mature themes of revenge, empathy, and the cycle of violence with profound emotional depth.
- Extensive accessibility options allow players to customize difficulty, visual aids, and control schemes, making the challenging gameplay more manageable for a wider audience.
Parent watch-outs
- The game features extremely graphic and persistent violence, including dismemberment, torture, and explicit depictions of gore, which are central to its narrative and combat.
- Its dark, emotionally intense story deals with trauma, loss, and moral ambiguity, potentially leading to distress or anxiety, particularly given its unrelenting tone.
Family rules worth setting
- Set strict limits on play sessions to prevent prolonged exposure to the intense emotional and violent content, perhaps scheduling short breaks.
- Parents should consider co-playing or at least being present during gameplay to discuss the difficult themes and graphic scenes as they unfold.
Talk about this
- Discuss the themes of revenge and empathy: What drives the characters' actions, and how do their choices impact others, even innocents?
- Talk about the consequences of violence: Does the game portray violence as glorious or as a devastating force with lasting psychological impact?
Play style
The Last of Us Part II is a single-player, narrative-heavy action-adventure. Sessions can range from short bursts of intense combat and exploration to longer periods focused on story progression. Difficulty is high, with challenging encounters and resource scarcity, often requiring players to retry sections. It's a solitary experience, with no multiplayer, ensuring the focus remains on the intense, personal journey. Players may need help with challenging combat scenarios or processing the heavy emotional narrative.
Score Breakdown
Positive Aspects
Risk Factors
Why this rating
Educational Value
4/5While not traditional education, the game’s powerful narrative thoughtfully explores complex moral dilemmas, the cycles of violence, and the consequences of actions. Players are challenged to consider different perspectives and the emotional impact of their choices within a compelling, albeit dark, story.
Addictive Monetization
1/5As a premium, one-time purchase title, The Last of Us Part II has no in-game purchases, loot boxes, or other exploitative monetization tactics. Its focus is entirely on delivering a complete, single-player story experience without any pressure to spend additional money.
Content Intensity
5/5The game earns its highest score here due to its unrelenting and extremely graphic violence, including detailed depictions of gore, torture, and mutilation. This intensity is coupled with a dark, emotionally heavy narrative that deals with profound loss and trauma, making for a consistently disturbing experience.
Pro-Social
0/5The Last of Us Part II receives a low score for pro-social elements as its narrative primarily focuses on themes of revenge, conflict, and survival in a brutal world. While it explores empathy on a thematic level, the gameplay and interpersonal character dynamics are overwhelmingly driven by violence and hostility, with minimal opportunities for positive social interaction or cooperation.
Negatives
- •Graphic violence, disturbing scenes and emotional intensity can be overwhelming even for adults
- •no multiplayer to soften the tone.
Positives
- •Rich storytelling that explores empathy, consequences and cycles of revenge
- •strong performances and extensive accessibility options.
Gameplay Videos
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