[Rhettzky]

Just re-wrapped the first one in the last month and forgot all the little things that make playing a game like this so fun. Exploring an encampment or new area for the first time and seeing all the attention to detail just crammed into it to tell the story about what happened there is one of my favorite parts. The variety of styles that you can play in combat makes it so each encounter is more of a puzzle with the level design forcing you into certain situations so you have to really think about how to move forward. With Nellie's new mechanics (prone, jumping, dodging, etc.) mixed with some of the new enemies, you can see how this will just ramp up a level in combat. Finally the story in the first one really was masterfully done, how they develop the relationship between Ellie and Joel to where it builds and build until the final scenes decision is still such a powerful moment in video game storytelling. Just an amazing game to play through from top to bottom.

For the reviews on LOU2, I have stayed well away from anything beyond the original trailer and some non-spoiler reviews by a few different people in the industry who I generally seem to agree with. From what I have seen so far this one improves on just about every aspect I enjoyed in the first one; graphics, environments & environmental puzzles, level of detail, game-play mechanics & variety, mobility, sound design & music, enemy variety & AI, etc.

So this is definitely a day one purchase for me and I can't wait to get my hands on it tomorrow!