[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

I mean, which is the more likely scenario:

TLOU2 is a really fantastic game that is almost universally praised, that a couple people seem to not like as much (similar to the first).

Or:

Naughty Dog, one of the most talented and respected devs in the world, spent five years making an absolute dud that Sony is trying to cover up by buying out reviewers.

You seem to be blowing a couple less glowing reviews out of proportion while ignoring the good ones because they sound too good.

Not quite the reason why I jumped off my TLOU2 pre-order. I actually found it suspicious that there were a ton of reviews that rated it 100%, but in their reviews spoke about all sorts of annoyances and issues they had with the game. Like I said, I am willing to consider the concept it's a really damn good game, but with concepts like, "Master piece" and "Best game ever for the PS4" etc. while still berating other aspects of the game in a 100% review is suspicious and weird. 90% ish, I don't think twice.

It was for that reason why I sought out the alternate opinion to see what I could glean. If anything the alternate opinion made me feel like my assumptions weren't completely incorrect. It would be a significant game play improvement to the original and the story would be weaker than the first, but still pretty good and worth the full price pre-order....

But the leaks and spoilers and the DCMA stuff by Sony and Neil Druckmann talking about him crying through his play through... deflated the hell out of my excitement for this game, with the last part being the straw that broke the camel's back for me. When the latest installment of the GOW series was released, the studio heads were level headed and grounded. Even something like Death Stranding's release which I also pre-ordered, the self masturbatory levels weren't seemingly as high. There's so much political and negative crap surrounding this game (and not purely just due to the leaks) that I am hesitant on jumping on it for day 1.

Sure, you could say I am blowing the suspiciously good reviews out of proportion. Perhaps I am. But with the intense hype and hints at a polarizing story that with potential huge blow back/let down, then I am further convinced that stepping back and letting the hype and controversy cool off, is a good decision. That way, I can perhaps evaluate the game on its own metrics and not against the original TLOU and still enjoy the game in that manner.

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

I am kind of with you on this. It seems that so far, folks are only allowed to actually review the first 'half' of the game. The first 12 hours or so of the roughly 25 hours of gameplay. And there are limits to what footage they are allowed to use. Seems a bit odd. I hadn't planned on getting it as soon as it was out anyhow, so we'll see how reviews go, when the full game can be fully reviewed.

No, the reviews are supposed to be based on the whole game. The embargo lift allowed the reviewers to reveal only stuff in the first 12 hours or whatever, but the review is definitely on the whole game and not just the first 12 hours.

This isn't even like something like Death Stranding which was straight up considered to potentially be a polarizing game. Much of what I have read in good/bad reviews that sticks out is basically, "Much of what you loved about TLOU1 did not carry over to TLOU2. I hated it at first, but understood at the end.". This is part of the reason why I pulled from my pre-order. I needed to distance myself from a TLOU1 expectation to attempt to allow the game to shine on its own merits.

That being said... it's definitely possible I might change my mind and digital purchase this at midnight on Friday.

Originally Posted by 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!

If you enjoyed the game play of TLOU1, even the most negative reviews say you'll likely enjoy TLOU2. The game play felt a bit clunky though and for me I was far more engaged in the story of TLOU1. TLOU2's story is far too mired in controversy at this point that I feel like I'd be guaranteed disappointment in this game if I don't let it cool off from the controversy/hype train first. I don't want that to happen.

Another thing that had been bugging me was that the pre-order bonuses looked kinda pay to win which also rubbed me the wrong way and I had mentioned it previously. I get that I don't have to use the bonus, but the fact it feels there was a pay to win attribute to it really bothered me.

I played TLOU1 a month ago or so. It showed some age in the game mechanics, but it was damn enjoyable. Maybe something will bring me to change my mind about immediate purchase within the next 24 hours or so... but I really think that for me personally, I need to step back from my initial purchase decision for TLOU2 even though I really would love to jump on it on day 1.

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I don't think this is true. They review the whole game, they just can't show any footage or talk about the story after the first half. A lot of the reviewers, I trust their opinion on. So I don't think there's anything fishy going on with the reviews themselves. It feels like Sony just doesn't want the story spoiled for gamers in the reviews.

I watched the GOW and Death Stranding launches and TLOU2 is a totally different stratosphere weird and controversial and not in a good way at all. If I had been an internet hermit for a few more days, I would have happily started playing the game with an open mind. Unfortunately I've seen enough that I'll be playing the whole game on day 1 with, "You're going to be disappointed" echoing in my head and I don't want that to distract from enjoying the game, so I pulled the plug to wait till that little voice and echo disappears.