So given my recent playthrough of TLOU2, I decided to take another shot at TLOU1 since it's been a few years since I last played it.
So far, I've finished first 2 chapters and oh boy. This is a much better game than the sequel on so many levels. And yes, I know, the overall idea with the vaxx doesn't make much sense, but that doesn't matter. It's good enough of a plot device to keep things going. The characters and dialogues are much, much better. Seeing how Joel and Ellie first meet and start building their relationship is just as cool as it was back when I first played it. It just works
™. The gameplay loop is pretty much the same, but tighter levels and much better pacing (and in some instances, sense of urgency) make it a joy to play. Interactions between Joel and Ellie, trying to figure out what's next for them and a general sense of adventure help a lot too. Moreover, what I didn't remember, is that the world outside QZ is basically uncharted grounds not just for Ellie but also for Joel. They both learn (including from each other) and cross boundaries they have not crossed before.
The above stands in complete contrast to the sequel where I'm forced to go on a lame revenge quest, do things I never wanted to do. The story, locations and pacing are so bad it was a complete slog to play. To make things worse, I am then forced to play the roided woman and care about her and her friends after they've been made unredeemable in the first 30 minutes of the game. There's too much to cover it's such a shit show with so many nonsensical plot points. And then, at the very end, after the game FORCED me to do all kinds of fucked up shit that I never wanted to do but had no other choice, the game has the audacity to try and sell me some kind of moral lesson that violence is bad mkay? What the fuck? BTW, they even made Tommy unlikeable in the lesbian home scene. He shows up as a bitter and pathetic cripple who still seeks further revenge, when in the previous scene (before abby showed up at the cinema) he called it even with Abby, saying that it's time to go home.
How can so many things go so wrong?