The Last of Us 2 is currently one of the best-reviewed games of 2020, but not everyone is surprised about Naughty Dog’s latest masterpiece. When the game launched, however, it got harsh reviews on Metacritic.
Despite its achievements and current standing with reviewers, The Last of Us 2 remains to be one of the most controversial titles of 2020 as well. As of this writing, the game has an average of 3.7 average user rating on Metacritic as compared to its impressive 95 Metascore.
Why the scores are questionable
While the user scores are very worrying, many are questioning the validity of the scores. The common comments against the game are with regard to the general direction of the story and its ending. What makes that weird is that the reviews were posted within 24 hours after the game launched.
The sequel is 25-30 hours long, which means it’s unlikely for players to finish the game through within a day. As such, it’s likely that the scores of the players are solely based on what they’ve seen from the rumors and leaks.
That being said, fans who like the game believe that it is being criticized for all the wrong reasons. It’s even more troubling that fans are not even willing to give the game a chance. However, this isn’t the first time that a game has been review bombed on Metacritic. The good news is that despite the lopsided reviews, The Last of Us 2 still sold relatively well.
What went wrong
Looking at the comments, the users were aggravated about the direction of the story. Most particularly, they are disappointed with how Joel’s death was executed. Fans believe that Joel deserved better than to be helpless against Abby and her allies. Fans are also disappointed with the ending with how Joel’s death wasn’t given justice.
Many of the criticisms also point to how the game “pushes SJW beliefs” by putting women at the limelight. Fans of the game believe that it’s best for other players to try out the game for themselves instead of looking at the reviews because, as of now, they might only find spoilers and unfair criticisms of the game when looking online.
For the most part, The Last of Us 2 goes down as an excellent follow-up to a legendary game. Whether it surpasses the original is yet to be known, but as the community is divided, it’s likely that fans still have decided that the first game is better.
Image used courtesy of PlayStation/YouTube