The Last of Us 2 - A Random Rant (Patreon)

Please don't read the below if you want to play the game without spoilers! I don't mention anything specific but there is likely enough here for you to make the connections and determine the referenced characters.

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My Adobe subscription lapsed. I'm either getting it fixed or I'm going to get Affinity photo so no worries there. But anyway I went to a friend's to bogart their computer for some render editing. They'd just started "The Last of Us 2" (got a copy early, the cheeky snoot!). I had my own copy on order but I figured it wouldn't hurt to watch for a few hours while I post-worked HS renders. I loved the first one so even if I got spoiled a bit at the start I'd surely still enjoy the game. Just the intro anyway, isn't it? It's supposed to be 20+ hours long. So no big deal! But I made a huge mistake. Or not, since I was actually able to cancel my order. But... I just can't believe what they've done.

I don't want to spoil it but I would ***never*** do something things like they have to the fans who play my games. Yes, I will not shy away from letting a character do something hurtful -- but I absolutely refuse to compromise them for a cheap emotional scene. Forcing a character to act contrary to their nature is lazy writing. And this isn't about *killing* a beloved character because that can definitely be done right (see The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman or The Game of Thrones **books**). This is about forcing a character to behave out of character (and in this case totally irrationally!) so that the writers can proceed to humiliate them for bogus pathos. That is what's disgusting.

So I went home and searched up the 'leaked' videos. I found out that it doesn't mean anything! The whole game serves no purpose except to make you feel sick because the people you have been made to care for are being unfairly mistreated directly because they are forced to act out of character. It might as well be "The Last Jedi" as a videogame. It feels like a bully getting hold of one of your favorite action figures to snap the limbs off just so they can watch you cry.

I know I'm ranting here. I'm sorry. I'm sure some people will like it but I can't even deal with it. What is with this trend of 'subverting expectations' by destroying the people we have come to love? I don't get it. I don't want to.

So... I just want to promise you that this sort of thing will not happen with Healslut. I don't do cheap and I don't do lazy. Anytime you feel an emotional moment while playing, please know that I have felt that moment too. Your laughs echo my own. I have felt every frustration. When your teeth grit at something Roopah says or you want to throw Kayden down the nearest well or you smile at Panki's odd mixture of innocence and deviance or you have to pause for a second because Wejit has once again proven his seemingly unshakable loyalty, I have been in that moment with you. I've made every decision you have in this story and I've paid every price as well.

I promise you that I will never spit on anyone that I have made you care for.