Because it's a bit different Souls-like, i tend to call it souls-like-like. But I like it this way. It striped away the hard but annoying things (for me) from similar games, left only hard but enjoyable things. For this reason I felt like it really understands what gamers are (or at least I'm) looking for. To the point that I don't want to even use summons for boss fights, because having my ergo left at the door when I die and not having to go through half of stage again and again to try again with the boss felt respectful of my experience, so I wanted to respect the boss fights and experience them they way I thought they should be experienced. Does it even make sense?
Lies of p is setting in the fairy tale world, so it kinda make sense... You didn't play as a random undead, You're Pinocchio the hero of the tale. And talk about world setting compare to Bloodborne this game is less realistic more colorful feel a bit like bioshock infinite to me
Lies of P has extremely minimal stun locks, no input reading and very little moments where the player is killed in 1 or 2 hits. The intricacies of the formula are all still there, however. There's a lot more that goes into why the game is an overall improvement but this is generally what made the game a lot more enjoyable for me.
The director just put out a letter that amounts to "they're working on it" funnily enough, and the lack of concrete details has me less optimistic about the DLC releasing this year. Still very much looking forward to it! Also funny is I'm playing through Dark Souls II SotFS for the first time, and hearing "bullshit Anor Londo archers in DS1 and 3" sounds rich in comparison to some of the projectile enemy spam in this game... I've enjoyed most of it way more than the disaster its critics paint it as, but there are definitely some moments that go beyond the "game laughing at you" phenomenon you discuss in the video and feel more like haphazard cruelty. Interesting to see how FromSoftware has developed that comedic balance over time. I definitely think Lies of P has *some* funny traps - the terrifying joker puppet busting through walls, the hulking opera house actors in silly sailor outfits, the giant monkeys that try to headbonk you. I also feel like Gemini and the King of Riddles were *intended* to be comedic relief, but humor is hard to translate and their lines come off as unnecessary or annoying in English (I wonder how their dialogue would be received in native Korean). But I'd agree that there's an overall less sadistic and more hopeful tone. Contrasting DS2's Emerald Herald with Lies of P's Sophia it's interesting how Lies of P has an ergo explanation for all of its wild phenomena and makes our helper a key part of the narrative whereas DS2 follows dream logic when the Emerald Herald shows up in random places with little relevance to the plot. When DS2 feels incongruous enough to be labeled a black sheep, it still feels undeniably FromSoft - and it's nice to see another dev take their template and make it their own.
@@CheesecakeMilitia I had a line about the poison gank in the run-up to the rotten that I cut because I realized I didn't have a save where that area was easily accessible so I cut it. There's definitely a ton in that game. Also feel like the curseblade in shadow of the red tree were keeping that legacy alive along with the red wizard guys. And I'm ultimately glad they were at peace with not hitting that highest tier of bullshit even though I started new game plus and it reminded me of a few more ways it messes with you at the beginning (chimney sweep enemies and all the hiding enemies). Bummed the DLC is probably gonna take a bit but hopefully that means it'll be larger scale
I actually played through Virginia this week after you mentioned it again, so this was an appreciated video in the sub box! Especially since there were several details I missed in my playthrough - though one thing I'm still confused about is why was that teenager so hostile? Why give Anne the middle finger and throw away Marie's locket? Was it just racism? Or a red herring? Or were the teenagers trying to cover up their involvement in Lucas' disappearance? Or just trying to protect his legacy? It's interesting to see a Silence of the Lambs-style protagonist abandon the corrupt institution she's a part of, rather than break the glass ceiling only to perpetuate that corruption. Anne will never be able to ameliorate her past sins, but at least she was able to get out and start to mend things with Marie. I can't help but read that part of the ending as hopeful, even if the corruption persists and Lucas' fate remains unsolved. The hitchhiking teenager at the end points towards the hope that Lucas was able to escape his stifling and toxic home life. Or perhaps more morbidly the scene with the UFO suggests that Lucas is more at peace in the afterlife with Judith. Actually, after writing that out I think your pessimistic reading might make more sense lol. I enjoyed my time with the game as it really felt like the feature-length version of Thirty Flights that I'd always dreamed of, but I have to admit I was disappointed with how dour the whole thing was. Part of that is my personal proclivity preferring some levity in my interactive media (since any player friction - like when I couldn't find the next progress point in the bar scene and just kept ogling the nonplussed patrons - can undercut the emotional weight of a scene), but I think that also speaks to why so many players find optimism in the ending. After a draining two hour play session, you can't help but try to read some hope into things.
I always took it the teens as just a Twin Peaks thing and they like messing with the cops, but I hadn't considered that also being part racism which would make a lot of sense. I also think the more positive read is powerful in light of them being two women of color rising above the white-dominated agency. I'm still just made so uneasy by the ending that it never hits for me. That's a good point that this is a lot less self-aware than thirty flights. It never bothered me a ton, but coming back to it after 2 years I'd forgotten about the locket and did like 10 laps of Maria's office before I figured it out.
You know, I kept thinking someone was gonna call me on that after I recorded my audio, but didn't end up changing it. Do I understand correctly that the definition requires that areas unlock from different abilities rather than from finding items elsewhere in the game?
It seems everyone that disliked Elden Ring for repeated content *really* hates open world games in general. Having played Breath of the Wild and Ghost of Tsushima before Elden Ring, I went in expecting loads of repeat content and was pleasantly surprised how fresh they kept things and how little they reused assets compared to other open worlds. I honestly didn't even notice that Shadow of the Erdtree doesn't repeat as much content in a way that would satisfy those naysayers like yourself - I actually came out of it mildly disappointed that they only had two or so large scale legacy dungeons compared to the six or so in the main game. I felt like Elden Ring was really smart with its single duplicate fights like Godrick 2 or Astel 2 or Latenna 2 even Ancestor Spirit 2, as I had put so many hours into the game between the points at which I found the original boss and their duplicate that in any *other* game I'd already be on NewGame+, so they felt like NewGame 1.5 fights. Plus the ending boss gauntlet still provides a lot of original bosses to close things on a novel note. Interestingly Shadow of the Erdtree ends on closer to a repeat fight than the base game (that's not really fair lol, but the lore around that final fight just left a yucky taste in my mouth.) Overall I enjoyed the DLC a lot but it didn't knock it out of the park for me in the way that past DLC's like Old Hunters and Ringed City did. Belurat was really cool but it also felt like the apex of the unique new areas to me, and it was the first one I explored. While Fromsoft DLC's usually produce higher highs than the base game, Stormveil and Leyndell still stand taller than most of Shadow of the Erdtree in my mind. But maybe I'm just reaching my own FromSoft burn-out in the same way a lot of series diehards were burnt out by the time Elden Ring originally released - it sounds like for you your recommendation of the DLC isn't really predicated on it *outdoing* the best parts of the base game, just raising the lowest lows to a place you're happy with. P.S. Max have you tried Lies of P? That one was really fun and felt like a breath of fresh air this past year - plus it's linear as heck (honestly *too* linear which is my only mark against it). Several of its endgame bosses are up there with the best fights of Sekiro/Bloodborne/DS3 though, and I'm super looking forward to its own DLC (whenever they announce that).
I think that's a pretty fair characterization of my opinion only that I think the parts that are elevated have a greater impact than the sum of their parts when it comes to making exploration exciting. I found the bosses' presentation and difficulty to be a satisfying escalation and all the story with Miquella and Marika's background hit in a way the main game didn't, but it's not the same escalation as the DLCs you mentioned (partially due to lore and the best bosses being really good in Elden Ring) and I fear no expansion will ever top Old Hunters for me. Also very fair on your point about the final boss. I chose the most broad definition and counted Maliketh as a repeat so that definitely counts. I think I'd rather have a dedicated boss rush area or mode than have Astel at the end of a minidungeon for reasons that are sort of unclear, but that's a very legit bone to throw players to get to replay a boss. And I also liked Loretta I was just kind of burnt out on reused bosses at that point in the game. It's a thing I've made peace with though I really like Elden Ring I just wanted to express these old gripes because I thought about doing at the time and never did. And I have not played Life of Pi yet because my PC was broken when it came out, but I've heard so many good things and it's high on my list of things to check out. Also, did you ever wind up playing Virginia?
Meant more to highlight how people feel justified in doing bad things in the specific way this game was interested in, but yeah, fighting colonialism is good. www.vice.com/en/article/bv8da4/the-not-so-hidden-israeli-politics-of-the-last-of-us-part-ii Thought this was a interesting article that I wished I'd included or otherwise addressed.
4:08 "And have causes that [come from] her incompetence " as you walk off a cliff is glorious lol That analysis of "Relationship with the world vs. Relationship with the antagonist" is an interesting framework, especially in the context of video game protagonists (who have to at-least-a-little-bit be a player insert character). I recently finished playing Ghost of Tsushima's Iki DLC, and was surprised to find myself genuinely invested in that little side-story content by the end of it (whereas the main story put me to sleep). I could probably write my own video essay on my love-hate relationship with Ghost of Tsushima lol, but the world/antagonist divide is probably a good lens to view my issues with the main game. Jin feels very detached from the beautiful open world as he Zelda-pot-smashes his way through various towns without much reaction to the people living there. The main antagonists are the Mongol invaders, but since Jin doesn't feel that invested in the world it never feels like much is at stake (a key point in the story is how Jin rejects the samurai honor code and appears uninterested in ruling over the island anyway). Jin just has to kill the mongols because they make good cartoonishly-evil sword fodder. But over on Iki Island, Jin's samurai clan is framed as the evil colonizing force that once terrorized the locals, and Jin has to mend relationships with the locals there so that they may combine forces to overcome yet another Mongol threat. The two story threads work in tandem to better integrate Jin into the society he's fighting for *and* make the Mongols more terrifying by directly comparing them to the sins of his own clan, making him confront an internal conflict. As I write all that out I wonder how well-fitting that "world/antagonist" relationship framework works here (especially since a lot is up to interpretation, I've seen some strident Tsushima defenders who love the main story and Jin's relationship to the world and its moral choice system), but it seems like a good jumping off point. Like Mario: what makes him jump? What keeps him in the Mushroom Kingdom, and what is so special about Peach that he routinely puts his life at risk to thwart Bowser's marriage plans? Perhaps this is why Miyamoto so routinely fails as a storyteller /s
That's interesting about Tsushima and feels like a thing in a lot of open world games. Do you think that's some of why it hurts more in that game than with others? Like it takes more narrative fuel to be exploring this open landscape and role-playing to some extent as opposed to games that are more tight and linear (or atleast not traditionally open-world). Or maybe just how much weight a game puts on its story more generally independent of that? Like I'm imagining a Mario game with a lore codex and Important Decisions now. Though yeah this was just my jumping off for trying to understand my feelings about this particular series, so definitely has it's limited application. Also definitely starts getting messy trying to define antagonist. Like in that DLC is the real antagonist the Mongols or the legacy of destruction of Jin's clan? or both maybe...
8 month hiatus into video combo; one I'm trying to pull off too - I don't know if you remember me; we talked about Iconoclasts back when I made my video on it last year. Glad to see you still thinking about this space!
I do you remember and I loved your video! Excited to see what you release next. Let me know if you ever want to chat about video making. Been looking to talk to more people doing this.
Interesting thoughts - something I played this year that had me *wishing* for codec entries was Metroid Dread. There was a lot of thought put into the background of scenes and stuff for lore fanatics (later bosses being teased early on), but the overall story is nonsense gibberish and I was wishing for something to bridge that gap into making the canon story more understandable. Have yet to play Metroid Prime, but those games are famous for implementing that sort of thing well. I always heard it was a Japanese trend - with that generation's Paper Mario and Pikmin games *really* delving into fluff enemy descriptions for fun - that Western RPG devs picked up on. Even 13 Sentinels (which I played last year) had a whole 1/3rd of its menu screens dedicated to lore guides to help the player disentangle the convoluted AF plot (and it was great!)
Aw man, I have to play Dread, I've just been so spoiled by Steam sales recently. And yeah it's hard for me to tease out when it bothers me and when it doesn't. I played the first two witcher games (and also did a literal 7 books worth of background reading/book on tape listening) recently and I like that they have a whole codex you can look at for monsters that does kind of feel like being a monster hunter doing research which works, but I guess I wonder whether it's always a compromise to be able to have information without having a more complex way of showing the information to the player as part of the plot. I did not know that that was where that comes from. Thank you for that bit of history. Often feel embarrassingly unknowledgeable in stuff like that. hence talking about Prey three times now without using the word "immersive sim."
The doom slayer is an avid reader. He was probably mad that you didn't allow him to read all the codices. I added some doom to my latest vid too. The truth about Daisy gets revealed too. Thumbs up for you.
Great content, looking forward to seeing more uploads. You deserve more subs, I think you should use promosm to grow your channel and get more social proof!
really good vidoe, some interesting things you mentioned. if I can make recoment a game, try out Scavenger SV-4, it is a fantatic non tradtional horror game about exporing an dead alien world with a rover while dying of radiation exposure
I really love your description of The Witness as **having** a story, but one where the story is more your internal reflections on the experience. I think that's a distinction I'll have to make in future recommendations. You should definitely play Braid if you want more pretentious Jonathan Blow-isms (though that game actually **does** have a story). Also, finish the challenge I believe in you. You got pretty close back when I was watching. Edith Finch really blew me away with how it incorporated magical realism into a game narrative. It was such a literary experience. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Thirty Flights of Loving, which is an even shorter, low-budget approximation of an action movie that I feel does something similarly wonderful with video game narrative that I'd love to see done in bigger budget titles. Something about first-person control with the cinematography and editing of a film.
I really liked this one too, especially your views on The Witness as they were similar to mine: I did wait a lot before playing it because of what I thought I knew about it but ended-up loving it a lot more than I had expected, without finding it pretentious. It's a game where I kept wondering "how the hell does one even begin to make such a well-rounded collection of puzzles and the environnement that contains them AND is part of them. Spoilers for the witness ahead. I didn't end-up beating the final optional challenge (the timed one where you must complete puzzles generated on the fly), but just about everything else as long as I found it. The way the audio logs, especially those about the making of the game and this video where a player wakes-up and sees the world as dot and line puzzles were really telling of what kind of subject they wanted you to think about, and I love that aproach as it's through living the experience that you aquier the additional bits helping you reflect on it.
I haven't finished the optional challenge either. Made some good stabs at it with the help of CheesecakeMilitia, but haven't succeeded yet. And 100% agree that it's cool how they just teach you through doing and that there will be puzzles that don't unlock anything, except for your ability to understand other puzzles in the game.
I had pretty much the same experience with doom 2016; only played maybe the first level and a half when it came out. In 2020, I randomly decided to start playing after my friend told me they were doing a second playthrough, and beat the whole thing in maybe 3 days. If you are taking game recommendations, I would love to hear your thoughts on the Talos Principle. Very interesting narrative.
Yeah, I felt Doom just needs that chance to click. And I am interested in The Talos Principle. I just played The Witness and I've seen it mentioned in a lot of conversations about that game.
If you are still taking recommendations for games to play, I guess you will probably love Crosscode. It's a top-down Action RPG about playing an amnesic girl who plays a VR MMORPG in a distant future to recover her memories. It's currently my favorite game and for many reasons: - It has great combat that you can really approach in different ways thanks to the different combat arts and equipment bonuses. I personally almost exclusively dodge while the shield / perfect parry playstyle is also valid, for example. Each element you unlock is like a sub-build you have with it's own techniques and stats too. - The exploration is wonderful AND optional as you can climb and parkour in tons of places where you'll find useful ressources and items, very often acquired through environmental puzzles. - The puzzles are very cool and make use of the same elements you use in combat. Also they are mostly in dungeons, which themselves follow the Zelda formula in a way, minus the "whole dungeon is the puzzle" thing. - The story touched me at multiple points when it mattered the most and brings-up subjects you might not expect at first that could very well be real life questions humanity has to ask one day. - Last but not least, it's a beast content-wise, with a normal playthrough being at least 40 hours, 100% 60+ hours and 100% with the DLC (which was amazing for all the reasons that made the base game awesome) 75 hours. And you might be wondering why it's so goddamn long, but fortunately it's mostly good content: quests with interesting new gameplay twists, occasionally funny dialogue and sometimes exclusive bosses and mini-dungeons. It's just not boring for me! I already said "last but not least" but there's just a few little extra things this game nails that I haven't seen elsewhere, or at least not done this well: everything about being in an MMORPG, when it's actually a solo game. I love how you see random players in hubs and on roads, in guild halls and even integrated with some of the quests. The way PVP battle are portrayed too with you being against an opponent that really tries to dodge, wait for openings and use techniques and combos compared to every "AI" monster in the game is really unique. Anyway, if you decide to give it a go despite it's huge length, don't be afraid of saying what you don't like about it. I know it goes without saying but just in case: it's your channel and people come here for your opinion, not validation of their opinions.
Thank you! I really appreciate the recommendation. Those are all things I love (though I've been skittish on stuff over 30 hours as of late). I listen to a lot of Triple Click and I know Jason Schreier really liked that game and I love that concept a ton. I ride a lot of public transit and it seems like a great Switch game so maybe I'll pick it up when there's a good sale on the Nintendo store.
@@Mstryke i don't know if it's a good game for Transit as the dungeons and some story moments seem to be made with longer play sessions in mind. Also I heard of slowdowns on Switch at launch but that might be fixed.
@@Lulink013 Okay, I will keep those things in mind then. Looks like some of them might have been fixed. Failing transit, could be a good thing to play in bed haha.
What you found-out about how using the right difficulty usually means having you interact with more systems and use the intended strategies is one thing I wish solo games were better at conveying: description on difficulty modes tend to focus on the "do you like to have a hard time or not?" rather than explain how a specific difficulty is the "intended" level of challenge for most players and will ask you to master pretty much everything while easier modes are more lenient in the skillsets needed while still keeping the core enjoyment for those who don't feel confortable otherwise and harder modes aren't always there to taunt the player and might be just for testing yourself and see how far you last.
100% agree. I'm sure it has to do with a lot of the culture around games and a worshipping of accomplishment, but I've felt so much better once I just started to view it as you described. Doom is definitely an example of a game leaning into the "do you want to be DESTROYED" type mindset, though it fits it's tone I guess.
Not quite yet. I'm upgrading my PC soon and am waiting on that to try out some new stuff, bc it already chugs through Super Hot. But I'm definitely gonna check that out in the future.
Haven't played it, but I think the primary reference point a lot of inventory systems look towards is Resident Evil's - though that's usually tiny compared to modern collectathon-styled open world games. RE makes choosing to carry something or choosing to stow it away feel super valuable. Most other games fail to strike that balance where the inventory plate juggling stays fun and engaging. I definitely tend to prefer the ones that have more streamlined inventories.
It's a deep personal flaw of mine, but I've never played the Resident Evil games. I guess in abstract I can agree atleast that a lot of games feel like they're throwing stuff in because it worked in other games without really considering why it worked in those games.
Really great video. Although I think one aspect that may be flawed is that it tries to deconstruct arguments that people who dislike the game might have with a focus on the emotions the game tries to instill in the player. This is a reasonable approach and gives a very good review of the game as a narrative, but I don't think it will be one that people who really hate this game will really be receptive to. Folks who badly hate this game often don't offer their arguments in similar terms of these are the emotions evoked by the game here, this is what it attempts to convey, etc. They voice their criticism of the game instead by pointing to "bad writing" or "*objectively* bad writing", in a pretty nebulous sense. If pressed they'll talk about the scenes with dogs you mention as manipulative, or say the whole game is all about making the player feel guilty. But for the really staunch people who vocally hold TLOU2 up as the worst game of the year and such, making arguments going into any kind of alternate interpretations of the game isn't really something they engage in. They have a very objective and predetermined view of the game, where they are correct, the interpretation on the game and it's story that sprung up after the original leak months before the game came out is the undisputably correct one, Joel's death was an inherrently objectively bad plot element and the game is disrespectful to "the fans". In other words, I think the people who make the most inaccurate critiques of the events in the story won't accept anything to do with hating Abby. They would probably just say she is a bad character and that's what makes the game bad, nothing about any kind of emotional impact being relevant to their analysis, which is based more in "facts don't care about your feelings" (and their opinions of the games are the closest thing to facts).
Thank you for the kind words and for the feedback! I got to a point where I had like an hour-long draft of this video and realized I was trying to do so many different things and doing better with some than others. I ultimately decided to be done quicker with the video and have something that fulfills being a thorough analysis of the game and an explanation of how people often justify awful things and maybe less good tool of convincing people. That is something I want to get better at in the future though, so I appreciate you bringing it up!
17:54 Primal Aspids suck and everyone hates them imgur.com/CJh9mA6 My GOTY was unquestionably Animal Crossing (since I'm just that type of gamer), but other games I played this year and really enjoyed include Danganronpa V3, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, What Remains of Edith Finch (which you should definitely check out), Killer7, Mother 3, and OMORI. Also shout outs to Among Us and Jackbox Party Pack 7 for being essential long distance friend meetup games during quarantine.
Haha, love the meme. A lot of those are on my list. Def need to get to Edith Finch. I just got Animal Crossing a bit late and haven't gotten into it yet, tho perhaps I need to connect with more friends. Seems like a lot is added by experiencing that while talking to others and connecting over stuff. And I'm super excited to play Ori. I have Game Pass for a few months so that was on my list along with Spiritfarer. You've also reminded me I need to organize more Among US games, though, for whatever reason, my friends and I have bonded over the pandemic by playing the first Black Ops on Xbox of all things.
Thank you! I really appreciate all the kind words from people and love to see that folks are enjoying it. Did this just get posted somewhere new? Just been getting a bunch of views out of nowhere.
Well, you still choose to stear clear of the biggest flaw in the story. Theres a huge difference between Ellie and Abby... how they kill and what pleasure they get out of it and yet the game asks of us to put them at the same level. The failure of this goal leads the game to feel like a cheap pointless emotional mindfuck. Its a tired anti war/circle of violence message done by a storyteller with a lack of experience. Theres no art here, only "wouldnt it bee cool ifs" which you can (almost) get away with in a videogame.
I know my argument isn't bulletproof, but the first part is more-or-less what I was trying to address with the segment at 26:00. I legitimately don't find a huge difference between the two ways they commit violence. Would love to hear stuff to the contrary though.
Oh Lego, Lego Lego... This was a brilliant piece of art and is the best game of this year if not the best game of this generation. Your criticism is ridiculous and as accurate as a Trump rant.
Yeah, he 100% addresses this, probably in more detail than most things. Constantly we're coming back to how similar Ellie and Abby are on so many levels. I'd recommend watching the video again...or for the first time. ;)
One of my friends and I were talking about THAT scene between Abby and Owen, and just how jarring and unpleasant it is to watch. Compared to Ellie and Dina’s scene early on in the game after they smoke, this scene feels very desperate and just wrong to watch. But we think that the Abby and Owen scene is that way because Abby is still holding onto her past and Owen is someone she loves from her past, yet in a toxic way. I mean, they don’t even look at each other 😳 With Dina and Ellie, their scene is very pure and that reflects how real their emotions are for each other. Just a thought! Great video analysis!
Thank you for that, I really love that interpretation and am always happy to have more ways to think about this game. That makes sense about them not facing eachother. Hadn't thought about it that way. I think the scene would have no problems if it were in something live action I just dont quite think video games are to a point where it scenes with that detail aren't a bit offputting. But it also didn't bother me that much. Just wasn't the hill I chose to die on.
Ye! That's Lady Maria from Bloodborne, "Disease" from Pathologic (fantastic soundtrack, sequel is a better game), and Forgotten from FutureGrind (fun bike game that was part of The Bundle for Racial Justice that was up this summer).
The Shot of Joel grabbing Abby isn't the First Time we see him though? There's the whole Opening Sequence with Tommy, the Horse Ride, visit Ellie and playing the Guitar?
Yeah, I just meant after the jump in time! Since we stay with Ellie as we flash forward four years, but only hear Joel referenced in conversation until we see him from Abby's perspective.
@@andybagles4156 Awww. I'm so glad to hear it. One of the reasons I made it was because I felt like my framing allowed me to enjoy it, so I hoped I could bring some enjoyment to a lot of the folks who were disappointed with the game. Any new stuff you discovered with each successive playthrough.
Really brilliant Video Dude, some very interesting discussion on small details I haven't heard anyone else bring up. Would love more detailed discussion on TLOU2 like this. However, mix down your Music a little, I found it slightly too loud and kinda distracting.
Great stuff! I wish I felt the same about Mel, but she still just seems like an obvious foil to Abby from my experience. Case in point: Owen and Abby are getting back together behind Mel's back... and Mel directs the vitriol towards Abby instead of Owen. I was shocked by how much I disliked Mel by that point, and upon reflection I couldn't remember a moment where we got to see the best of Mel outside of a few small endearing moments (such as the finger gun pointed out in the video). She helped Yara, but very begrudgingly if I remember. With all this, I guess I just mean to say that Mel's character felt the most artificial to me, I could almost see the hands of the writers forcing me to sympathize with Abby because of how poorly Mel was treating her. Not that I didn't want to find sympathy with Abby, I just felt surprised by how much of a foil Mel became over the course of the game. Maybe that stark tension was 100% intentional? Even so, I can't help but feel they did Mel dirty in the end. Still, you bring up many great points, and it's worth noting I haven't played since the week of release, so maybe I'd feel different now.
Yeah, I see what you're saying. It hits a little on-the-nose, and I think Mel going off on Abby doesn't cast her in a great light. The way it struck me on the first playthrough though was as an example of the tension between Mel seeming a lot more likeable (discovered on the second playthrough that there's a nice note she wrote Abby that's in her backpack when she's walking around with her dad) and Abby being a character that's harder to like. I agree that it's pretty perfectly orchestrated, but disagree that Mel suffers as a character for it. One of her first scenes is her expressing a general desire for Ellie and Tommy to be killed (without making any movements toward doing so while other characters are a lot more insistent). It at struck me as a part of consistent effort to paint her as a character that wants to live in a better world than the one that she does and is willing to let any bad thing happen to other people or do them herself if it means it can happen. Hence yelling at Abby, rather than Owen (agree philosophically that infidelity is the responsibility of the person they made a commitment to, not the person they broke it with) because Abby is a threat to her ideal life whereas Owen is a necessity to it, even if he frustrates her. Reflecting on it now, it also feels so necessary to draw this line because I think it points toward the fact that Mel probably would have done all the things Joel did in the original, while Abby actually wouldn't have, despite being a character who, on the face, seems to be a lot more evil and mean-spirited. I guess like the tension between aesthetics of kindness (nice notes, soft voice, finger guns, begrudging help) versus action (sparing Ellie twice, helping Yara and Lev, saying she'd want her dad to let her die for a vaccine). But, yes, I can practically hear Neil Druckmann congratulating himself while he wrote all this. Thank you for watching and commenting!
