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If you're playing The Last of Us Part II along with us for The Deepest Dive, now's your chance to submit a comment for us to read during our gigantic game club discussion airing on Wednesday on YouTube and the Patreon-exclusive podcast feed. The Deepest Dive for The Last of Us Part II will feature Ben Hanson, Jeff Marchiafava, Suriel Vazquez, and HyperDot developer Charles McGregor.

Leave a specific comment below sharing your favorite moment, visual detail, building layout, crafting item, or anything under the sun from the beginning of the game up until you hit Seattle Day 2. Please do not share or tease anything after Seattle Day 1! We're expecting a lot of comments and want to get to as many people as possible, so please only leave one comment. You're welcome to read the other comments to see if you're the first to comment on this specific detail to raise the odds of being included in the discussion. As always, the more specific the better. 

Let's create the best, most thorough discussion of The Last of Us Part II on the internet together!

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Comments

Thomas Hoster

Hey minnmax, this game so far has been remarkable. I personally loved the combat and gameplay of TLOU and I really think the reason why is the gritty “realism.” I loved it in RDR2. As well. It is everywhere in tlou2. Every action feels like their is weight to it. Even going up to the weapon upgrade station pulls me in to the world. Something so “gamey” makes me feel more immersed instead of pulling me out.All of those little details like pulling the hand gun out and pulling back the hammer or the way you crawl through tall grass. I really appreciate the work the individual devs put into these little details.

Elliot Tawns

So far i loved the game and have been driven by the story of revenge, but part of me is worried how long this will fuel me for. After the TV studio section i wondered if ill get to a point where the killing of other hums will get harder and harder? Especially as the game makes a point of having the human Ai yelling their friends name when they die. Don't get me wrong i cant wait to play it more but part of me is unsure if i can stand the realism of it all. I think the best way to think of it is, that this is the only things are done now. Its the way of the world. The way humans do things has changed. They've gone back to a primitive way of dealing with grief. Anyway.. Do any of you have the same any similar thoughts ? Which way do you think is the best way to view this games story? how should you as a player position yourself?

JT

This game puts you in control of the eventual antagonist in a way where you root for them before you realize what they’ll do. I love that you get to meet a real character with depth and personality in the way TLOU2 introduces you to the villain. Games often lack that touch of story telling and Naughty Dog raises the bar yet again.

AnotherRobot

This game wrecked me. Every word seemingly agonized over and picked to precisely encapsulate what the character is feeling. Every emotional beat impeccably timed. The animation, perfectly captured. The actor's performances, flawless. Naughty Dog succeeded in making this game look and feel real. So far, The Last of Us Part 2 is about as perfect as a game can get, and therein lies my problem. The closest parallel to how I feel is the uncanny valley hypothosis. The writing and performances too perfectly create an ideal dramatic reality I find myself rolling my eyes rather than empathizing with the characters. It feels manufactured. The cutscenes are almost too agonizing to watch, and it kills me. But hey, it's cool to see Jak and Daxter and Uncharted represented.

Jose Gabriel

This game is a lot darker than the first one. However it is a lot more genuinely fun! The Dad jokes, the awkward scene between the three youngsters and the guitar mini games have been a hoot. Even the puzzles are more fun. In fact I get a bit of a Resident Evi 2 feel with the keys and the safes. The only thing I found surprisingly unfun is the Photomode. Like I get this game is supposed to be serious, but I really wish you can change Ellies facial expressions. Every other Sony exclusive has that feature. Overall really enjoying my time with the game.

Adam Meran

Sooooooo how many times did you guys jump off that big boi T Rex? P.S. Suriel May be glad to hear you can switch which shoulder you’re looking over by pressing square while aiming down sites...I actually think the first game had this too just set to R1 or something.

Charles Bean

Joel’s death was not as impactful as I thought it could have been. Felt like naughty dog did it and moved on to the next thing real fast.

Fred Dinovo

Howdy Deep Divers. I have a few comments on the map 1) That's a cool way to justify a video game map, actually pulling it out to look each time 2) After opening the map for the fifth time...I wish the map opened quicker 3) Oops I accidentally opened the map for the 50th time

betoq92 .

Hello 2 Ns Im sure everyone Has noted Naughty Dogs attention to detail. one of my favorite things I came across was hitting the melee button on a vending machine that had a candy bar in it. And much to my surprise I actually broke the glass and was able to retrieve the candy bar! I feel any other game we just have my character swinging out of any machine with no reward

Ben O'Donnell

As I'm playing through the early stages of the game I can't help but get the feeling I've been in these environments before in TLOU Part 1. Just the way the buildings are placed, the way the camera pans over the horizon when looking out towards your place of interest, and when certain obstacles come into play only for a short while. Is this just a way for us to feel comfortable in the setting or, the cynical side of me thinks, is it just taking layouts from TLOU Part 1 and putting the new assets in their place?

RushingSomewhere

Hello MinnMax, Witnessing Joel’s gruesome murder at the beginning of the game left me feeling so wrecked. That when Dina was being choked out - after you’ve been captured by WLF for the first time - I genuinely got scared to lose her too. We could see how badly Ellie was affected by Joel’s loss. The idea of losing anyone else so soon was unbearable! So I mashed the hell out of that triangle button to save her! And held my breath whilst Ellie made sure she was ok. Very effective QTE.

Peter Fontana

What's up guys. I'm trying to get real specific. Near the very beginning of the game, you have a brief moment to yourself in Ellie's room or house or whatever you'd like to call it. In this room, you can find a TV setup complete with PS3 and a copy of both Uncharted 1 and 2. However what mostly caught my eye was what looks to be a DVD case for an anime/cartoon called Brave Limit. It could be a reference to multiple things, but the character designs on it make it look especially like a Naruto reference. As a fan of Naruto, I like the idea that me and Ellie, in a way, share an interest in Naruto across time and space. As a general note, liking the game so far. It feels like more and refined TLOU. Which is good.

absurdziggy

I started this game anti-Dina. Anyone outside of the rip rolling gang of Ellie, Joel and Tommy was unnecessary. But again and again and again, naughty dogs polish make me care. Every quip has the corners of the mouth turn for the slightest smile, every silent kill has a strained face that looks like a mix between a cry and a scream. I've made fun of facial capture in the past, I can't say I've noticed it before. But this is insane. I feel like it helps me empathize with a character instantaneously. I invested in this game far quicker than the last one and I think this stellar attention to detail has something to do with it

RushingSomewhere

Hi MinnMaxxers Did anyone else climb to the top of the T-Rex? I was playing with my SO, and she (having not played many video games) told me to do it. Didn’t think I could, and there was no prompt for it. But if you do it. You get treated to an amazing sequence where Ellie happily climbs to the top while Joel keeps begging her to get back down. When she gets to the top, Joel asks how she’s gna get down, and Ellie more than happily does a cannonball into the lake. If you pan around to her face you can see her grinning the entire time! Another example of Ellie being silly is when she goes into a bathroom and you get to control her making faces into the bathroom mirror with the left analog stick. It’s adorable. The whole park was dope!

Mark Polley

In the original Last of Us, there were no scenes that featured both the Infected, and Human enemies. This is something that only came into play in Left Behind, and it is a lot of fun luring infected over to clear out a group of humans. I loved the scene in the underground rail area which teased the possibilities of this mechanic. I chose to throw one brick between a clicker and a human - and all hell broke loose, with gunfire illuminating the tunnel and the screams of the dying. It shook me up - but it's a nice tease that we may be seeing more of this mechanic later in the game - I'm excited to see the possibilities

Mark Polley

The opening conversation between Joel and Ellie was the most impressive thing I've ever seen in a video game. The weight of history between these 2 characters really shone through. The small movements, where the characters were looking - this was an incredible feat of subtle animation. Best work of art in history?

Prodigal Horse

I had managed to avoid any spoilers. Until Friday when a combination of YouTube analytics and baiting creators threw up a load of massive spoilers in my feed. I am fuming. On a positive note, I was in a GameStop on release day and not only was the game selling very well, but I saw several people buying a PS4 as well as the game. So much for the cry babies.

Prestonocron

DId you notice in Jackson there's a note on the big community notice board that's says 'speak to Ismael' Is that a reference to the Ish from the first game who survived in the sewers? If the infected attack Ellie shouldn't they also attack each other? I have a prediciton for a new flying infected type called a Floater. And there'll be a sequence where Ellie and Dina try to escape it on a bicycle and Ellie says "They can fly now!?" and Dina replies "They can fly now." and then you can press L3 and have Joel's ghost wink at the camera.

Austin S

Here are some of my takeaways and notes so far: - [ ] Have y’all teared up at all through this game? Or the biggest emotional response from any part? - [ ] Chase scene with Abby, specifically the fence. Love the feeling of claustrophobia like Kyle said - [ ] Neil Druckmann reference from hero card collectibles. Gets me excited for a possible sci-fi Naughty Dog game. - [ ] Loved the small pallet reference during the museum - [ ] It’s crazy how much missable stuff is in the Seattle explore area. You can miss out on the pump shotgun and more importantly the Take on Me cover. I can’t believe that people can miss this beautiful scene. - [ ] I love the small references to the Left Behind DLC such as the Halloween store. When Ellie and Dina are in it, Ellie is noticeable quiet and tries to avoid conversation about it due to her memories with Riley. Also the close your eyes and imagine you are playing the arcade game (Left Behind) compared to the flying to space scene in the museum felt similar - [ ] What are your thoughts on Dina? What about her pregnancy?

Alan Stewart

I'm really enjoying this game so far, but I'm hoping I'm wrong in my predictions of what the game's theme is. I feel like I'm repeatedly being bashed over the head with the message, "Aren't we just all the same, REALLY? Isn't violence and hatred unnecessary?" If this is the message, I think it's a perfectly valid one and it's not something I take issue with, but it's more to do with the 'on the nose' way in which it's handled. For instance, Ellie's comment to Dina about the WLF when she says, "Yeah, these people... Gee, they're NOT like US!" (or words to that effect) made me wince a little bit. Do you guys share my prediction about the game's theme/message or am I likely oversimplifying it?

Jason Wojnar

I just want to say I'm glad I was alone at home when the group capture Tommy and Joel, because once they shot him Joel the leg and started beating down Tommy I yelled out "oh Sh*t" and "Oh my god" several times. It was just so abrupt and shocking. Rarely does the medium kill off a major playable character, and it is never that brutal and unfair. The only other franchise I can think of that killed a major playable character is Call of Duty, but it never feels this impactful.

Seangocongo

I played The Last of Us part 1 right before playing this, and I gotta say that Joel kind of had it coming. Don't get me wrong, I loved the dynamic between Joel and Ellie in the first game. However, my most prominent feeling after beating the first game was realizing that Joel was a pretty bad dude. I guess my biggest issue with the story is having a hard time getting behind the idea that revenge will solve anything. I do love that sweet gameplay though, so I'm excited to see what else unfolds in the plot.

Mark Miller

I am in love with the game overall so far. It makes me feel something all the time(fear, anger, sadness, grief, etc.) which very few games are capable of. I think the detail I love the most so far is the time they put into the guitar moments the chords and hand animations are neat and when they finally play the song it's just beautiful. I particularly loved the cover of Take On Me by a-ha which I think was pretty miss able so I hope you got that moment! It was in the open area of Seattle in a music store between the synagogue and the courthouse. The fact that they are willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on these small moments really strengthen my appreciation for the creators and the game overall.

Bucket of Jello

I was wow'd at the level of attention to detail. Joel's clock in his room functions, when Joel closes the door at the beginning the door knob functions, when you zoom into a mirror you can see Ellie squint. Such a fun game to dive deep into the details.

James Martin

I love the way naughty dog works to make you almost complicit to the terrible things that happen, whether it be forcing you to pull the trigger during the rescue at the end of the first game, or forcing you to take control of Abby not realizing what you were essentially enabling. I can’t think of any other prominent examples of a game that does this so effectively as a storytelling device. It almost works to makes you angrier about how things turn out. Loving the game so far.

Hunter Sax

Let's talk signposting. It's incredibly impressive how you seem to always be going the right way. There's yellows and whites sure, but it is blended so much better in the environments than almost any other game I can think. In terms of navigation and gameplay, the fact that you don't ever have to lose momentum is chefs kiss Even when exploring Seattle and going from building to building, exploring rooms always felt natural and easy. On top of that, the amount of things that you should be able to do and can do is awesome. Yes you can crawl under that, yes you can smash that window, yes the rope will get caught there.

InstagramExpert

So i am in love with Ellies new tattoo so i will writen in about this every week:p. First of all i loved the moment where ellie tells Dina she had a chemical burn on her arm and she used the tattoo to cover it up. Its just a small detail where Naughty Dog used a very real thing people do to cover up a bite mark which is specific for tlou world. In my opinion this makes the world so real and it made me quiet sad to see Ellie had to cover it up. Loved the game and i already finished it so i wanted to thank you for doing the deepest dive!!

Edgar Vazquez

What do you think about the new pills upgrade system? I feel that I've found more pills in the this early part of the game than in most of the first TLoU. I like the new trees, but I don't like that they hide them. There are some upgrades I'm not interested in so I just end up saving my pills til the new tree appears and hope it's good like the stealth tree having the quick silent kill at the end. I'd rather see all the upgrades and choose what I want to spend my pills on.

Morboxis

I just want to give a quick shout out to Maria. After agreeing to let Ellie go on her trip she says "and take some bullets". Apparently she was talking to someone else because after leaving Jackson I had less bullets than before. Maria is the villain of the story as far as I'm concerned.

Ronny B

Have they ever hinted at Joel being a FEDRA agent? When you first get to Seattle’s open area, there’s a note you can find addressed to a “Pvt Miller,” ordering him to exterminate a WLF hideout. Just seems suspicious since they mention his full name being “Joel Miller” several times in the intro.

Brian W

Want to know one of my biggest pet peeves in games? Getting a code and then the game not acknowledging I found the code and instead forcing me to navigate menus to find some document in an ever growing list. At least pin that thing to the top. I was so happy when Dina remembered the one code written in blood and input it for me! She is the true hero of this game.

Betos Burrito

The opening of this game really surprised me. We open with Joel recapping his actions at the end of the first game, which we're show in brutal bloody detail, and then shortly after we have Joel's shockingly heart-on-sleeve moment of trying to connect with Ellie by playing a song about how much she means to him. The stark difference is not only a good illustration of Joel's two polar opposite sides, but of the game itself and what kind of story we're in for. We can expect both the bloody and tender. Also Joel should have played Hey There Delilah, works every time.

Midnight Satire

As a guitarist for the last 15 years of my life, I can say with absolute confidence, this is the best and most accurate guitar animations in a game ever. When you play the guitar, the chords are formed correctly according to standard tuning. I also couldn’t notice any inaccuracy with the fingerpicking and strumming. I have never once in fictional TV, Film or videos games, seen that much effort put into maintaining accuracy. And for a music mini-game, that’s really incredible. That showed me home much every detail of this game got so much TLC. PS - the beginning of Future Days by Pearl Jam now has the Pavlovian affect of making me tear up w/o fail every time.

Joe Holaska

As a lawyer, I was fascinated by the courthouse in Seattle. I zoomed in with my scope on the rifle to read the legal books in what I presume was supposed to be judge's chambers. There are tan books with red lining on the spine--which is what "reporters," the series of books in which cases are published, often look like. Washington cases are published in the Pacific Reporter, and the depiction was pretty close. However, zooming in on the books in the game, Naughty Dog had only named each row of books once and they weren't accurate. Things like environmental law, American business, and family law. They would normally have numbers on the spines indicating which volume it is, and they would have a gold key, which refers to a legal research thing called "keyciting." Hyper-specific inaccuracies aside, the courthouse was really cool to explore, and credit to them for getting the legal books pretty close!

Dan Willey

I really appreciate how much this game rewards exploration. I have been taking my time in each area, combing every inch to take in the detailed environments, gather supplies and ammo, unlock upgrades, and find collectibles. What really blows me away, though, are the extra dialogue sequences and cutscenes. They flesh out the characters and deliver some of the most emotional and poignant moments in the game. Naughty Dog may not be unique in opening up gameplay environments, but they knocked it out of the park here by giving players reasons to care.

Devin Rardin

I got shot as Ellie and she fell to the ground. I was on the brink of death then Dina shot and killed the enemy, saving me. It was not a scripted segment. I also realized the Dina is a much more active participant during stealth. What do you guys think about the compainion AI? I think it's much better then Ellie from the first game who just crouch walked right in front of the enemies.

Joshua Duperoy

Anybody have any ideas what Ellie was actually going to ask Joel in that opening cutscene before she not so subtly changed the topic to Tommy’s lame, but adorable dad joke about eating clocks? My guess is whether or not Joel ever taught Sarah how to play the guitar. Will they come back to this scene in someway later or is it just meant to linger in our thoughts. Also, on a more serious note what exactly goes into the making of a bigot sandwich and why is Jessie so enthused at the prospect of eating one?

Lewis K

The attention to detail in this game is staggering. Ellie’s disgusting ass finger nails when she’s inspecting something, ducking under roofs that are too tall for characters on horseback, Ellie wiping her eyes and nose when walking around Joel’s house, the DETAIL on Joel’s gory leg wound. It’s remarkable and disgusting and amazing. Extremely did not like how Ellie and Dina just no sold the horse death, it had a name and everything! Talk about it!

ConALinguist

Let's talk difficulty. I played the original on Normal, years ago. I recently replayed it on Easy, for trophies and to reacquaint myself,and then Grounded. Easily, my most enjoyable play-through was Grounded. I was always scraping by with barely enough ammo/explosives, but able to make it through each section. It forced me primarily into hardcore stealth, but also to use things like smoke bombs that I never touched in previous play-throughs. That mode translated the experience into a much more authentic immersion of being a desperate survivor living on the brink of death. For TLOU2, I am playing through on Survivor and really enjoying it, but there have only been a couple of situations where I have run low on ammo/explosives and had to improvise. Grounded mode came later for the original and I'm hoping they have similar plans for this game. I'm curious what difficulty you all chose and how your experience has been with the game's challenge. Thanks for creating such an amazing community and keep up the great work!

Tey Peryie

So did everyone else climb the dinosaur by the entrance to the museum? I missed it on my first play through!

Stephen Hammond

So far the theme that sticks out to me, whether it was intentional by the developers or not, is that there is no good vs. evil in this universe. There's just people and what they do to survive. This is most obvious in the documents you can find regarding the WLF takeover of the Seattle QZ. In some of the documents it would be hard to tell which side the write was on without them referring to FEDRA or the WLF. As you progress you come across letters by people who were caught in the middle and how things were no different once the WLF took over. I'm reminded of a line in the movie Wyatt Earp (hot take: it's way better than Tombstone) where Earp expresses guilt at how he's behaved and he didn't want to rationalize it away to let himself "off the hook." Doc Holiday responds that there is no "hook," there's just what we do. As much as our justifications for doing something inherently "bad" are contrived, so, too is any guilt that may be ascribed to that action. We see what happens to Joel as "wrong" and the people who did it as "bad" but that's only because of our perspective and our attachment to Joel. Maybe if we'd experienced the journey that Abby took to get to that moment (and perhaps we will at some point), we'd cheer her on. And we'd point to her sparing Ellie as evidence that she's not "all bad." Good and bad is being determined almost entirely on perspective rather than some intrinsic criteria.

Jason Kelley

I don’t know if anyone mentioned this or not, but the safes are crackable without a code. There is a subtle difference in the click when you land on the right number. Such a nice detail.

Vic G

I noticed in the Barkos Pet store in Downtown Seattle I found a short gun holster, but reading up on it online it seems others got a long gun holster there instead. I'm assuming you get the other one in a later part of the gun as I couldn't find the long gun holster in Seattle Day 1, but I'm curious if the game 'chooses' which one to give you first maybe based on which gun type you're using more? If so, I think this is a neat way of a game using player data to perhaps optimize their gameplay (in this case, letting the player be able to switch between their favorite weapons a bit more easily).

James Baldwin

So apparently my comment didn't save? Very cool. If you can see it Ben and I'm doubling up here then just ignore this one, but anyway... The first game didn't really click with me like it did most people so I'm pretty surprised that this one is on track to be one of my favourite games of all time. I love just about everything it's doing. Here's just a few notes: I loooove how they treat violence. It's cold and brutal but never gratuitous imo. It feels like a consequence of the world as opposed to a consequence of the dev trying to gross me out. I think in stories such as TLoU that want to tackle violence and how destructive it really is (whether it's in a game, book, film etc.), it is dishonest to shy away from the actual violence itself. The chase sequences are surely the single most playtested sequences in all of gaming?? How is it possible that I always feel like I am JUST choosing the right direction at the very last second. The way it guides you almost subconsciously is incredible. The fluidity of combat and movement is something that I've never quite seen before. Squeezing through a gap in a wall to get into a building where you then smash a window to get on to the road before diving onto the ground and crawling under a truck...it's hard to overstate how much that seamlessness aids the gameplay and it's the animations that really sell it. Animations and graphics have a tangible effect on gameplay and at their best they cannot be separated from eachother without losing a significant part of their quality; this is the hill I will die on.

john mckee

Did everyone climb the T-Rex? (Loving the game, and hey, loving MinnMax, too.)

Hammer parsa

Can’t they say the name of the movies in the game ? I was yelling at him : just say jurassic Park man . Also if its licensing issue they could’ve mentioned real books or movies owned by sony because the comic book that she talks about with joel and the movie she discussed with dina aren’t real and in my mind would’ve had a bigger impact if it was from real world

Paul S

At the very end of day 1 when Joel and Ellie are In front of the firefly symbol, is this the first time we hear the theme from the first game?

Macka

I can't put my finger on why, but Joel's death didn't hit me on an emotional level at all. And I'm someone who would typically be tearing up at even the idea of a major character dying, let alone one I love from the original game! (Sarah's death gets me every time, for example). I even played through the remaster shortly before Part II so it would be fresh in mind, and still...nothing. Did any of you have the same experience? I get the feeling Naughty Dog want me to relate to Ellie's pain and anger as motivation for this revenge quest, but something about the way it was handled didn't work for me.

Nick Rodriguez

Late, but some insight into Joel's house from a fellow Texan, plus Dina was spotted by the NPCs once! If y'all remember the first game starts out in Central Texas where Joel and Sarah were living. Here are some details about Joel's House: - In a bookcase there's a white 3-dimensional star. This is called the "Lone Star" and is a sort of symbol of unity in Texas. - In another room there's a wooden figure on the wall of the state of Texas - All the photos in his house are "western" and native american, this is a very common art motif in Texas - In his bedroom there is a record player hooked up to a surround sound system with speakers in the top corners of the room - Along with the picture of him and Sarah, there are several pictures of Ellie throughout the house Some interesting things I noted about Seattle Day 1: - Dina's motivations begin during horseback conversations when she talks about the first time she killed a person, it was when someone came after her Mom and Dina stabbed him to death at 12 or 13. Then after the hotel room with the 2 guys tortured, Ellie asks if Dina is OK and she says something like "If I had my sisters' killers tied to a chair... I'd do worse". - For Ben: You asked about what was the Map thing near the waterfalls in the NE part of the open area. There is a FEDERA truck with "Fascists" written on it. You can open the back of it up to find some dead guys and a note. It's the only truck (that I can remember) that can be opened, so I bet it's easy to miss. - Sound Design: When you first get into the QZ zone you climb down a ladder in a tall cylindrical tower. In this room there is a really great sounding echo effect. - Animations: if you are on the horse and you leave the controller alone for a while all the characters will have idle animations. The horse leans down and begins to forage. Dina shifts her weight around by wiggling her hips, and Ellie has a similar side-to-side shuffle like she's getting comfortable. Their hair shifts around a bit, the animations are excellent. - Enemy AI Spotted Dina!!! I had never seen this before but while I was in the school courtyard area (right before going up to the room with solar panels) I was crouch-walking out of the cafeteria and into the grassy area when an enemy walked by me and into the room I just came from. Dina came sprinting out of that room, right past the WLF and it caused the enemy to shout out "She's over here!" and Dina yelled "Fuck me!" I just happened to get to the enemy quickly and stealth killed her, but her shout didn't seem to alert the other enemies in the area. A few seconds later Dina apologized saying "Sorry, they caught me off guard back there" and then Ellie responded "It's OK, it happens". Also for any of the CLC's or other Patrons - When you are exiting the school area, after going up on the roof (and before you climb through the vent grate to get outside) there is a locked door at the end of the hallway. I think that so far every door which has a prompt to open it, but is locked, has a way to get to it from another path. For the life of me I could not figure out how to get to the other side of this door. Does anyone know of a secret area? or is this some sort of overlooked locked door with no actual way to get around?