SJ Longthorne

Yes, I think it ultimately paid off. But the fact that I felt those things then -- and for several hours, I should add -- doesn't go away because of that. Part of me just couldn't be bothered, and that's an issue. But idk how they could have avoided it.

I don't think a consistent splicing approach would have been the same, because part of the reason I felt all those things at the end was out of longing, because I'd been denied what I wanted so long.

Friends and I have discussed an Abby DLC to the first game, following TLOU's timeline (albeit truncated) and ending with the first game's twist from Abby's perspective. That way we could have built investment in Abby beforehand, been interested enough to cushion the blow.

Expensive, though. Not really viable.

I think I need to divorce myself from my pre-held beliefs that good narrative design always = aligning the player with their character. Because this was intentional, and I'm glad I felt the things I did, had the experience I had. I can learn a LOT from this game.

I'm gonna be thinking about this game for years. Not for the story itself, but for the approach to influencing my emotions. It's not perfect, but like I've said previously, it's provided a bold set of shoulders to stand on. And I admire that.

In the end I nearly felt more empathy for Abby than for Ellie. I just wanted the revenge cycle to stop. There were so many moments where I didn't want to kill my opponents but had to, especially in the middle. It's hard to explain without spoiling anything for others, though.

Yeah, and I think the not-wanting-to-kill enemies is a success of the game, tbh. As players -- players who, specifically, have paid for a combat-oriented game -- we're conditioned to enjoy killing. And the emotional play of TLOU2 managed to override that.