Felt like Ellie could have had more to her story

[Khanjima]

Just finished the story today and honestly found myself enjoying Abby's chapters far more than Ellie's. Abby's got.. I guess an actual arc of some sort that does resemble a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. I certainly felt that her story had far more going for it is what I'm saying. Like almost as if they may as well of made the whole game from her POV.

On the other hand something about Ellie's side of the story felt mad under baked, not even because she doesn't kill Abby. I am more than aware of what she's gone through but her personality seems a little too dry and void of anything. Every progression point in her story just had me thinking "Alright well, what's next I guess".

Ellie doesn't have an arc or at least one that I saw. She travels a pretty straight line only to for the most part get cucked out of her own revenge plot. I mean Tommy pretty much steals her spotlight. If anything the game should of been Tommy's POV with Ellie following him around like she did Joel. I also felt like Neil tried making the romance subplot with Dina have more significance to Ellie and her story, but It's so sloppily written that I just stop paying attention because nothing ever comes out of their scenes together.

[PrinceOfDorkness]

I dont think there is anything wrong with the story i think people just want a story that rewards their moral compas. O no shes lesbien blablabla... idec tbh i just want good gameplay and i think tlou2 delivers on its gameplay behalf.

[Khanjima]

Originally posted by PrinceOfDorkness:

I dont think there is anything wrong with the story i think people just want a story that rewards their moral compas. O no shes lesbien blablabla... idec tbh i just want good gameplay and i think tlou2 delivers on its gameplay behalf.

Yeah If there's one thing I love TLOU for it's gameplay and Part II definitely adds way more mechanics/tools than Part I, and personally I never really cared for killing Abby or the whole Lesbian thing. I just felt like so much more could of been done with the narrative direction

[bonjovi]

The game would have been much better if we got to play from Tommy's perspective at some time in the story. I think the last chapter should have been Tommy as the playable character hunting down Abby, not Ellie. The part where he calls out Ellie for giving up the fight should have been the end for Ellies story and the continuation of Tommy's story from his perspective.

[Freak4Leeks]

I think that is sort of the point, her arc is a straight line OF VENGEANCE

[Null Winter]

Originally posted by Freak4Leeks:

I think that is sort of the point, her arc is a straight line OF VENGEANCE

It is, and the game suffers for it.

Ellie goes from barely developed NPC to barely developed NPC, cutting them all down. The devs intentionally present these named NPCs as plot tokens for you; you kill each one in your hunt for Abby, pretty much only focused on finally getting to the only one you have any emotional attachment to due to the whole Joel thing.

The game then rolls back and let's you play as Abby... effectively restarting your run as you are back to barebones weapons and no skills, have to earn and learn a new set of gear and skills, and finally see why you were meant to care about any of those jobbers dying.

The devs were trying to say "Ohhh, don't you feel bad now? You were just killing your way through people like they were objects!"

"Well, yeah, that's how you presented them and then tried to backload their minimal lore and development long after we could have maybe cared. And all the tension is gone because we know none of these people die until they meet Ellie; we saw them all bite it 2-8 hours of gameplay ago. And even once we know their backstory, they're all flat, uninteresting, and hypocritical."

[Freak4Leeks]

Originally posted by Null Winter:

It is, and the game suffers for it.

Ellie goes from barely developed NPC to barely developed NPC, cutting them all down. The devs intentionally present these named NPCs as plot tokens for you; you kill each one in your hunt for Abby, pretty much only focused on finally getting to the only one you have any emotional attachment to due to the whole Joel thing.

The game then rolls back and let's you play as Abby... effectively restarting your run as you are back to barebones weapons and no skills, have to earn and learn a new set of gear and skills, and finally see why you were meant to care about any of those jobbers dying.

The devs were trying to say "Ohhh, don't you feel bad now? You were just killing your way through people like they were objects!"

"Well, yeah, that's how you presented them and then tried to backload their minimal lore and development long after we could have maybe cared. And all the tension is gone because we know none of these people die until they meet Ellie; we saw them all bite it 2-8 hours of gameplay ago. And even once we know their backstory, they're all flat, uninteresting, and hypocritical."

I would have to disagree, just personal preference of course, but narrative TLOU2 is at the top of the list for me.

Although based on the complaints my interpretation of the games events is probably why I liked it, It never painted Abby as a saint, I mean she slept with mel's boyfriend, she mentioned that Seraphite children deserved to die.

I don't think it's meant to make you feel bad, more just make you realise that hey everyone has an entire life that is as complex as yours, you aren't the main character.

Of course due it being a video game and we are all aware that they actually don't have a whole life outside of being meat bags, but it still worked.

Joel was just a "NPC nobody" to Abby.

[azogthedefiler25]

Originally posted by mr nasty:

The game would have been much better if we got to play from Tommy's perspective at some time in the story. I think the last chapter should have been Tommy as the playable character hunting down Abby, not Ellie. The part where he calls out Ellie for giving up the fight should have been the end for Ellies story and the continuation of Tommy's story from his perspective.

I would've liked that. Would you have wanted Tommy to never get maimed, or to still get maimed but heal up and go look for Abby one eyed "Snake" style?

[bonjovi]

Originally posted by azogthedefiler25:

Originally posted by mr nasty:

The game would have been much better if we got to play from Tommy's perspective at some time in the story. I think the last chapter should have been Tommy as the playable character hunting down Abby, not Ellie. The part where he calls out Ellie for giving up the fight should have been the end for Ellies story and the continuation of Tommy's story from his perspective.

I would've liked that. Would you have wanted Tommy to never get maimed, or to still get maimed but heal up and go look for Abby one eyed "Snake" style?

Honestly, I was surprised when Tommy survived and showed up later on in the game. I for sure thought he was dead when Abby shot him, it looked brutal.

I think i'd prefer if that never happened at all, but I don't really mind either way. It's almost like the writers wussed out on Tommy's death and made him survive but lose an eye instead.

[azogthedefiler25]

Originally posted by mr nasty:

Originally posted by azogthedefiler25:

I would've liked that. Would you have wanted Tommy to never get maimed, or to still get maimed but heal up and go look for Abby one eyed "Snake" style?

Honestly, I was surprised when Tommy survived and showed up later on in the game. I for sure thought he was dead when Abby shot him, it looked brutal.

I think i'd prefer if that never happened at all, but I don't really mind either way. It's almost like the writers wussed out on Tommy's death and made him survive but lose an eye instead.

Yeah, I don't think Tommy wouldve survived in real life, away from a doctor. He needed immediate surgery. Do you think Tommy is permanently maimed in the leg, or he was still healing? I wonder how long it took the crew to make it back to Jackson after the asswhooping they received from Abby? Just imagine being a bandit and seeing all these limping people, lol.

[Khanjima]

Originally posted by azogthedefiler25:

Originally posted by mr nasty:

Honestly, I was surprised when Tommy survived and showed up later on in the game. I for sure thought he was dead when Abby shot him, it looked brutal.

I think i'd prefer if that never happened at all, but I don't really mind either way. It's almost like the writers wussed out on Tommy's death and made him survive but lose an eye instead.

Yeah, I don't think Tommy wouldve survived in real life, away from a doctor. He needed immediate surgery. Do you think Tommy is permanently maimed in the leg, or he was still healing? I wonder how long it took the crew to make it back to Jackson after the asswhooping they received from Abby? Just imagine being a bandit and seeing all these limping people, lol.

The bullet curved down the side of his skull because Abby aimed more to the right of his face rather than just dead center, so for the most part the head shot it self was more of just a really bad graze that blinded him partially and took a chunk of his ear. As for the leg he's probably forever stuck with a limp considering lev arrowed his knee and it was a year since then during the farm scene

[bonjovi]

Originally posted by azogthedefiler25:

Originally posted by mr nasty:

Honestly, I was surprised when Tommy survived and showed up later on in the game. I for sure thought he was dead when Abby shot him, it looked brutal.

I think i'd prefer if that never happened at all, but I don't really mind either way. It's almost like the writers wussed out on Tommy's death and made him survive but lose an eye instead.

Yeah, I don't think Tommy wouldve survived in real life, away from a doctor. He needed immediate surgery. Do you think Tommy is permanently maimed in the leg, or he was still healing? I wonder how long it took the crew to make it back to Jackson after the asswhooping they received from Abby? Just imagine being a bandit and seeing all these limping people, lol.

Haha I actually forgot about his leg injury. I played it on the PS4 so my memories a little hazy. I'm pretty sure arrows take a long time to heal from because of the shape of the tip through a wound.

Yeah, I wish we'd have seen a limping one eyed Tommy fighting a skinny malnourished Abby at the end lol. It would sort of be a fair fight.

Originally posted by Khanjima:

Originally posted by azogthedefiler25:

Yeah, I don't think Tommy wouldve survived in real life, away from a doctor. He needed immediate surgery. Do you think Tommy is permanently maimed in the leg, or he was still healing? I wonder how long it took the crew to make it back to Jackson after the asswhooping they received from Abby? Just imagine being a bandit and seeing all these limping people, lol.

The bullet curved down the side of his skull because Abby aimed more to the right of his face rather than just dead center, so for the most part the head shot it self was more of just a really bad graze that blinded him partially and took a chunk of his ear. As for the leg he's probably forever stuck with a limp considering lev arrowed his knee and it was a year since then during the farm scene

True. Probably this.

[Frag Maniac]

To me it makes sense to focus on Abby this installment, to give her side of the story, and to fulfill the writer's obvious intention to show there are no true heroes or villains in this story.