The Last of Us Part II
"I'm going to buy so many PlayStation Vitas with this money."
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The Last of Us Part II review: A brilliant game that is not what it seems

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 11 min

At last, the long-awaited sequel from Naughty Dog is here. The Last of Us Part II debuts June 19 for the PlayStation 4, but I’ve played through the game a couple of times for this review. And I am glad to say I am not disappointed with the risks the developer took, even though the game didn’t go where I thought it would go, nor where I wanted it to go.

Early on, the previews gave us clues that a tragic event that would trigger the journey of the second game. There is no question that playing the game is an intense emotional and moving experience. But the story had some twists that I believe will prove controversial and perhaps unpopular among enthusiastic fans.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.