Although it's pretty hard to miss with the game being a hot topic of debate online, The Last of Us 2 has been perhaps one of the most divisive games of the entire generation, with the fanbase split down the middle on the long-awaited sequel. While some of heralded Naughty Dog's newest game as a brave, bold, and daring next chapter in Joel and Ellie's post-apocalyptic tale, others have called it poorly written and tone-deaf, citing several of its more spoilerific twists and turns as the reasoning.
One of the results of this polarizing reception was the game's Metacritic user score which, as reported last week, was originally as low as 3.4, with fans littering the page with incredibly negative reviews. It seems this initial onslaught has been met with a few more positive comments, as the user score for The Last of Us 2 has managed to rise up to a far more agreeable 5.2.
Still, this is far from equal to the incredibly lofty acclaim of critics, who awarded the title a universally positive aggregate score of 94. It's clear the reception of fans has still been incredibly detrimental to The Last of Us 2's presence on the site, with some of the most popular reviews in the user score section seeing the game garner a 0 / 10 rating. Of course, there's also a number of incredibly positive review scores as well, however, it's going to take a lot for the game's user scores to rise to the point of equaling the thoughts of critics.
The divide between fans has easily become one of the biggest internet talking points of the year so far, with many disagreeing with how The Last of Us 2 handles its characters and plot points. For example, many have criticized the inclusion of Abby, the mysterious second playable character that fans are introduced to towards the beginning of the campaign. The hate for the character has gotten so intense that Laura Bailey, the voice behind Abby, had to speak out on Twitter about the vile and disgusting comments fans had sent her for merely portraying a character they disliked.
Overall, it seems as though The Last of Us 2 will be remembered as one of the most important games of this entire generation, whether fans love or hate it. It will surely continue to be debated for years to come, both for its subversive plot twists and poignant themes, so it'll definitely be interesting to see where discussions fall on it once the dust has finally settled.
The Last of Us 2 is out now, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
Source: Metacritic