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TLOU Part II has the best set pieces in a videogame ever (SPOILERS)

angrod14

Member
1. Abby running away from the horde, then teaming-up with Joel and Tommy to endure and escape.

2. Ellie and Joel fighting a bloater in the pitch darkness of that abandoned hotel, a nod to the good old times.

3. Ellie and Jesse escaping from the WLF and infected in the pickup truck.

4. Pretty much the entirety of Abby’s campaign:

4.1. Day 1: The seraphite ambush of the WLF patrol, all the way up to the gas station; teaming-up and running away with Yara and Lev after being taken by the scars;

4.2. Day 2: The Descent all the way down to the fight with the Rat King in Ground Zero;

4.3. Day 3: Showdown with Tommy snipping from afar; the runaway through the island while both factions fight with each other to death and everything burns; boss fight with that huge mofo.

And many more brilliant ones before, in-between and after.

Say whatever you want about the story or the narrative, but the game kicks some serious ass. No other game has ever had this amount of bad-assery.

The first one was already a showoff in this aspect, but they cranked everything up to eleven in the sequel. I don’t think we will see anything this exciting until Part III.
 
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Uncharted 4 spoiled me as far as set pieces, I don't think that is the strength of TLoU Pt2 but it does have some impressive sequences. The game has insane production value, I loved the places you get to visit, specially as Abby.

I think the opening sequence of TLoU Pt1 will look insane remade for the PS5. One of the best openings for a video game ever.
 
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I've seen more bombastic set-pieces in other games. One I'll never forget was getting devoured by the Rift Worm in Gears of War 2 and having to chainsaw through its heart...

Gears-2-Riftworm-Exit.jpg
 
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Part III? Did you really finish the game? I don't see where they can go with a third game.
We're in a Game of Thrones situation with TLoU now. The race is on to see whether the game or the TV show hits new material first. I'm sure they can come up with something. And Factions is probably set in a different part of the country. They have basically infinite options.
 

ManaByte

Member
We're in a Game of Thrones situation with TLoU now. The race is on to see whether the game or the TV show hits new material first. I'm sure they can come up with something. And Factions is probably set in a different part of the country. They have basically infinite options.

I mean that's true but people wanted more of Joel and Ellie in TLOUII. Look how that worked out. And it really seems like Ellie's story has hit a wall, unless they make her the big bad villain, but then people won't want to play as Abby again. So it'd have to be a Fear the Walking Dead style spinoff in a different part of the country.
 
We're in a Game of Thrones situation with TLoU now. The race is on to see whether the game or the TV show hits new material first. I'm sure they can come up with something. And Factions is probably set in a different part of the country. They have basically infinite options.
Will the show be a re-telling of the first game? For all we know, they are simply using the same characters and settings and putting them in brand new situations that have nothing to do with the story-arc of the games.
 
Part III? Did you really finish the game? I don't see where they can go with a third game.
New character, someone that happened to cross paths with Joel in the past and Ellie and Abby in the future, maybe even the far future.

There are countless possibilities for an IP like this, there is clearly an opening for changing who we play as (I think we already played as four different characters over the first two games).
 
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SkylineRKR

Member
Yeah TLOU2 set pieces are excellent. Nearly every encounter was good; the way you can tackle them as well, sometimes after clearing one I would look around and found hidden passages, broken fences etc... all kinds of places I could use to get the drop on enemies but didn't exploit. The areas actually offer quite a bit of options to deal with the opposition.

I liked how I was completely stacked at the end of Hard mode.

But TLOU 2 does some more things that are downright brilliant. Like the sliders. I think you can play Hard with Normal loot drops. You can nerf the AI so that they cannot see you when you are prone. And much more things.
 

Chukhopops

Member
I preferred the more open encounters where there’s actual thinking involved. Set pieces in general are boring to play, relying on minimal player input while the cool shit plays around you automatically when you reach certain triggers.

Also God of War III has the best set pieces, still memorable to this day.
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Uncharted series. (the plane and even the car chase are still top tier).
Gears of War series.
Shadow of the Colossus.
God of War series.
Elden Ring...honestly the Dragonlord had me floored.
Scarecrow in Batman.

Have TLOU2 beat when it comes to set pieces.
Its good, great even but its doesnt take the cake with ease.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Uncharted series. (the plane and even the car chase are still top tier).
Gears of War series.
Shadow of the Colossus.
God of War series.
Elden Ring...honestly the Dragonlord had me floored.
Scarecrow in Batman.

Have TLOU2 beat when it comes to set pieces.
Its good, great even but its doesnt take the cake with ease.
How do you miss the train opening from UC2? HOW!!!!???
 

FingerBang

Member
New character, someone that happened to cross paths with Joel in the past and Ellie and Abby in the future, maybe even the far future.

There are countless possibilities for an IP like this, there is clearly an opening for changing who we play as (I think we already played as four different characters over the first two games).
I mean, Ellie's story is over but

Abby and Lev are going to meet with what remains of the Fireflies. Them as a duo could be an option, but something that has to do with the Fireflies as well could. I don't think it will be a sequel, more like a soft reboot/spinoff where the world is the same but you have different characters.

I think people give this game way too much shit, it's still fantastic even if they could have avoided pandering to the woke a little. Also, it's with RDR2 up there when it comes to production. It's so fucking good, nothing comes close.. unfortunately.
 
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I mean, Ellie's story is over but


I think people give this game way too much shit, it's still fantastic even if they could have avoided pandering to the woke a little. Also, it's with RDR2 up there when it comes to production. It's so fucking good, nothing comes close.. unfortunately.
I don't think it's over at all, I think she is in the middle of her arch as a character an at rock bottom. A Pt III were we get to see her finding new purpose would easily work for me. I guess the obvious way to do that would be to put her in the "Joel" role, like Abby sort of was in the last game.

I'm not feeling Abby and Lev caring the third game. I think it would be cool if they showed up as NPCs. If it was up to me, it would be a new character that crosses paths with everyone as I've said (getting Joel back once again would be great) but at some point Ellie enters the story again and takes it over to close the trilogy.
 
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MiguelItUp

Member
Also God of War III has the best set pieces, still memorable to this day.
I wholeheartedly agree. Even the first level/boss is absurd, lol. God of War III IMO is full of moments that haven't been touched today. The sheer size of some of those segments is absolutely insane too. Not only that, but the fact that it was on PS3 hardware is also pretty hard to comprehend. Going back to look at the game it's insane how good it still looks.

ND does a good job of creating consistent cinematic action scenes. But I'd say the things I saw in the Uncharted series packed more of a wallop than TLOU 1/2.
 

angrod14

Member
I wholeheartedly agree. Even the first level/boss is absurd, lol. God of War III IMO is full of moments that haven't been touched today. The sheer size of some of those segments is absolutely insane too. Not only that, but the fact that it was on PS3 hardware is also pretty hard to comprehend. Going back to look at the game it's insane how good it still looks.

ND does a good job of creating consistent cinematic action scenes. But I'd say the things I saw in the Uncharted series packed more of a wallop than TLOU 1/2.

The problem with GOW and Uncharted, and other games alike that had been cited, is that -while technically impressive- they are too bombastic, rely too much in fantastical elements and try way too hard to impress. Is the groundedness of the sequences that make TLOU much more impactful to me, even though we all know it's still a work of fiction, but one that tries to respect the laws of reality (physics, etc.).
 

MiguelItUp

Member
The problem with GOW and Uncharted, and other games alike that had been cited, is that -while technically impressive- they are too bombastic, rely too much in fantastical elements and try way too hard to impress. Is the groundedness of the sequences that make TLOU much more impactful to me, even though we all know it's still a work of fiction, but one that tries to respect the laws of reality (physics, etc.).
Ah, to each their own then. Maybe it was because they were "boombastic" that they hold more of a place in my memory? The stuff in TLOU 1/2 that revolved around action or tension was pretty forgettable to me. However the dramatic scenes are what I remember more so.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
The only setpieces from that list I'd genuinely consider setpieces are the WLF horse chase and the car with Ellie and the Asian dude.

I think set pieces, I think escaping from a near vertical sinking vessel, or running from an armored jeep, or gunfights in a building that's mid collapse from missile fire, or you know. Set pieces.

Not boss fights.
 

kiphalfton

Member
I don't think you know what "set pieces" means.

In regards to "set pieces" proper, I'd say it's relatively weak actually. Especially compared to something like RE (pretty much any RE game).
 
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Vick

Gold Member
Hate the game, but yes. Other than story, narrative and dialogues, to me this game is a colossal and unparalleled masterpiece.
 

Fredrik

Member
Part III? Did you really finish the game? I don't see where they can go with a third game.
I haven’t played it so I might’ve missed some parts even though I roughly know the story by now, but can’t they go back to where they were before the revenge story and try to find a cure?
 

Daneel Elijah

Gold Member
4.2. Day 2: The Descent all the way down to the fight with the Rat King in Ground Zero;
Is one of my best gaming moments of all time. It work so well !
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Yeah, in fact it was so good that I was kinda upset at them giving Abby almost all the best setpieces lol

That said, i still like the Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy chase sequences more. Lost Legacy's chase sequence is THE best setpiece ever, but TLOU2 wins in the sheer numbers and stunning visual splendor. The horse chase through the island made me go omg, how is this realtime.

The Ellie and Jessie truck chase sequence is also very well choreographed with the zombies constantly attacking and getting fucked by Ellie doing some truly badass things.

Not gonna lie. The setpieces and combat were the main reasons why I gave it my GOTY despite hate playing through the second half of the game. It is just a really well made video game.
 
Agreed, seeing Jörmungandr rear his head up was the only "stand out" spectacle I remember from GoW18. I hope GoW:R has more of that stuff.
I like the encounters with Baldur but they don't really go for absurd scale.
 
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angrod14

Member
Most of those aren't really set pieces?
They're very defined sequences of cinematic gameplay with incredibly high logistics and production values. I think they can be considered set pieces. Anyways, there isn't a universal and exact definition of the term so, debatable.
 
I feel like naughty dog spent 15 years perfecting the 3rd person shooter mechanics since the first Uncharted game and Tlou2 it was their true masterpiece.

The fact I remember every single level from the game and most encounters says it all. I usually forget most stuff about most games I play but sometimes I still think about this one. That rarely happens to me since I'm a working adult that doesn't replay videogames countless times.

This one really stayed with me.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
I feel like naughty dog spent 15 years perfecting the 3rd person shooter mechanics since the first Uncharted game and Tlou2 it was their true masterpiece.

The fact I remember every single level from the game and most encounters says it all. I usually forget most stuff about most games I play but sometimes I still think about this one. That rarely happens to me since I'm a working adult that doesn't replay videogames countless times.

This one really stayed with me.

What really saddens me is that I want more of TLOU2 gameplay on other ND games. I think a new open world game would be great gameplay-wise.
 
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