The Last of Us Part II was released in 2020; it is an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game is set 5 years after The Last of Us (2013), which follows Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last Of Us Part 2 focuses on two playable characters in a post-apocalyptic United States whose lives intertwine: Ellie, who sets out in revenge for a murder, and Abby, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict between her army and a religious cult. The game was the subject of review bombing on review websites, with many players criticizing the story and characters after finding out about the death of previous protagonist, Joel. However, despite the criticisms, Part II is one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games and the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive, with over four million units sold in its release weekend, and over ten million by 2022. It won more than 320 Game of the Year awards and received multiple other accolades from awards shows and gaming publications.
Stuart Hall's reception theory is the idea that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by audiences. Following this, the idea that there are three hypothetical positions from which messages and meanings may be decoded is presented to us. The dominant-hegemonic position: the encoder’s intended meaning (the preferred reading) is fully understood & accepted, the negotiated position: the legitimacy of the encoder’s message is adapted or negotiated to better fit the encoders own individual experiences or context, the oppositional position: the encoder’s message is understood, but the decoder disagrees with it, reading it in a contrary or oppositional way.
Stuart Hall's reception theory is a great theory to apply to The Last Of Us Part 2, due to its many different readings from the audience. The preferred reading of TLOU would be to find it extremely entertaining while also appreciating many of the emotional and moral themes raised in the game.
Evidence of preferred readings:
'Everything a story mode game should have, Beautiful story, Cinematography and Action being smooth as butter even on a ps4. The flaws were the length of the story you never know what the ending could be after all those hours if the endings not what you want you would be frustrated besides Everything was perfect.'
'Controversial, uncomfortable, brave, made with passion and hard work.'
'I think The Last of Us part 2 is one of the best video games I've ever played on PS5. The graphics are great and the story deep and I loved it. I hope someone else reads this comment and is inspired to play it. For me it's a 10.'
'An amazing game with such a fantastic story, it’s difficult to understand but perfectly displays humanity in this type of world.'
Many preferred readings were established after the initial anger of Joel being killed off, which explains why so many of the readings were negative. After letting the message of the game sink in, many fans changed what may have previously been a negotiated or oppositional reading to a preferred reading.
Evidence of negotiated readings:
'I like the gameplay and the graphics but I don't like the story.'
'The game has very good graphics and very good gameplay, but I feel that the game was made to pass some specific messages, that part of the game I didn't like it.'
'The Last of Us Part 2 takes away everything that you have built in The Last of Us Part 1. This game is an emotional roller coaster but most of those emotions are negative. Probably the most depressing game I've ever played with really bad story choices, annoying characters and unnecessary sex/romance scenes. You can't deny the beauty of the game and how great the gameplay is. I feel like if Naughty Dog changed the story a bit they would have a perfect game.'
'The game starts off very harshly and throws you into the story very soon, the graphics are what you expect from a modern game and the scenery is beautiful as always. Sadly i couldn't complete the game as I got to some parts that included substances (weed) and some LGBTQ materials that I was sadly not prepared for, currently i am putting the game to rest and when i have a stronger mind I will revisit this game. I think the main problem of this game is that it has modern materials such as LGBTQ and sex and substances. A prime example of what's wrong with this world, this game didn't need to include any of these.'
Many mixed reviews come from criticisms of the plot, with the game having you play as Abby, the killer of Joel, for roughly 12 hours. However, other criticisms come from the inclusion of characters from the LGBT community, such as main character Ellie and her girlfriend Dina, and young transgender boy Lev.
Evidence of an oppositional reading:
'A game that kills everything fun about the first game. I don't want empathy for the killer of my favorite character of the franchise.'
'It's quite disappointing to see Naughty Dog, despite their remarkable technical achievements, falter with a subpar plot, two-dimensional characters, superfluous 'political messages,' and an overall tedious storytelling experience.'
'This is not a continuation of the game, it is a different game. This is a game you don't want to play. Hype for the sake of hype, complete disappointment.'
'It is possibly the worst game I have ever played in my life. I give it a 1 for the impressive visual section, but the game has repetitive mechanics to the point of boredom, a story without any sense, excessive duration that definitely makes you end up hating... only game that ends up ridiculing and destroying the protagonist Abby. This game should never have existed.'
In my opinion, many oppositional readings were taken because of pettiness; people were so upset by the killing off of Joel that any experience they had with the game was now clouded by the absence of Joel. For me the game is a masterpiece and deserves the recognition it recieves. It makes the audience question the morality of characters, along with having immersive gameplay and striking visuals.
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