“The Last of Us Part II” is not the masterpiece everyone claims it to be. Yeah, I said it. Sure, the graphics are incredible, and Naughty Dog knows how to make you feel things, but emotional manipulation and a well-polished game don’t make up for its glaring narrative flaws.

The story’s pacing is all over the place. You’re forced into caring about characters that, quite frankly, don’t deserve the screen time they get. The constant switching between Ellie and Abby—look, I get what they were going for, but it just ends up feeling disjointed. Abby’s redemption arc? I wasn’t buying it. And let’s not even talk about the massive character assassination of Joel. What they did to him in the first two hours is unforgivable. It’s like the writers were hell-bent on making the player feel guilty for liking him in the first place.

And don’t even get me started on the ending. It’s like the game wanted to punish you for playing. You fight tooth and nail, lose beloved characters, and for what? Ellie ends up alone, broken, and with literally nothing to show for it. It’s not deep—it’s depressing for the sake of being depressing. A bold narrative choice doesn’t automatically mean it’s a good narrative choice.

Look, I’m not saying it’s a bad game. Mechanically, it’s a beast. But the story? That’s where it falls apart. There, I said it. It’s overrated. Fight me.