Writing about The Last of Us Part 2 is a perilous and difficult exercise. Difficult because there is a lot to unpack, and because everything that can be said about it has been said -- and then contradicted. Difficult because it was made under crunch conditions, and because picking it as my Game of the Year almost feels like an endorsement of its every aspect.
But it isn't. I picked it because it's a game I never intended to play, and it resonated with me long after I finished playing. That does not mean it's perfect.
Never has a sequel made me question the entire experience of its predecessor, and that is worth talking about. This has been a point of contention in itself for some reviewers -- the mere existence of The Last of Us Part 2 has been questioned