So I've been neck deep in this game for a couple of weeks now, currently 26 hours in. Just made the switch to Abby's character. The first one is probably my second favorite game ever after Horizon Zero Dawn. I've been making a point to go slowly, try to savor this gaming experience. I don't think I've ever been as emotionally vested in 2 video game characters like I am with Joel and Ellie. I was legitimately upset with what Abby did to him, had to walk away.
You're on this journey with Joel and Ellie, you're not in this game alone, it doesn't feel like they're your avatar in the game, it feels like you are with them, and they're with you. I partly feel so attached to this game because I have a daughter, this story just calls to me. Which is why that scene is so upsetting, I'm still upset about it and that was last week.
I know I'll get to it, but right now the last thing I want is to play this game from Abby's perspective. Her dad was going to kill Ellie, and you could tell from that interaction there's no way he'd do that to his own daughter. Plus Joel had a daughter, whom he lost, Ellie was his second chance at being a father, he'd walk through hell itself to protect her.
The fact I'm so into this is why I think it's a masterpiece, regardless of how it ends. A little has been spoiled from reading this, but that's probably for the better because it gives me some reason to play it through.
I tired to explain to my wife that HBO is doing a series because it's an incredible story, and the team behind Chernobyl makes me know I'm in good hands. I can't look at Joel and not see Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from later GOT seasons, I think he could nail it if he doesn't try to use a Texas accent. I think Josh Brolin would also be an incredible Joel.
This is what video games should aspire to. Regardless of how this plays out, I want a part 3. If Uncharted is over, and TLOU, then what's Naughty Dog got in the pipeline?