An outstanding narrative work that continues in its predecessor's legacy as an exploration of the means by which video games are able to construct deeply emotional stories with a cast of nuanced, human characters. Part II starts off with an earned — and bold — emotional gut punch that sends the various characters spiraling into an emotionally charged saga of revenge and forgiveness, demanding player attention by virtue of the introductory moment being an arguably diegetic moment of agony as Ellie Williams is compelled to move heaven and earth to enforce her vision of justice on the poor bastards of Seattle. Abby Anderson's role as the work's antagonist-turned deuteragonist humanizes the many victims of Joel Miller's actions in the first title, and the many that lay in Ellie's path, as both women have their lives devastated as part of the cycle of revenge in service of finding meaning to the tears.

You're probably aware of some degree as to what this title entails, but it's set twenty years after a parasitic fungal infection transmitted to humans from ants and destroyed society in what is effectively a zombie apocalypse with some interesting creative differences that gives its apocalypse a unique vibe. Despite the presence of infected as frequent enemies, human factions play an equal, if not ultimately more consequential role in the modality of combat, as new societies emerge and fall into the same cycles of war that nations have since their emergence. As such, combat ranges from having to avoid echolocation-reliant zombies, to armed soldiers and militiamen of the two major factions warring throughout the Seattle area. As the game goes on, Ellie's mental state declines as more and more bodies are left in her wake, while Abby's guilt propels her into a moral decency the likes of which her murdered father would admire. With a sliding-scale of difficulty meters allowing for a great variety of play, Part II boasts high-pressure, well-realized gameplay alongside its poignant writing and characterization of its world in service of a game that feels massive in its scope, while maintaining its focus as a story of deeply flawed people struggling to make sense of the broken world they're all scrambling in.

Graphically, the game is gorgeous, and speaks to the continued dedication by Naughty Dog in this franchise to a realistic, and detailed world struggling with the degradation following two decades of national institutional collapse, as remnant Federal authorities increasingly lose control of cities to newer factions. This collapse at times compliments and contrasts its characters' drives to help and maim the people around them, creating a dark world populated with hope and goodness that is often dashed as much as it is championed.

This is one of the first titles in a long while with the emotional resonance to make me cry in its conclusion, a status shared with 2018's Red Dead Redemption II, sharing in emotionally-charged writing that earns its moments of tragedy and heartbreak. Part II: Remastered features excellent gameplay to fit with its story, and this remaster manages to even run pretty well on the Deck. An incredible port to one of the most important games of the past decade, as designers increasingly push the boundaries of emotional depth through the medium.

Night in the Woods is a sidescrolling story-focused title where players control Mae Borowski, a twenty-year old college dropout, as she reintegrates herself into her rural and declining Appalachian hometown, and deals with the dual stresses of feeling like a failure to the ones you love, and the true nature of young adulthood. With a gameplay loop that largely deals with choosing who among Mae's group of friends she will interact with the most after spending a day exploring the town of Possum Springs, Night in the Woods gives its writing time to breathe before letting its harsher lessons unfold, allowing for a consistent pace, while keeping players hooked with a hypnotizing score and cast of characters.

A beautifully rendered game, Night in the Woods speaks to the Zoomer generation's feelings of the difficulties of handling the future amidst the tumult of economic hardship and stratification. Mae's characterization encompasses the anxieties and the failures of youth amidst a world that cares little for excuses while punishing them harshly. As Mae's mental health continues to unravel, she increasingly comes face to face with the nature of the phantoms haunting her, and the agonies of rural communities as they continue to perish as the world leaves them and their ancient modalities in the past.

A fundamentally materialistic look at rural postindustrial America, the writing doesn't pull any punches in its illustration of the shift of the 21st Century American economy, with the entire town experiencing the psychological and fiscal weight of carrying on in the dark as the country evolves beyond the need for manufacturing and coal mining. All the while, as Mae realizes both the pressures of adulthood and the consequences of a childlike immaturity she has not fully shed.

Night in the Woods is a remarkably well-realized title, with its art design, musical direction, and writing all working properly to create a visually dazzling and emotionally resonant experience, whose world and characters feel real through their flaws as much as their shine. With the town and population of Possum Springs languishing in America's shadow as the young flock away to find success in cities or are cursed to be stuck in the decaying hell in the hills. A masterful story focused game, it perfectly crescendos towards a dark exploration of the totality of desperation brought about through the apocalyptic process of rural decline in the modern era, without standing behind reactionary considerations of how the economy, and society, ought to operate. By doing so, it creates a convincing and emotionally resonant view of a world whose end's very prospect is horrifying beyond measure as family traditions and legends turn from revered mantras and foundational texts to unknown scripture forgotten deep beneath the Earth.