Episode 2 (Fan Creations)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Sunday, January 22, 2023, 22:23 (459 days ago) @ Cody Miller

First of all, one thing I find fascinating is in the final scene. In the game, Tess orders Joel to go, and he and Ellie both go willingly (After they leave, Ellie briefly chastises Joel for leaving her to die, but quickly moves on). In the show? Joel drags Ellie away with her literally kicking and screaming. She doesn't want to leave Tess. It's kind of a change I can get behind, as right now you want Joel and Ellie on different pages yeah? So they can come together later.

I'm watching a show that for all intents and purposes is nailing it. Nearly all of the choices are solid (dunno about the 'kiss' though…), and they are crafting moments of tension, levity, understanding, and somehow managing to exposit in a way that doesn't bog anything down. The walk and talk, while fine in a game can get too much on the screen, but it was kept to a minimum. As cheapLEY mentioned to me, in the game the explanation for the clickers is just a popup, where here we learn more naturally.

So I can't say if it's just that I know what's happening because I've seen these images and this story before, but it's not affecting me as strongly as when I played. In particular I remember being more attached to Tess. In the show it feels like I didn't really get to know her as well as I'd have wanted, and then she's gone. In the game, I think we spent more time with her and I noticed the difference, especially in understanding her relationship to Joel.

One thing you inevitably lose is the sense of travel. The show give you a glimpse, but the video game lets you feel the distance they are traveling because you traverse it all more or less. The show does it fine, but the game does it better.

And yet it managed to surprise me with little moments that would not have fit in the game. The VFX hold up incredibly well; 1000x better than Halo's. I guess it helps that most of the CG is inanimate buildings rather than animated aliens, but you'll believe 97% of it.

P.S. Detroit represent