10 Intense Shifts In Gameplay That Came Out Of Nowhere

Despite some unfortunate pre-release plot leaks, Naughty Dog did a fantastic job keeping The Last of Us Part II's big surprises under wraps, namely that players spend close to half the game playing as the "antagonist" of the piece, Abby.

As if Joel having his brains smashed in by Abby early on wasn't shocking enough, there's a switchover at the game's mid-way point where control is wrestled away from Ellie to tell Abby's story instead for most of the remainder.

Despite some fans' misgivings over being unable to play the entire game as Ellie, the Abby switcheroo offers a marked change to the prevailing gameplay.

The emphasis on stealth and ranged combat in the Ellie portions is substituted out for Abby's brute-force, close-quarters, melee-driven fighting style.

While you'll initially feel incredibly capable as Abby, things get increasingly gruelling the longer her quest goes on, ensuring it's equally as gut-wrenching as Ellie's story, albeit in a notably different way.

For a sequel that could've easily just played it safe and offered up more of the same, Naughty Dog dared to change-up the format and in turn delivered what's arguably their true masterpiece.