The Last of Us Part II

Gameplay was much improved over the first one, mostly due to improved enemy AI and level design. Everything flows cinematically and fluidly, which is nothing short of a technical marvel. Every melee attack has a contextual animation and the world reacts to your actions. The PS5 version's graphics are also probably the peak of the generation. The story is top-notch, as expected. Naughty Dog continues to push the boundaries of what possible in a narrative. At times, I did feel like playing the "novelization" of a TV show, so I'm excited to see what this looks like in the actual show. Overall it was probably too long and had some pacing inconsistencies, but I felt like it largely surpassed the original (despite my fondness for that first story).