Confession: when the first game came out, I only had an xbox360 and was already deeply into Bioshock Infinite. I had friends rave about the game, but I never got an opportunity to play it. So, by the time I got a ps4 and tlou had been remastered, I felt like I had missed out on ALOT. (and I really did.)

The spring before the release, my cousin and I played tlou in anticipation. I vividly remember Target mailing my order, and it arriving one day early. I popped it in the minute I opened it and eagerly waited for my cousin to arrive. And despite the criticisms (many unfounded) that would come later, I LOVED the game. I had managed to avoid any leaks and speculations, so the moment Joel was killed was absolutely shocking. We cried and had to continue the next day. The journey we went on as Ellie and Abby was tremendous and heartfelt. I will admit initially playing as Abby was agonizing, but by the time we reached the beach at the end, I had grown to understand her. Ellie's sacrifies in pursuit of revenge for Joel's death were devastating; it was profoundly beautiful and bittersweet in that final moment.

In more technical aspects, the combat aspects were amazing. Refined from the first game, the weapons and hand-combat felt so distinctive, and in particular moments, the immersion was astonishing. I'm a scavenger at heart and deeply enjoy looting; the collectibles were some of my favorite parts in my secondary playthroughs. Abby's fear of heights shown through a zooming out in certain moments was one of my favorites as well with only Ellie's deepseated red rage being my top moment. With Ellie, I always find myself fully immersed in her anger and hurt throughout her journey until that moment of switching to Abby and realizing how invested I've truly become almost unawares.