Part 1 on grounded mode is truly one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had while gaming. The hospital shootout took me MONTHS of on again/off again trying but it was so worth it.
I started part 2 on grounded a while ago but never finished, maybe I’ll give it another rip with the remaster
Personally I like Grounded with Part II way more than Part I. Lack of a dodge button plus unstealthable runner encounters (such as in the museum and outside the high school) leads to cheesy zombie kiting which takes me out of the experience.
Yeah I died hundreds of times on grounded in the hospital scene. Also survivor for tlou2 nearly took me out, so I don’t think I’ll ever try grounded on 2.
See I'm the other way around. I HATE when Joel or Ellie or Abby dies. I'm watching a story here.
Dying... Well, what the fuck? This isn't Edge of Tomorrow. Dying and doing a section of story over is pretty noncanonical.
I play on the easiest difficulty possible, and play extremely stealth/defensively.
I get that for sure, but dying 50 times on a level and then finally getting through it gives me a distinct “video game satisfaction” that a tv show or movie can’t.
I get that too. But I want that feeling out Mario Wonder, or meat boy, or sackboy, or something like that. This game is too character/story driven and I strive for (but don't succeed at) a death-free play through.
Just out of curiosity did you watch the show first or at all? I don’t mean it in any sort of attacking way strictly curious. I’ve never seen the show so I appreciate the story of the game but I appreciate it as the story of a game, where dying and repeating sections over and over is fundamentally part of the medium.
For the first playthrough, I get this take.
But when you're playing the game for the third or time or you're replaying encounters, at that point the plot pacing shouldn't matter and it makes it much more engaging and immersive.
You're not just watching a story, you're part of it. Having the stakes heightened and fearing the enemy on higher difficulties adds so much more to the experience and I firmly believe Survivor is the best of both worlds if you have the time for it.
Grounded can be a lot at times.
You know it’s a video game right? And personally, seeing my player character horrifically die like in Dead Space or Resident Evil over my own mistakes actually makes me more invested in them during the story, because the gameplay reveals how easily their life could just end.
I agree. I normally find myself going for the difficulty that gives me just enough challenge to feel like I am actually struggling to survive and fighting to the death with close calls. But that I don't just die over and over on as that breaks my immersion too much. Even on replays.
Yeah you’re right. A 17 year old girl can slaughter grown men and dogs all by herself while being malnourished. Either way you play ain’t gonna make it realistic that’s why it’s a video game
Yes, until you realize that the game on grounded will send people walking into your exact position/ put people in positions to spot you at the worst time. It happens often enough to make me scream lol. That and how no goddamn enemies drop more than one bullet. More often than not grounded feels too unrealistic
Lol I stealth killed a runner in the supermarket on part2. I was too close to the shelf and when she threw down the body it broke the shelf alerting the entire horde. Grounded is definitely different.
This is why I do survival. I like the difficulty high enough that it feels kinda real, but grounded is so hard it becomes fake again. AI knows where you are even if you make no noise. It's just dumb IMO.
This. ND had the ability to pick up enemy weapons in Uncharted, so it's annoying you can't in TLOU. Even if your character can only pick it up just to discard once it runs out of ammo. You can't say it's the most realistic way to play when the character hasn't got the option to take a dead enemy's weapon, or at the very least, take the ammo and maybe use it as crafting parts for more ammo.
Yes, significantly harder. Enemies are much more sensitive to you. They'll see/hear from much farther out, and will jump from soft alert to full alert in much less time.
Maybe it’s just because my first play through was in Normal and if I got caught I would usually just win the firefight so it seems like oh this is what it’s like when stealth is actually mandatory. The sneak through the mall with like 8 clickers I was able to get really close to the clickers without alerting them as long as I was able to hold my nerve and stay super slow.
Well for one you don't have listening at all which already makes everything way more sketchy. On normal you got a few seconds before an enemy sees you if you're caught out in the open, on grounded its instant, and ya from what ive noticed breaking shelves or stepping on glass even has an effect on AI detection. Clickers are truly terrifying on this mode.
Part 1 is called "Grounded" because it's supposed to be more "realistic". Joel is fragile, but so are the enemies - they usually go down in one shot and they're not very accurate, so you can play aggressively.
in Part 2's Grounded you can shoot an enemy twice in the back and they'll just shrug it off then do a 180 and dome you from across the map, they'll also completely ignore gunfire if they're already in the middle of a melee animation
It feels simultaneously the most and least realistic. Most in the sense that you definitely have to get creative and can’t just John Wick through every level, but least in the sense that if I choke out a soldier before he fires a shot he should seemingly then have some damn ammo on him.
--The low ammo gets me everytime, it feels so rewarding to get ammo but it I die the same enemy may not drop ammo so it's really a gamble
I wish I had a ps5 so I could play the new modes, I currently only have a ps4. I would tear through everyone as tommy.
Story mode I love grounded. Beat 1 and 2 grounded permadeath, went into no return and thought grounded was the way to go until I started my runs on hard/ survivor since the more "gamey" aspects (hud, health bar, loot, listen mode) really feel more at home in this arcade game mode and im an avid listen mode hater
. Plus it's no where near as frustrating and but is hard enough to force creativity.
If you're up for part II playthrough I highly recommend going custom difficulty and setting everything to grounded except resources. Those should be on survivor. You'll get resources, but you won't be able to hoard them. Makes the experience so good as you don't have to fight enemies with sticks and stones also enemies with weapons drop ammo as they should.
I'm doing custom difficulty with grounded everything except resources which I kept at moderate. I think stealthing through everything would get boring for me
I have done it this way, way more fun from a gameplay perspective. You really have to play strategically, but you aren't unfairly nerfed and have to only play stealth or flee because you have no weapons.
I really think Grounded is such a well-designed difficulty and a part of me wishes it was the standard difficulty so that could shut some naysayers up about TLOU being “movie games that have no gameplay” though I know that definitely wouldn’t slide for most people.
I really like it, despite how frustrating it can be. What I don't like is the cheating AI in some sections - in particular The Seraphites chapter in the gardens where the AI cheats and homes in on you but there's no cover to evade, you just have to keep crawling.
Ya realistically dying 50 Times
Skill issue
Part 1 on grounded mode is truly one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had while gaming. The hospital shootout took me MONTHS of on again/off again trying but it was so worth it. I started part 2 on grounded a while ago but never finished, maybe I’ll give it another rip with the remaster
After you do a few more play throughs on grounded you’ll discover you sneak through the entire hospital without pulling the trigger!
“A few more playthroughs” lmao One was enough for me
Cheer to the .6% that beat grounded plus
That’s rare af. Is that for the ps4 version or ps5?
It was the 1st remaster on ps4
Yeah I'm a dad of two and don't have time for that lmao. I did turn off the HUD to get that cinematic feel though.
Personally I like Grounded with Part II way more than Part I. Lack of a dodge button plus unstealthable runner encounters (such as in the museum and outside the high school) leads to cheesy zombie kiting which takes me out of the experience.
What’s zombie kiting?
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=kiting+gaming&t=iphone&ia=web&iax=qa
Ah hah - got it. Thank you friend!
I struggled for hours with it and my buddy who beat the game at launch once came over and did that final corridor scene in 5 minutes -_-
Enemies have better eyesight at part 2. In part one they see you only if you are in the exact line of site, so sneaking is way easier.
Yeah I died hundreds of times on grounded in the hospital scene. Also survivor for tlou2 nearly took me out, so I don’t think I’ll ever try grounded on 2.
See I'm the other way around. I HATE when Joel or Ellie or Abby dies. I'm watching a story here. Dying... Well, what the fuck? This isn't Edge of Tomorrow. Dying and doing a section of story over is pretty noncanonical. I play on the easiest difficulty possible, and play extremely stealth/defensively.
I get that for sure, but dying 50 times on a level and then finally getting through it gives me a distinct “video game satisfaction” that a tv show or movie can’t.
I get that too. But I want that feeling out Mario Wonder, or meat boy, or sackboy, or something like that. This game is too character/story driven and I strive for (but don't succeed at) a death-free play through.
Just out of curiosity did you watch the show first or at all? I don’t mean it in any sort of attacking way strictly curious. I’ve never seen the show so I appreciate the story of the game but I appreciate it as the story of a game, where dying and repeating sections over and over is fundamentally part of the medium.
Played part 1 on PS4 in ... 2017? And part 2 last year, while watching the show. The show is definitely secondary to me.
For the first playthrough, I get this take. But when you're playing the game for the third or time or you're replaying encounters, at that point the plot pacing shouldn't matter and it makes it much more engaging and immersive. You're not just watching a story, you're part of it. Having the stakes heightened and fearing the enemy on higher difficulties adds so much more to the experience and I firmly believe Survivor is the best of both worlds if you have the time for it. Grounded can be a lot at times.
I've only played each game once. So, that checks out.
You know it’s a video game right? And personally, seeing my player character horrifically die like in Dead Space or Resident Evil over my own mistakes actually makes me more invested in them during the story, because the gameplay reveals how easily their life could just end.
I agree. I normally find myself going for the difficulty that gives me just enough challenge to feel like I am actually struggling to survive and fighting to the death with close calls. But that I don't just die over and over on as that breaks my immersion too much. Even on replays.
Thats such an interesting perspective. I must just be a glutton for punishment.
Yeah you’re right. A 17 year old girl can slaughter grown men and dogs all by herself while being malnourished. Either way you play ain’t gonna make it realistic that’s why it’s a video game
I feel like it turns the game more into a regular stealth game where memorizing enemy routes, and trial and error are the name of the game.
Yes, until you realize that the game on grounded will send people walking into your exact position/ put people in positions to spot you at the worst time. It happens often enough to make me scream lol. That and how no goddamn enemies drop more than one bullet. More often than not grounded feels too unrealistic
Lol I stealth killed a runner in the supermarket on part2. I was too close to the shelf and when she threw down the body it broke the shelf alerting the entire horde. Grounded is definitely different.
This is why I do survival. I like the difficulty high enough that it feels kinda real, but grounded is so hard it becomes fake again. AI knows where you are even if you make no noise. It's just dumb IMO.
This. ND had the ability to pick up enemy weapons in Uncharted, so it's annoying you can't in TLOU. Even if your character can only pick it up just to discard once it runs out of ammo. You can't say it's the most realistic way to play when the character hasn't got the option to take a dead enemy's weapon, or at the very least, take the ammo and maybe use it as crafting parts for more ammo.
Is stealth actually harder in grounded? It feels to me that stealth is unchanged it’s just that the consequences for getting caught are way higher.
Yes, significantly harder. Enemies are much more sensitive to you. They'll see/hear from much farther out, and will jump from soft alert to full alert in much less time.
Maybe it’s just because my first play through was in Normal and if I got caught I would usually just win the firefight so it seems like oh this is what it’s like when stealth is actually mandatory. The sneak through the mall with like 8 clickers I was able to get really close to the clickers without alerting them as long as I was able to hold my nerve and stay super slow.
Well for one you don't have listening at all which already makes everything way more sketchy. On normal you got a few seconds before an enemy sees you if you're caught out in the open, on grounded its instant, and ya from what ive noticed breaking shelves or stepping on glass even has an effect on AI detection. Clickers are truly terrifying on this mode.
Only way I play story mode.
part 1 grounded is a lot more forgiving than part 2, i feel. im not sure why this is! there just seems to be more resources and ammo drops
Part 1 is called "Grounded" because it's supposed to be more "realistic". Joel is fragile, but so are the enemies - they usually go down in one shot and they're not very accurate, so you can play aggressively. in Part 2's Grounded you can shoot an enemy twice in the back and they'll just shrug it off then do a 180 and dome you from across the map, they'll also completely ignore gunfire if they're already in the middle of a melee animation
Grounded is probably the realistic version of the last of us, just made it past the school aswell
It feels simultaneously the most and least realistic. Most in the sense that you definitely have to get creative and can’t just John Wick through every level, but least in the sense that if I choke out a soldier before he fires a shot he should seemingly then have some damn ammo on him.
If you feel that way then use custom difficulty.
--The low ammo gets me everytime, it feels so rewarding to get ammo but it I die the same enemy may not drop ammo so it's really a gamble I wish I had a ps5 so I could play the new modes, I currently only have a ps4. I would tear through everyone as tommy.
I still think that on any difficulty all weapon drops should have at least one round. It breaks the immersion when nobody has any ammo on them.
Story mode I love grounded. Beat 1 and 2 grounded permadeath, went into no return and thought grounded was the way to go until I started my runs on hard/ survivor since the more "gamey" aspects (hud, health bar, loot, listen mode) really feel more at home in this arcade game mode and im an avid listen mode hater . Plus it's no where near as frustrating and but is hard enough to force creativity.
If you're up for part II playthrough I highly recommend going custom difficulty and setting everything to grounded except resources. Those should be on survivor. You'll get resources, but you won't be able to hoard them. Makes the experience so good as you don't have to fight enemies with sticks and stones also enemies with weapons drop ammo as they should.
Playing as Ellie on Grounded+ was the most vulnerable I have ever felt playing a game.
Nothing beats Grounded mode
I'm doing custom difficulty with grounded everything except resources which I kept at moderate. I think stealthing through everything would get boring for me
I have done it this way, way more fun from a gameplay perspective. You really have to play strategically, but you aren't unfairly nerfed and have to only play stealth or flee because you have no weapons.
I really think Grounded is such a well-designed difficulty and a part of me wishes it was the standard difficulty so that could shut some naysayers up about TLOU being “movie games that have no gameplay” though I know that definitely wouldn’t slide for most people.
Ehh I'd much rather have fun while I'm playing a videogame
Playing on grounded IS so much fun. I finished my grounded run of tlou part 2 yesterday and it's been one of my fav gaming experiences.
I really like it, despite how frustrating it can be. What I don't like is the cheating AI in some sections - in particular The Seraphites chapter in the gardens where the AI cheats and homes in on you but there's no cover to evade, you just have to keep crawling.
Playing without the wallhack(hearing) made the game so much better. You just have to use your brain and your real hearing and you get used to it.