Psychologist breaks down The Last of Us Part 2's most traumatic and realistic moments: 'Revenge is sweet. Otherwise why would we hold onto it?'

Psychologist vs The Last Of Us Part II: A Realistic Portrayal of Trauma? | Reality Check - YouTube Psychologist vs The Last Of Us Part II: A Realistic Portrayal of Trauma? | Reality Check - YouTube
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On the eve of The Last of Us Part 2's long-awaited release on PC, Reality Check is here to grade its realism. Psychologist Dr. Audrey Tang returns to break down the biggest moments of Naughty Dog's sequel and grade its depiction of trauma, fear, and sweet, sweet revenge. Spoilers for TLOU2's story within, of course.

"I think the narrative is really what makes this game stand out. It's hugely compelling. It dives very deep into human behaviors—it's not just 'shoot shoot shoot,'" Dr. Tang said. Watch the full video to see Dr. Tang's reaction to Ellie and Dina's relationship, that one especially brutal scene involving a golf club, and Naughty Dog's questionable deployment of flashbacks.

We hope you're enjoying Reality Check. If this is your first episode, you've got a nice little backlog to work through in this YouTube playist, including a paleontologist's take on Monster Hunter Wilds, Dr. Tang's view on The Sims, and parkour experts reacting to Assassn's Creed throughout the years.

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Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.

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