The Last of Us Part II was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated sequels in video game history. Fans had a long seven-year wait to find out what happened after Joel lied to Ellie about the nature of the fungal cure in The Last of Us, but the wait was worth it. The long development resulted in The Last of Us Part II being one of the most critically acclaimed sequels of the PS4 era.
Not only did all that work put into the game by Naughty Dog produce a fantastic story of loss and revenge, but it wound up providing players with a much lengthier adventure than its predecessor. Here's how long it will take to finish the game, whether simply taking in the rich narrative or striving for that platinum trophy.
Beating The Last of Us Part II's Story
While The Last of Us took players around 15 hours to beat the campaign and another two or so hours for those looking to explore more and see the sights, according to HowLongToBeat, The Last of Us Part II takes 24 to 29 hours to accomplish those same goals. The lengthy playthrough time is due to several factors, including exploring a much larger world. The Last of Us was 12 chapters long, while The Last of Us Part II contains 46 chapters, split into 11 acts. That's one long stretch of story, and the playtime is commensurate with its length.
Of course, a single playthrough will vary quite a bit depending on the difficulty selected and the player's penchant for exploration. The enemies are tough in this game, and raising the difficulty will result in longer battles and a lot more dying and reloading saves. Further, resource management is a large part of the game's formula, and it's important to collect enough parts, ammo and other items to make it through all of the enemies and obstacles. This means plenty of time spent searching houses and buildings and picking up whatever is available.
Completing Everything in The Last of Us Part II
It will take much longer for completionists to find every collectible and read every note and letter necessary to flesh out the world's backstory. Over 200 secrets are waiting to be unearthed in the game's environments. For those who want to see it all, it's going to take some time. The original game took approximately 22 hours for full completion, and The Last of Us Part II nearly doubles that rate, clocking in at around 41 ½ hours to obtain 100% completion.
One of the reasons for this staggering length is that neither Ellie nor the various weapons in the game can be completely upgraded in a single playthrough. The game simply does not provide enough upgrades no matter how extensive the player's search is or how many enemies are bested. To fully maximize Ellie's skills and the game's weapons, a second New Game+ playthrough is required.
The good news is that the platinum trophy can be unlocked with much more ease than it took to do the same in the first game. The Last of Us had a multiplayer mode with its own set of trophies to achieve platinum. Since Part II's multiplayer is not yet available, players only need to worry about single-player campaign trophies, which can be done on any difficulty setting. Most of them are reasonably straightforward, too, and involve finding collectibles and secrets and upgrading characters and weapons to their max level.