Well... crap.

Well this session had its ups and downs... mostly downs.

First off, the game is really good about loading screens, as in there are none when playing. Even after restarting from dying it only takes a moment to get back in. The only real loading screen is when you continue from the main menu, and then you have to wait while spores float past a black screen. This seems to take forever, but it's a minor annoyance for not having loading screens break up game play.

dot dot dot

While checking out along the beach, we came across a stranded boat. In it is a note from some one named Ish saying after surviving on the water for a few months post outbreak, he's going to try his luck on land. His story actual become a running narrative for this segment. Also, found another comic!

Too bad you can't actually read these.

It's soon time to go off the beach and into the sewers, since every game has to have a sewer level by video game law. Hopefully that trend will stop by the time games can simulate smell...

Smells like poo gas in there.

It's pretty easy going at first, finding some supplies and another note from Ish, He set up shop in the sewers too, since they were easy to guard and few entrances. A bit disturbing though was coming across a mostly clean and intact doll in the rubble. Just was ominous.

Getting Death Stranding vibes here.

A short while later there's another one of those water puzzles, and of course, Sam can't swim either. Why can't any kids these days know how to swim!? While soling it, I came across yet another note from Ish. He came across a group of survivors that he's been trading with, a couple and their kids, and figuring it's best to survive together, he invites them into his sewer shelter.

This took me a bit to get.

With the puzzle done, we came across a large door with a painting of a castle around it and drawings of children along the walls.

Some how it managed to be cute and not creepy.  

This lead to Ish's mane hide out. Apparently his group wound up getting rather large, with several children. They rigged up rain filters and a kind of day care, and looked like had a ok thing going for a while. Also, they seemed to be big on sawed off shot guns, found one on a table and ammo for it all over.

Woo, shotgun for the pistol holster!

But then we started running into infected. It was practice for my new gun, but due to the number of clickers, Joel figured that they have been here quite a while. The dread that Ish's group met a bad end was confirmed in a room off to the side. Found a note near a group of several small covered bodies and a dead adult. Apparently, a group of infected got in and quickly swarmed the place, the adult  took the children into the room  to be safe, but there was no way out. Eventually he killed all of them and then himself to avoid being infected.

Not a happy sight.

While trying to get out of the sewers, Joel once again opens a door and sets off a trap. This one lowers a door that separates Ellie and Henry from Joel and Sam. A bunch of clickers then chase off Ellie and Henry.

Dammit Joel, be more careful opening doors!

 Joel and Sam aren't alone on the other side of the door though, there's about a dozen clickers in there with them. attempts at stealth instantly fail, so it's time to put the new shotgun through its paces. One odd thing was that some of these clickers showed strange behaviour. instead of just making a B-line to the sound of Joel shooting things up. They would dart around to cover, almost like they were trying to flank or surprise him. Either way, they all wound up dead.

One shot at point blank is useful with these numbers...

While looting, I found that this area used to be where the children would stay. There was even a drawing of Ish and another of the adults as guards.

Geez...

Fortunately the group all joined up together soon after, unfortunately there was a massive hoard of infected chasing them. Running as fast as they could, the group got to a small room that lead out side, but the door was blocked. Ellie and Sam managed to crawl through the window above the door while Joel and Henry had to fend off the oncoming hoard. This was a very different fight, since it let me use all the nail bombs and Molotov cocktails I was lugging about to clear off groups of infected quickly. Though sometimes my aim was off...

Fire bad!

After killing enough infected, Sam and Ellie managed to get the door clear so we could escape. Painted on the outside was the oh so useful warning that the place was full of infected. 

Thanks for that.

At least with the sewers behind us, we could spot our next objective, the radio tower. yet it wasn't bright yellow, so how could we ever find it?!

Nothing but sunshine and rainbows from here to there I bet. 

As a break from the rather intense fight we just had, next was a pretty slow pace walk around the abandoned houses too find what loot we could. One uplifting bit was a note from Ish, he got out with another adult and some of he kids. What happened after that is unknown, but nice to know that it wasn't a total slaughter in the sewers. Aslo found out that Joel really sucks at darts.

His is the one not on the board...

But things can't go good for too long, and the next block over is a band of hunters, one having a powerful sniper rifle to pin us down. 

This guy can see through wall! hax!

After sneaking around, killing a load more Hunters, and taking out the sniper, it was Joel's turn with the rife as more hunters attacked the group from the other direction.  

Pew pew!

Then that fucking hummer showed up again! was it trying to find us the whole time?! After sniping more dudes, I got an opening when the drive popped his head out to throw a Molotov cocktail. One shot and he was the one on fire as the hummer drove out of control into a building. 

that felt so good!

But apparently there were infected in that building and they started attacking Sam and Henry as Joel tried to sniped them off. Then all that noise attracted every infected in town! A hue rush of them came out of the wood work and we had to make a quick retreat. 

Run away!

Cut to night and Joel and Henry are talking about riding motorcycles and hoping to find Fireflies eventually. Ellie checks on Sam, and he's all freaking out and wonders why she isn't. She calms him down and reassures him that it will be all okay. But Sam was actually bitten when the infected came out of the house and by the next morning he's turned. Henry is forced to kill Sam when he attacks Ellie, and then with nothing else to keep him going, he turns the gun on himself.  

The game then does a time skip to the fall

Joel and Ellie are still travelling together and have made their way to Montanan, where they hope to find Joel's brother, who's a member of the Fireflies.  

Well, at least it looks pretty here...