It’s been harder than I expected to find the moments to play through The Last of Us Part 2. But from what I’ve played so far, opinions have already been forming regarding the game, the direction, and how people responded to the leaks.

In the meantime, have a small unboxing album of the Collector’s Edition I purchased for the game.

The box is gigantic. I did not read carefully how big the figure (~12″ / ~30 cm tall) was going to be. A teenager in his car pointed a finger at me and laughed as I walked out of my local game store carrying this thing.

I’m personally a fan of steel-cases for games. Art books are always a nice touch. I liked the contrast of the images as I unveiled the first layer of the box… which was hidden beneath another box that I did not take a picture of.

Right beneath the game and the art book were nice little doodads for the fans. For me, I imagine these will either remain in their seals or end up decorating my guitar case and/or my Nintendo Switch carrying case.

Everything in the box. When laid out like this, the box doesn’t seem so big after all.

I was a little nervous about how the quality of the statue was going to be given how these collector’s editions for games end up sometimes. Fortunately, I was mostly happy with how it looked. The guitar particularly looks quite finely detailed.

* * *

As collector’s editions go, I’d say it was about 7.5 / 10.

The art book is average to a little lackluster. It’s what you’d typically find even in cheaper collector’s editions of games. Nothing really interesting to point out from it. I personally think the steel case is one of the better ones that I have. The art is printed on there vibrantly and thoughtfully, and the art itself is quite pleasant to look at.

The thank you card is… a nice thought but I guess the execution feels a bit like an afterthought. It might have been better if it just said “thank you” and maybe had signatures from the team. In some sense, the thank you card kind of had spoilers for those who really don’t want to have any sort of insight before diving into a story.

Stickers and pins are… also nice (especially the pins since they seem a little more unique and meaningful than the stickers that you imagine companies handing out like candies at high school career days) but that may depend on the person. The bracelet is what-did-you-really-expect quality. But again, the value of it will depend on the person. At the very least, these are nice little souvenirs to have of the game. A nice little bonus as most people are probably paying the premium for the statue, art book, and the steel case.

Digital contents are welcome but, when paying a premium, physical contents are always better. I’ll welcome more for higher quality physical goodies even if it means not getting digital goodies. But the included digital contents are great for the fans to have (OST, Artbook, Avatars, and a dynamic theme)—especially since the dynamic themes for the PlayStation 4 can be collector’s items in their own right. Hopefully, the digital content will remain exclusive for a while, if not forever, to give the digital contents a nice little shine for those who decided to pay the premium for the collector’s edition.

The highlight of the purchase, the Ellie statue, grew on me even more as time passed. There are definitely details I didn’t notice and appreciate during my first few days with it. I’ve seen better and I’ve certainly seen worse quality for these sorts of statues at this price range (I’m giving it a value of ~$100 given that the game itself is ~$60), and given that it’s friggin’ 12 inches tall, I’d say it’s at least worth around its price.

That’s it for today. Stay safe and healthy out there.