I pre-ordered The Last of Us Part II Collector's Edition back in September of 2019 as soon as it went on sale. After almost a year of waiting (and two delays), I finally got it on Friday, June 19th 2020. I want to show you everything that's in the Collector's Edition box.
There's some really good stuff here, especially for anyone who loves The Last of Us games. As divisive as the second game seems to be among players, it's still a landmark game from Naughty Dog and of the fastest-selling PlayStation titles of all time.
I'm about 16 hours into the game right now, but I'm not going to talk about that here. There are plenty of reliable critic reviews (and not-so-reliable user reviews) already out there if you're interested in reviews. Everyone will surely have their own thoughts on how it plays out, but I'm holding all judgment until I'm completely finished with at least one playthrough.
But I digress. Here's a list of everything that comes in the box:
- SteelBook case with the full game
- 48-page mini art book from Dark Horse
- Lithograph art print and thank you letter from Naughty Dog director Neil Druckman
- Replica of Ellie's bracelet
- 6 enamel pins
- 5 stickers
- 12-inch Ellie statue
- PS4 Dynamic Theme
- 6 PSN avatars
- Digital Soundtrack
- Digital mini art book from Dark Horse
Since I pre-ordered, mine also came with an in-game ammo capacity upgrade for Ellie's pistol, as well as a crafting training manual. But those aren't tangible items, of course. So here's a look at all the stuff that is.
First off, the box is pretty big---way bigger than I expected it to be, anyway. You can see it in the main image of this post. Inside of that box is another box.
When you pull the lid off that box, there's a small tray with the art book, SteelCase, and thank you letter.
Here's a closer look at the art book:
And the SteelCase, featuring Ellie on the front...
...and Abby on the back:
The thank you booklet contains a note from Neil Druckman, along with a striking lithograph.
Here's a close-up of the letter if you want to read it.
Below that tray is a second tray with the bracelet, stickers, and pins.
And here's a look at each of those things individually, starting with the pins. They're hard enamel (like most pins are) so you should be able to stick these on whatever you like and they'll stand up to some abuse. Display them proudly.
And the stickers, which I will likely never use and just keep forever.
The bracelet feels solid enough, I guess, but I'm not sure I'd actually wear it. Does anyone buy stuff like this with the intention of actually using it? I don't, but maybe some people do. If you're going to wear it, I wouldn't expect it to have a long life. It's more of a, you know, collectible.
Under that tray is the main reason I personally ordered the Collector's Edition---the 12-inch Ellie statue. It looks good, with fine details throughout. I'll admit that I was expecting more from the build quality (I was hoping for metal), but the hard plastic still feels solid. The base is hollow so it feels cheap, which is probably the most disappointing part of the entire thing. I still love it.
The details on Ellie's clothes and the guitar are pretty good.
But her face is lacking in detail. I can tell it's her, but some of the finer details are just missing. I guess that's what happens when these things are mass-produced. I'm sure it's just too laborious to make a lifelike recreation on the scale at which they hoped to sell these.
One more, for good measure:
At $170, this isn't a cheap set. But overall, I'm happy with it. The Last of Us (part 1) is my favorite game of all time and one of my biggest regrets is not buying the collector's edition version of that game. But I didn't play it until it had been out for three years, so I missed that window by a big margin. I wasn't going to do that again.
Part of me wishes I would've gone all-in for the Ellie Edition, which includes everything here along with a The Last of Us Part II logo patch, 7-inch vinyl soundtrack, and a replica of Ellie's backpack. But most of that stuff would be lost on me---I don't have a record player and would likely never use the patch or backpack---and, as I said earlier, the Ellie statue was the main thing I wanted.
So yeah, I'm pleased with this.