The Last of Us blew every gamer out of the water when it was released in 2013, personally, it is one of my favorite titles not only because it is survival horror, but because it began to right the tilting ship that was survival horror in the industry. Up to that point, survival horror was becoming a massive action set piece with little to no scares, Naughty Dog decided to go back to the original survival horror floor plan and give us suspense, action, and terror. They also gave us one of the biggest twists in gaming history which makes me surprised they had begun the sequel (The Last of Us Part 2) in 2014. The Last of Us is a near perfect game, and making a sequel makes me nervous, just look at Dead Space, the following two games were just not as good as the first. Will Naughty Dog be able to buck that trend? I hope they do; I want another romp in Clicker filled forests where one wrong move could end my game, but I want that romp to live up to its predecessor, not sully it.
We learned about Naughty Dog’s sequel at 2016’s PlayStation Experience in December. I remember seeing the Fireflies logo at the beginning of the trailer and getting goosebumps just thinking about what I may experience in the years to come. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are returning as Joel and Ellie. The story will be penned by Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross, and the music will again be composed by Gustavo Santaolalla. Neil Druckmann will also take over directing duties due to the fact that the original director, Bruce Straley is on a brief hiatus from the company. Druckmann has stated that while the first game was a game that centered around love, this sequel will be centered around hate. That is what makes me most excited; revenge movies and games are some of my favorite titles: The Punisher, is one of my favorite superheroes, and Death Wish is one of my favorite movies. I guess I’m more of an eye for an eye type of guy than turning the other cheek.
I scoured the Internet for more information on this already Game of the Year contender and have honestly found very little. Every now and then you get Troy Baker all dolled up in the mo-cap suit, but nothing that gives any hint at all to the plot or story of the game. Naughty Dog and Sony seem to be keeping their lips tight on this title, and I understand why. The less you know about something, the more you want to know about it and the quicker you are to purchase it to see what they’ve been hiding. It’s really smart marketing as far as I’m concerned and just with that trailer this is a Day One purchase for me, I may even take a vacation for this title. And all I really know is that Joel fulfilled his promise to teach Ellie the guitar, the game is set five years or so in the future and Ellie has turned into a rage machine. Take my money now!
There is no doubt that The Last of Us Part 2 will be huge for both Sony and Naughty Dog, bringing them critical awards and copious amounts of cash. Let us hope that Naughty Dog didn’t decide to muck up the gameplay though, I would hate for them to have turned this title into a co-op mess like Dead Space 3. They need to stick to the feeling of isolation, even if Joel is following me around, and hopefully, they will have fixed the A.I. from the last game. There’s nothing more frustrating that as you try vainly to hide from people and Ellie was wandering around in front of them with no consequence; that frustrated me, why couldn’t I do that as well? If they stick to their previous formula, minus the love then I really think they’ll have magic in a bottle a second time. I can’t wait to break some skulls as Ellie while Joel facepalms.
I’m hoping that Sony and Naughty Dog reveal The Last of Us Part 2‘s release date, I honestly don’t want to know anything more about the plot or story. The teaser trailer was enough to get me to buy the game, don’t show me more so I won’t try to figure it out. What worries me though is it Sony decides to make this a PS Pro exclusive, I was somewhat upset when I heard Knack 2 was a PS Pro exclusive, but not heartbroken. I enjoyed the first Knack, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. However, The Last of Us is my entire teapot and I think that fans will riot if they decide to console lock The Last of Us Part 2. I won’t dish out for a PS Pro just yet due to the fact I have no need for a 4K television yet, having them force me to do so will leave a very bad taste in my mouth for Sony AND Naughty Dog.