Photograph: Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Neil Druckmann (center) works with actors Robert Clotworthy and Shannon Woodward during a performance-capture session for The Last of Us Part II. (“The size and scope of this game got the better of us,” Druckmann explained in a blog post.) Then came the plague.Īt the time of my visit to Naughty Dog in early February, floor stands of Purell hand sanitizer dotted the office the World Health Organization had just declared a “public health emergency of international concern” over a novel coronavirus that emerged out of Wuhan, China. The sequel was originally due to come out at the end of February, but in fall 2019, the studio pushed the release date back to May. But for a team that has nudged games closer to the sensibilities of prestige television, the sequel's rollout has itself been subject to some pretty outrageous plot twists.įirst came a self-inflicted delay. The Last of Us Part II is arguably the biggest, most ambitious, most ravenously anticipated game in the notoriously ambitious studio's 36-year history.
There's a TED talk, as well as numerous YouTube videos and Reddit threads with titles like “ The Last of Us Changed My Life.” An astonishing number of expectant fans are already sporting elaborate Last of Us Part II tattoos.ĭruckmann and Naughty Dog, meanwhile, are determined to one-up themselves. (See Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Mass Effect, et al.) And Last of Us fans are seriously invested after all, they haven't just binge-watched the game's characters, they've inhabited them for hour upon hour. The more invested fans become, the greater the chance they will eventually turn against the creators. Which all means, of course, that the sequel has a huge act to follow-and maybe even a target on its back. But experiencing it while playing the character of Joel yourself? The ending generated Red Wedding-like shock waves, inspired passionate debate, and expanded people's ideas of what videogames are capable of.
It would be a heart-stopping scene if you were to watch it spool out on TV.
It leads to an explosive climax that taps into the full power of the interactive medium: In a final violent showdown, Joel has no choice but to damn the world in order to save Ellie.
Over its 15 to 20 hours of gameplay, The Last of Us conveys the immensity of cinema, the intimacy of a novel, and the sheer storytelling payload of, let's say, one or two seasons of an HBO series. Did you play online games before the pandemic began? How have your habits changed? Share your experience by taking our 10-minute survey.