PREVIEW- The Last of Us is now officially getting a sequel. Announced today at the PlayStation Experience 2016 we got a small glimpse at Joel and Ellie’s upcoming new adventure. The sequel is not titled The Last of Us 2, but rather as The Last of Us Part 2. The trailer released today was a small look into the new lives of Ellie and Joel. Many years have passed, and both characters seem to have gone through hell. Ellie is now nineteen years old, and Joel is still looking after her.

The released footage is neat, but there are a few caveats with it. Mostly that the game is pretty much just in pre-production so this trailer should be taken with a grain of salt. The trailer shows Ellie singing a song, and then Joel arriving and asking Ellie: What are you going to do? To which she responds bluntly: I’m going to kill them all.

So now we’re probably going to get a Quentin Tarantino directed game… well no, but the sequel will be more hate filled as the developers have stated during the live Q&A panel.

Not much has been revealed of the story, and unfortunately, none of the voice actors that were on the panel could contribute due to NDA. However both the main voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson talked great lengths about how this will be a non-forced sequel, and that this entry to the series will be justified.

The dev team and Neil Druckmann has done heavy debates on how to continue with the storyline, and after a year they were able to figure it out in a way, that will make sense for players. For this game though only Neil Druckmann will be directing as currently, Bruce Straley is on a year-long sabbatical. As to whether this will be a drop in quality of the game, or whether it will have no effect what so ever remains to be seen.

The graphics will probably look fantastic, as it is based on an upgraded engine, and both the outdoor scenery, and the characters will look extensively detailed.

Furthermore, instead of playing as Joel, we will control Ellie entirely throughout the sequel.
Now on to the issues with this preview.

The footage that we see might not even be canon, as according to the developers, and the voice actors this scene was throughout almost a year ago, and it was recorded back then. It also means that the game is far out regarding release date. Probably around 2019 if I’m pessimistic, and mid-2018 if I’m optimistic.

Nothing from the gameplay perspective is known, and nothing from the story was revealed to us. Hell, the actors are under NDA, so not even a small nod or wink could have been done during the Q&A panel. Based on the short glimpse of this concept trailer the Fireflies will be the main antagonist force once again. Still, it is too early to call what the sequel will be about but based on Naughty Dogs’ history it will be a fun (or depressing) and unique experience regarding storytelling.

While not much has been revealed, and even during the Q&A panel the developers and voice actors were vague. It does feel like a genuine sequel and not a cash-grab chance from the developers. Let us hope we do not have to wait until 2020 though, as the footage we were seen is a concept reveal, and the development is in its early stages.

-Dante-

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Genre: Action-Adventure, Survival Horror

Relase date: TBA