It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten any news from Naughty Dog regarding The Last of Us Part 2. Fans got to see a lengthy demo at E3 2018, but things have been quiet since then. But don’t fret, our desire for more The Last of Us news will finally be satisfied on September 24. A media event is planned for that Tuesday and it is bound to hold big news for the highly anticipated sequel. Here is everything we want to see from the event.
A Release Date
The Last of Us released in 2013 and The Last of Us Part 2 was originally announced in 2016. It’s about time was get a release date. It is hopeful thinking but it should be sooner rather than later. After all the ambiguity, I would think Naughty Dog has been hard at work. They likely want to please fans with an early release date after all their patience. All this release date talk leads into the next section, the next PlayStation.
PlayStation 5 News
It is more than likely that Naughty Dog’s newest game will be a launch title for the PlayStation 5 (fingers crossed it will release on the PS4 as well). The Last of Us is a signature PlayStation game making it the best choice to launch the PS5 with. The timing is appropriate as well with Microsoft announcing Project Scarlet at their last E3 showing. There won’t be a focus on the PlayStation 5, but if The Last of Us Part 2 is indeed a launch title then it will give us some clues for Sony’s next step in gaming. The game’s hopeful release date will give us a time frame for the PS5 release and a hopeful gameplay demo will reveal how the PS5 runs. This all goes without mentioning the rumors of another big Sony event later this month. Daniel Ahmad, an industry analyst, known for successfully predicting gaming news in the past, says Sony will host another event this month. This all smells like Sony is gearing up for a big announcement, especially after skipping E3 this year.
A Demo Worthy of the Wait
It would be slightly disappointing if we just got a trailer after all the hype. We want a gameplay demo. A good one where we see someone playing the game right there on stage. Hopefully, this demo will showcase the new plot details and gameplay mechanics we want to see, which are detailed below.
What the heck is Joel up to?
Everything we have seen up has been about Ellie. This makes sense because Ellie will likely be the main playable character. Joel though, who is confirmed to be in the sequel, was one of the main emotional sources that drove the plot forward in The Last of Us. It was his relationship with Ellie that drove home the emotional finale of the game. It goes without saying that his role in The Last of Us Part 2 is a major question leading into the game, not only from a plot point of view but also in terms of gameplay. Will Joel be helping Ellie in combat like Ellie did in the original or will combat be a largely solo experience? Maybe we will find out in about a week.
New Enemies
Clickers and Bloaters are cool, but we want more. Naughty Dog managed to make a “zombie” game feel new with their enemy designs. Clickers are infected for a long time and fungus has grown over their face blocking their vision. They see with sounds. These creatures were always terrifying in-game because they kill you fast and their clicks are haunting. They prove that Naughty dog can make a common zombie trope interesting, but the developers could do so much more. The Last of Us Part 2 is bound to have more creative enemy designs that encourage different approaches to gameplay. Whatever they come up with, it will probably haunt our dreams.
Infected and Humans At the Same Time
The combat encounters in the original were separated between fighting humans and fighting infected. The two were rarely intertwined. The Left Behind expansion, which followed Ellie before the events of the game, introduced a combined element with the two enemies. This created fun encounters where Ellie is fighting infected and humans at the same time. This was probably a test for The Last of Us Part 2. New footage, which was shown to a select few people, confirmed that Ellie can use clickers against other enemies. It will be fun to explore more of this gameplay mechanic, which will be a new twist to the already excellent combat from The Last of Us.
A Freer World
Naughty dog has successfully given more freedom to their linear games in recent years. This is a tricky element because Naughty Dog really does strive in their linear story-driven format. Uncharted for example has classically been a linear game with one path to go down. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy played around with a more open world. This successfully kept the traditional linear feel while adding a wider play area. Naughty Dog tested this new gameplay approach and hopefully it will be perfected whenever The Last of Us Part 2 releases.
A Multiplayer Reveal
The Last of Us does not need multiplayer. In fact, one could argue it can work better without it. That does not deny the fact that Naughty Dog has always included a multiplayer section in their games. I, for one, largely enjoyed their multiplayer. Uncharted multiplayer was fun if you did not take it seriously. It was always crazy, good fun. The Last of Us multiplayer actually fit into the world and was more strategy-driven. I hope that Naughty Dog announces multiplayer and it takes a creative turn. They could do something entirely different than your traditional team deathmatch. I wouldn’t mind seeing something that included co-op. There is one caveat though, it must be totally separate from the main game. Naughty Dog’s story, their best quality, should remain intact from multiplayer. A multiplayer section separate from the campaign is expected and hopefully, it won’t be tacked on.
