Naughty Dog Announces The Last of Us Part II
Video game company Naughty Dog confirmed a sequel to their popular post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us at Sony’s Playstation Experience this weekend.
During their presentation in Anaheim, California, the Naughty Dog team shocked the
crowd with a four-minute trailer before confirming the long-awaited sequel.
The video featured the two main characters of the first game, Ellie and Joel, and was met with roaring applause when the title The Last of Us Part II appeared on screen at the end.
“I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to finally be able to say that Ellie and Joel are back for another intense, harrowing, and emotional adventure,” said creative director Neil Druckmann at the presentation. “We knew that it needed to be a story worth telling and, perhaps more importantly, a story worthy of Joel and Ellie. After spending years on different ideas and almost giving up, we finally uncovered a story that felt special—a story that evolved into an epic journey.”
Despite all of its predecessor’s successes, The Last of Us Part II seems to be treading its own path in terms of plotline and playable characters. Druckmann called the new game’s story a “counter” to the first game, which was based very heavily on the relationship between Joel and Ellie.
At the Playstation Experience, he commented: “this story is about hate, and how we use [story, music, interaction and gameplay mechanics] to make the player feel that through Ellie this time. First game you play as Joel; this game you're playing as Ellie."
The Last Of Us was released in 2013 and centered on the dynamic relationship between Ellie and Joel and their need to work as a team to survive the zombie apocalypse. It was released to critical acclaim and won both Best Game and Best Story at the BAFTA Awards in 2014.
Naughty Dog is known for their award-winning video games including Uncharted, Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and The Last of Us. Their latest release, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, was released in May of this year.
