Yesterday was Outbreak day, the fictional day when the virus from The Last of Us started to spread, and the press saw two hours of gameplay from the highly anticipated The Last of Us Part 2.
It has been a big past few days for the PlayStation exclusive. Naughty Dog released a trailer revealing a February 21, 2020 release date, special additions were detailed, and multiplayer was dropped from the sequel.
That’s a lot of news but the press got even more with exclusive access to two scenes from the game. We, at The Nerd Stash, were not able to participate in this exclusive event, but Naught Dog was nice enough to reveal some details.
The demo took place in two different sections of the game. The first part was near the beginning and is set right outside Jackson, the city where we last saw Joel and Ellie. Ellie and her friend Dina, who have both skirted around their romantic interest for each other, set out on a mission to clear out some infected. The events on this mission are tragic for Ellie and is a launching point for the story. Naughty Dog has not revealed what exactly happens but it’s clear that something happens to Dina, which triggers a revenge-fueled story.
The second part is in Seattle and this time the sun is out. Ellie is up against a group of survivors called the WLF who do not like anyone intruding on their territory. The theme of The Last of Us Part 2 is the consequences of revenge. The intense violence is a deep part of that theme. No one is the “bad guy,” nothing is so black and white. Every NPC has a name so when you kill someone their friends will call out their name in horror. This is designed to make the player feel bad.
From a gameplay perspective, the demo showed dogs as a new enemy type and they track your scent. The player can see their scent trail in listen mode adding a new stealth component. The demo also showed more active allies in combat and greater navigation capabilities with Ellie being much more agile than Joel. Lastly, The Last of Us Part 2 will feature new skill trees that allow the player to customize their playstyle more than ever before in a Naughty Dog game.
Naughty Dog promises that The Last of Us Part 2 will be massive and the demo is only a small portion of the game.
