We know you’re excited about The Last of Us Part II, and it is no wonder, since it is the title that PlayStation fans have been asking to Naughty Dog. Now, the studio revealed that players will play with Ellie, instead of Joel, a change that will add new features.
During the panel of Naughty Dog in PlayStation Experience 2016, Neil Druckmann, game director, mentioned that Ellie will be the playable character in The Last of Us Part II, as happened in the Left Behind. They have also stated that playing with Ellie will be different compared to Joel, but gave no further details.
Another change that players can expect is the theme that portrays the story. Druckmann said that The Last of Us was about the love between Joel and Ellie, but in Part II it will be the opposite. “It’s about hate and how we use all of those same things to make the player feel that,” he said.
Also, the director announced that the plot occurs years after the end of The Last of Us. In Part II, Ellie will be 19 years old and what we can see in the trailer, can cope on her own.
Moreover, Druckmann asked fans not to worry about the direction that will take in Part II, as there are many who think that the creation of a sequel will decrease the magnitude of the end of the first game, as well as the entire journey through which Ellie and Joel passed.
“We spent a lot of time thinking about this and I know there are many people who feel fear for these characters again and again to remember what it means that final and worry about whether the sequel will ruin the first game,” he said. “We feel that as well. No-one loves these characters more than we do, and we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t have the right idea. I had ideas with different characters and it didn’t feel right. The Last of Us is about these two characters. All I ask is that fans of the first one put some faith in us – we’re going to do right by you.”
According to Druckmann, in Naughty Dog they see these 2 games as complements that, together, represent a general narrative.
“I played with so many ideas involving in other characters and I never felt good,” he said. “The Last of Us specifically deals with these 2 characters, so yeah, Part II is saying that this is a story that complements the first game, but together they tell a bigger story.”
“All that I ask the fans of the first game is to put faith and trust in us. We will do well for you,” he concluded.
Finally, you should know that in the Naughty Dog panel they confirmed that Gustavo Santaolalla, composer of The Last of Us will return for the sequel, and thanks to DualShockers we can hear part of what they have composed for the game.
