About a week ago, selected journalists from all over the world had the opportunity to get their hands on the highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed third-person survival horror game The Last of Us. On PlayStation’s official blog, a 10-minute clip titled “The Last of Us Part II: Inside the Demo” detailed the developer’s insights and shared new information about the released demos and more.
The dev diary featured game director Neil Druckmann, co-game directors Kurt Margenau and Anthony Newman, and narrative lead Halley Gross. They video detailed the setting of the sequel, which takes place in the city of Jackson. The demo also showcased the wintery landscape that will make life harder for our protagonists. The demo focused on the player controlling Ellie, who is now 19 years old. After her experience in the first game, Ellie now has a job of clearing the areas around the city of Jackson of the infected. Alongside her is Dina, her bestfriend and romantic interest in the game.
Aside from playing Ellie, the demo also featured gameplay as Dina. The devs made it clear that each character has their own strengths. Dina has clear advantages in combat and Ellie is able to traverse throughout the game’s environment quicker.
The video also saw the introduction of new enemies that our protagonists will face. This includes dogs, which will add another aspect of stealth that players will have to take into account. New infected types include the Shambler, a slow and tanky infected type that bum rushes you until it bursts into a corrosive cloud.
One of Inside the Demo’s main themes is what they call the “cycle of violence”. An all new AI system that is much more intelligent and unforgiving will be introduced in The Last of Us Part II. Also, AIs now have names so killing them will draw realistic reactions from their comrades, perpetuating the “cycle of violence” and letting players know that every kill they make has a much larger impact than they realize.
We should expect more and more info for the game to be released throughout the coming months. The Last of Us Part II will be out for the PlayStation 4 on February 21, 2020.
