Naughty Dog bestowed us with a new Story Trailer for The Last of Us 2 and although as expected it does not give much more insight into the plot, it does, however, display more in-game world, a look at the characters we know from the original like Tommy & Joel and a very ‘Dark’ Theme, which seems very integral to the game, a familiar feeling of how human’s are actually more dangerous than ‘The Infected’.
Visuals
From all the trailers we have seen so far, the latest trailer shows us some stunning looking Foliage and surrounding greenery, both during night/day, which to no surprise, shows once again how Naughty Dog is the AAA standard when it comes to creating immersive and detailed surrounding while harnessing every bit of power a Playstation console can provide.
Secondly, we get another glimpse at the destitute, lonely world when Joel & Ellie walk in the beginning to also when Ellie sees the hanging bodies, the sense and reaffirmation of the apocalyptic world are fresh once again. the horrors of the original part return and this sets the tone of this trailer and a part of the game I presume as well.
Ellie’s Journey – Theme & Tone
Revenge, Hatred, Is Ellie the Antagonist or becomes one?
As astounding as it sounds, it might actually be what Naughty Dog is trying to deliver. The ending of The Last Of Us which was expertly open to individual gamers’ perception. It did have a lot of people questioning whether Joel was the good guy or not? I see a similarity to what we have seen so far. It makes me question, how far can one go when avenging a loved one? Lines will be crossed, collateral damage or innocents come in the way, is it all worth it in the end?
Knowing the ‘Grounded’ and realistic approach Naughty Dog like to instill into this series, we can perhaps expect to see Ellie embracing the darker side as she has been transformed into this world of mayhem as a child.
Murder, monstrosity, what will be the final version of Ellie we see? Will, we still feel for Ellie or will she be just like another “my cause is greater than your’s” eventually?
There are so many questions that arise and knowing Neil Druckmann’s mind, it’s very hard to guess the narrative and most importantly, the journey we as gamers will take to reach the conclusion, as that alone should be more important than any leaks, time shall tell us soon indeed.
Discourse With Fans
The current state with fans of The Last Of Us 2 is not in a good place, there is a vocal majority citing how the leaks have ruined the upcoming game for them, how its a betrayal to fans of the original game, how the game is pushing forward political ideologies when it comes to sexuality?
Naughty Dog has a lot of “Buzz” created for the game, some good, some bad, now the only thing that can respond is the final game and the journey we are promised. What are your thoughts on the Trailer? Have the Leaks affected your decision in playing the game?
