The Last of Us Part II – Top 10 Things We Need To Know
As The Last of Us: Part II draws closer and closer, our minds are left to speculate what is soon to come. We wonder what the writers over at Naughty Dog have in store for us in the long-awaited sequel to one of gaming’s finest crafted stories. We can only speculate at this moment, but we were assured that more would be revealed at E3 2018. Until then we’re left with only our hopes and dreams. This is Gaming Instincts’s top 10 things we want to know about The Last of Us: Part II.
https://youtu.be/fFYuvDVufnc
#10—Where is Tommy?
Tommy was first introduced to us in the first few minutes of The Last of Us. He helped Joel survive outbreak day, it was only inevitable we’d see him later in the game, and that we did. Later we find that he has done well surviving in the aftermath of the fungal outbreak. He has set up a community of survivors along with his wife Maria.
Later on in the story he tells the Joel and Ellie duo that they are free to stay at the refuge whenever they’d like. After that we never really saw much of Tommy. During the game’s conclusion we can see Joel and Ellie making their way back to the power plant where the refuge is located. One wonders if Tommy is still alive or not. Before Joel and Tommy concluded their heated discussion back at the base, it was attacked by Bandits. Is this is a common occurrence?
Could Tommy still be back at the base? Could he have gotten ambushed by bandits on his way back? We found plenty of bandits as we were searching for Ellie, so it’s likely they’re everywhere. Tommy is an interesting character, and we hope he returns for the sequel so he and Joel can argue some more.
#9—What’s the state of the world?
We experienced two periods of time in the original Last of Us, one being the outbreak day in 2013, the other 20 years later. During this time the government started to create military installations to keep the infected individuals out and the healthy individuals in check. Civil unrest started to arise and from this unrest came the fireflies, a radical group with goals to cure the infection and restore order. The two factions went to war with one another, with the military seizing control after a while. After a large battle with the military, the Fireflies in the Boston checkpoint were nearly gone. Their leader, Marlene, sends a girl who is naturally immune to the infection across the country with some smugglers to a lab where a vaccine can be created.
As we play through the story, we see that the world hasn’t recovered much. Most of the world we see is either filled with Clickers, Runners or Bandits. It doesn’t seem like the military has done much, besides keep people within the walls. Perhaps we could see some development in the sequel. Has the government started to reinsert itself into abandoned territories? Have more groups been formed across the country? We’re curious to see if the world is still in the same shape as we left it in our new journey.
#8—Will Crafting Be The Same?
The Last of Us had a pretty simple crafting system, one that clearly displayed everything you needed right on screen. After a while, you could even memorize them based on how often you used items. Even when crafting something, the game did not stop, you could hide and craft a smoke bomb and use it 2 seconds later, if you needed to. Some supplies were limited too, so you had to decide what you wanted to craft for your current situation. Crafting was simple and easy to understand. Our only hope is that Naughty Dog adds more craftable objects. But if the system remains the same, it wouldn’t be much of a let down.
#7 – Will there be driving mechanics?
In our time playing The Last of Us, we noticed several vehicles around the wasteland operated by Bandits and military personnel. The only thing we were ever able to take control of that even comes close to a car was a horse. While Joel and Ellie were able to secure a car, the player was never able to drive it. Naughty Dog has never shied away from intense car chases or speeding escapes, as seen in the Uncharted series. It could create some interesting scenes, such as having to drive slow enough that clickers can’t hear you driving, or driving through darkness and avoiding enemies. Maybe we will get to mow down some clickers or bandits as we speed across the country.
#6—Will we get another prequel story?
The Last of Us‘s DLC, Left Behind, gave us a view of Ellie’s life before she met Joel. It would be awesome to see Joel’s life before meeting Ellie, maybe even a few years before, when he was smuggling with Tess, or with Tommy back in Boston. The Left Behind DLC was great, and made us look at Ellie in a wider view. We’ve seen that she has lost people close to her before and can really relate to Joel. There’s a 20-year span of time that is filled with stories that Joel might have. Let’s hope Naughty Dog graces us with more DLC.
#5—Will the story be affected by player decisions?
A popular and more personal feature in video games is to let the player decide how the story ends, based upon their previous choices. This something that very well could have been done with the original game but looking back at it now, it feel like the original Last of Us was meant to have a sequel. Decisions made by Joel and Ellie could result in consequences for the other. Ultimately impacting the ending of the game. Encouraging players to go back and try out some other options. While some may not like this option it is something that could be incorporated into the story. In this wasteland, any decision you make could have huge consequences.
#4—What’s the current status of Joel and Ellie’s relationship?
[This section contains endgame spoilers for the original Last of Us]At the end of the original Last of Us, we took control of Joel as he learned that to create a vaccine Ellie would need to die. Refusing this option, Joel escaped Firefly custody and proceeded to shoot his way to her. Killing almost all the Fireflies, he escaped with Ellie, killing the Firefly leader Marlene before leaving. He then goes on to tell Ellie that there were many just like her and that it hasn’t helped create a cure. Driving back to Tommy and Maria’s base, Ellie stops Joel and tells him the story of her and Riley. A story which we were able to experience in the Left Behind DLC. He then asks him to swear to her that everything that he told her was true, and so he said yes. The game then ends with her accepting this truth. Now let’s say Ellie learns what happens, that she finds out what Joel has done. That he sacrificed possibly the world’s only hope at restoration in order to save her. How would she feel, how would you feel in that situation? What if Ellie learns the truth and casts Joel away from her. Could the sequel present a much more heated and broken Ellie and Joel?
#3—How will Dogs be incorporated in Part II?
Back in February 2018, Neil Druckmann sent out a tweet that featured a dog in what looked like to be in motion capture gear. Along with the tag #Yearofthedog, since then fans have speculated what this actually means. Most assume that Part II will feature a canine companion that will follow you on your journey. Could this mean that dogs could be incorporated into combat? Something the original Last of Us struggled with was diverse combat. The addition dogs which could pin, rush and surround the player could turn up the heat of combat.
#2—Who is the Woman is the second teaser trailer?
Probably the biggest mystery surrounding The Last of Us: Part II is the woman being hung in the second teaser trailer. Fans all across the internet have come up with their own theories and gusses. The most common across the web is that this is actually Ellie’s mother Anna. The woman doing the motion capture and voice recording is Laura Bailey. The official Naughty Dog twitter sent out this tweet back in October of last year.
The hidden text contains four letters, it just so happens that Ellie’s mothers name is ANNA. If this is Ellie’s mother we’re curious how she will fit into the story. Could we have two separate stories, or even two campaigns?
#1—Is Joel Dead?
When the first official teaser trailer dropped back at last year’s PSX, fans were greeted with their first look at The Last of Us: Part II. We got our glimpse at an older Ellie and what appeared to be Joel. The way Joel is introduced in this trailer is odd, he steps through a doorway full of light and casually walks over bloody corpses. Fans as well as us here at Gaming Instincts began to come up with theories for this strange entrance.
Now fans began to questions if Joel was still alive, a doorway full of light could be symbolic for the afterlife. Ellie also states that she wants to kill every last one of them. Obviously she has a grudge against someone that has done her wrong. Could the individuals that she wants to kill have taken Joel’s life. How will the story unfold as time goes on? If Joel is dead how will the game incorporate him into the rest of the story? Could he be a guiding force leading Ellie on the path of revenge or trying to protect her as he has done before?
This was Gaming Instincts Top 10 Things We Want to Know about The Last of Us: Part II. There is no official release date for Part II but we were promised that we would hear more at E3 2018. Leave a comment below, what do you want to know about The Last of Us: Part II? Is there something that you would like to see added or taken away? Don’t forget to check out the video format of this article above.
