Naughty Dog Defends The Last Of Us Part 2's Negativity
It's been well over a year since The Last of Us Part 2 teed up for a round of golf, however, some still think it was a swing and a miss for Naughty Dog. The long-awaited sequel to 2013's The Last of Us was always going to have a mountain to climb to live up to the potential of the OG. Still, no one expected 2020's game to be so polarising.
We can't quite put our finger on it, but there was something that p*ssed off The Last of Us community when it came to Part 2. With everything from THAT big Joel twist to the introduction of Abby and LGBTQ+ themes running throughout rattling gamers, it's a fire Naughty Dog is still trying to put out.
What has Naughty Dog said about The Last of Us Part 2?
At the forefront of the survival horror was Naughty Dog's head honcho, Neil Druckmann. Since the title's release, Druckmann and his team have done their best to defend the decisions made in Part 2. Now he's back to say sorry...sorry that you were offended.
In a candid interview with Game Informer, Druckmann admitted that while The Last of Us Part 2 wasn't for everyone, he's not here apologise to those who didn't like the game. "Our intention is not to upset people or alienate people", said Druckmann. "Our intention is to tell a story that's meaningful to us that we think has some value behind it, and is worth spending years of our time making."
He went on to discuss the huge leak that gave away the main plot points and Joel's fate early on in the game. Despite it being an important catalyst that propelled the story forward, it also turned antagonist/secondary protagonist Abby into public enemy number one. "When we had the leaks, before anybody had a chance to play it", concluded Druckmann, "That's when we got a ton of negativity, and we started questioning, 'Is this game going to be successful at all?' We didn't even know how much the leak really hurt us."
As for what YOU think of The Last of Us Part 2, Druckmann said it's "unfortunate" if you aren't a fan: "If some percentage of the studio didn’t like the game that would just bum me out beyond repair. As far as people on the outside, I’m like, 'That’s unfortunate [you didn’t like The Last of Us Part II], but I stand by the game we made.'"
Will there be The Last of Us Part 3?
No matter what you think of Part 2, it was a verified hit for Naughty Dog and Sony as a PlayStation exclusive. Although nothing is official, we can't imagine a world where there isn't The Last of Us Part 3. If we can get five Uncharted games out of the studio, there's no way this is the end of Ellie's story.
Even if Part 3 is far from official, Druckmann has previously confirmed a mythical threequel already has a story. There were once talks about an Abby DLC for Part 2, but by now, it looks like they've fallen by the wayside. Instead, Naughty Dog is supposedly working on a multiplayer standalone to replace the original's Factions. There were also reports of battle royale elements that haven't seen the light of day.
Considering the first game came with multiplayer and additional DLCs to take the story further, it's a real bummer we haven't had this (yet) for Part 2. It's likely that the pandemic hasn't helped, but a slew of negativity was hardly the boost Druckmann and co. were looking for. For the time being, we're back to hoping The Last of Us Part 2 isn't the "last" we've seen of the series.
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The Last of Us 3 release date | The Last of US TV release date