The Last of Us: Part II is set to launch in just under a month, but we've not seen all that much of it. Especially when it comes to raw gameplay, Naughty Dog has kept things under wraps, showing only a couple of demonstrations in the past. This latest video is most welcome, then, as it dives into the gameplay and design philosophy of the upcoming sequel.
Various ND members discuss the game's mechanics. For example, because you're playing as Ellie, you're more nimble but much smaller than Joel. She can dodge attacks, jump around, and go prone, but fighting big tough guys is going to feel that much more intimidating. You may spot some brief glimpses of new footage in here too, mostly looking at combat scenarios.
Naughty Dog also talks about how environments are much larger this time, and that there are story and dialogue moments you could miss if you don't explore fully. We also learn that you're not going to be able to upgrade Ellie fully in one playthrough, so you'll have to live with whichever decisions you make.
Overall it looks like a refinement of the gameplay from the original, rather than a huge departure. Hopefully it plays as good as it looks when it finally releases on 19th June. Are you hyped for The Last of Us 2? Throw some bricks in the comments section below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 26
only 29 days to go!
Still not showing any more eh? 🤔
@Arugula after replaying it, I would disagree. I also felt underwhelmed but it is actually really good.
Joel gameplay will be welcome.i hope we dont play as ellie the whole game.to me the last of us was joel.he made the game more legendary.word up son
Day 1 buy and I know about the leaks. Only made me more excited, mission failed trolls!!
Disappointing video in that there was no new footage, just a rehash of other released video.
I enjoyed The last of us and put it in a group of my most enjoyed games. I pre-ordered the the collectors edition of the last of us two for this reason. I think i know what the hate was about but have not seen any of the spoilers. I also feel good about playing as Ellie because she learned mostly from being with Joel.
@Arugula genuinely agree. The story was great, but i didn't gel with the gameplay particularly. The AI was shambolic too. Ellie would run out in front of clickers for no reason and nothing would happen. Kinda broke the immersion. Its why i'm more excited for ghost. I do hope i love this one though, even if onw bit of the story was spoiled by some arse in the comments on here. Stay vigilant
@playstation1995 the first game was Joel's story. We play and watch him develop as a character. Playing with Ellie not only opens way for different gameplay mechanics but also story driven character growth. I understand and respect your opinion, but I am quite interested in this new take. We usually play with a big buff guy.
This was probably in the previous gameplay trailer but I thought it was interesting how the button prompts aren't coloured anymore. They're very much in line with how the DualSense (nearly called it DS5) looks.
Fantastic!
These are the type of games that keep me in the videogame market. Character development, exploration, beautiful world (graphics matter) and a story that keeps me going.
Basically what SONY's 1st party studios do best.
TLOU was that game I would give up playing at 2AM because I was so tired, but kept me up for another 30 min in bed thinking about it. Can't wait!
The video wasn't anything special which was not surprising considering the world TLOU is set in is a realistic apocalypse. Jumping, proning, crawling under things? Yeah we've seen that in many other zombie titles. A gameplay video honestly wasn't even necessary.
Cool, sony is on fire with (real) gameplay previews lately
@Whately86. I know .but the game is mor than 25 hours.at least joel should get 7 hours of gameplay.word up son
@Nepp67 neither was your bitter dull comment but that is life.
on topic cannot wait for the game looks great.
@David187 Okay? I'm not trying to bash the game here but just saying we've seen this in other games here. I'm excited for the game as well though.
I'm not buying day 1, there's nothing exciting about a zombie game, I'm gonna wait for a review. If the gameplay is great I can just buy it from PlayStation store. If the game is just ok I'm still gonna buy it, but not the full price, probably wait until it's on sale for 19 bucks.
@TrueAssassin86x I was?
Despite the leaks. I can not wait to get my hands on this game. Loved TLOU and I'm sure I'll love this too.
@Nepp67 Going prone and jumping were not the only advancements shown in this video though.
Inside the store where they are fighting, how many games can you think of where the environment can be used so realistically like when the male enemy threw Ellie over the cash register desk, or when she squeezed between the two shelves during a combat sequence, not a cutscene. Normally in most games that would just be an invisible barrier that the player cannot pass through because it was barely wider than the size of Ellie. And it’s not only about the mechanics, but how seamless the animation of everything is to the point where some have questioned in the past if this is real gameplay.
It’s the attention to detail that has always set Naughty Dog apart from most developers in the industry.
@DeepSpace5D Again that's not really anything special or new. It's neat but that ain't anything revolutionary when it comes to the zombie genre.
@Nepp67
I disagree. Maybe not entirely new, but certainly special. I don’t subscribe to the notion that each new game that comes out has to radically transform gaming. That’s an unfair standard to put on any game and it could be argued no game does that. Every new game that comes out draws inspiration and borrows from previous games that have been released. You will find other titles with many of the same mechanics that are in TLoU: Part II, but you’re not going to find many that go the extra mile like what’s being shown here.
Just out of curiosity, how many games in the zombie genre can you list where you can go prone and hide in grass, and then go prone and go underneath vehicles? What about zombie games with a dodge mechanic during combat sequences? I can’t think of many myself. I’m just asking because you said none of these things are new to the zombie genre in particular.
To me, it looks evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and I don’t see why it needs to be more than that. It looks like an evolved version over the original, taking what the first one had and adding to it, with the production values and attention to detail Naughty Dog is known for.
@DeepSpace5D I'm not saying every game needs to be revolutionary. I'm specifically talking about the zombie genre itself. Nobody has done anything new with it in the last 10 years except Techland and Naughty Dog(Kind of). Techland introduced parkour and Naughty Dog introduced a rather "realistic" way of becoming a zombie. Other than that that's about it. Dodging is in every zombie game come on now we've had this in Dying Light, Dead Rising series, RE3 which by the way I mean the original not the remake, RE4, 5 and 6. Proning and hiding in grass sure you could say that's not in many but that's not really saying much. I'm not asking Naughty Dog to be revolutionary here in their sequel but it's just something we've seen plenty of times in other zombie titles.
@Nepp67
I think there can be more examples of revolution in the zombie genre beyond those you gave. For example Days Gone with the number of zombies on-screen and attacking you at one time. The motorcycle traversal, too.
Comparing the dodge of, say, Dead Rising to what’s going on here is a bit iffy to me. Sure, Frank can do a roll out of the way in Dead Rising. But compare that to Ellie ducking under a guy who tried to take her head off with an axe, and then staying in the action and countering with her knife. This almost looks like gameplay from a Fromsoft title with a more cinematic feel.
We can take bits and pieces from other zombie games, but I haven’t seen any that put it all together like this, with a movie-like production for the story on top of the gameplay enhancements.
And then we can look at the dogs here and how they can sniff you out, and follow the path you’ve taken. You can definitely see new things they are trying to do here that the zombie genre hasn’t seen yet. I’m sure there will be plenty more that we haven’t been shown as well, as we’ve only seen a brief glimpse of what is reported to be a 20+ hour campaign.
@eumenes Please don't post/allude to spoilers.
@playstation1995 boy, are you in for a shock.
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