The Last of Us Part II – State of Play shows exciting gameplay

Sony’s State of Play broadcast this week provided 20 minutes of gameplay from Naughty Dog’s very anticipated game, The Last of Us Part II.

The presentation opened with the game’s final trailer, which was released earlier this month. Neil Druckmann, the game’s director and Naughty Dog’s Vice President then began to provide commentary over new game footage. He opened by saying that the broadcast would provide an “in-depth look” at “the gameplay experience and story” Obviously, this could be considered “SPOILERS” for those who want to go into the game with as little info as possible.

Here is some of the information that Druckmann provided about the game:

• The game is set several years after The Last of Us.
• Ellie is now 19, living by herself but Joel is still in her life. They are living “peacefully” life in Wyoming.
• A tragedy occurs that leads Ellie to venture into Seattle.
• Majority of the gameplay will occur here.
• New traversal mechanics have been introduced. This will mean you will be able to reach certain areas of the game that will include new resources, territories and side narratives.
• Druckmann revealed that the game includes the “largest environment’s we (Naughty Dog) have ever created.” Ellie will transverse most of the world on horse back. However, some areas will be so flooded and she will have to use a boat.
• Seattle is a war zone controlled by two warring factions. One is the Washington Liberation Front, a militia group armed with weapons they stole from the army and are the strongest “gang”
• The other warring group are the Seraphites. They are also called “Scars” due to the deep, self-inflicted markings on their faces. They specalise in camouflage and stealth and were the cloaked group seen in the first Last of Us Part II trailer. They are also religious fanatics.
• Different degrees of infected people, some new to the game, are around Seattle. Therefore, the infection is still rampant.
• There is a “new and lethal” infected that Druckmann said will have to wait until players experience the game for themselves.
• Allies will be available to help Ellie navigate the treacherous, overgrown landscape of Seattle.
• Training manuals will be “scattered around the environment” that will let you upgrade weapons, crafting items and skills. With these you can craft your own version of Ellie that fits with your player style.
• A new “Work bench system” has been added. Here you can upgrade your weapons “all which will be visualised and become part of your character.”

When Druckmann’s commentary ends ten minutes of solid gameplay is then shown. It shows Ellie moving stealthy through a flooded environment, obviously trying to avoid one of Seattle’s factions. You can watch it from about 14 minutes on. All I can say is that it looks beautiful, dangerous and captivating.

The Last of Us Part II will release for PlayStation 4 on June 19th, but the review embargo will be up a week earlier on June 12th for those playing at home.