As the month of May rolls around to June, the thing we at the Stuff office are most excited about right now is the imminent release of The Last of Us Part II. Sony’s been keeping the hype train running with weekly streams of their latest exclusive. The trailers have been consistently good, showing off the new mechanics, story beats and gameplay of what is arguably the most anticipated game of the year. So why not leap into this 24 minute featurette and feast you eyes on all this never-before seen footage.
We won’t go into too many specific details about the contents of the trailer, but we will highlight some of the parts we enjoyed most. The improvements to the skill and weapon upgrade systems look impressive, with the added mods being represented on the weapon itself, making the upgrades feel more tangible than ever. As for Ellie’s personal array of skills, these seem to have been broadened dramatically, with entirely new branches and skill trees unlocked by discovering certain items out in the world.
In terms of actual gameplay, the adjusted level design has clearly given developer Naughty Dog room to play and experiment with combat scenarios. Levels seem to be more vertical and less constrained to the chest-high formula of the previous Last of Us game. Ellie can now swim around obstacles blocking her path, a nice nod to her maturation given that swimming was something she actively feared in the original game. More items to craft on the fly, movements to take advantage of and an expanded roster of enemy types means that stealth and combat should feel similar to the original yet new enough to get fans excited.
Oh, and our favourite part of the trailer? Certainly where Ellie shanks a hapless guard just minding their business while playing on their genuine PS Vita. Naughty Dog has a habit of dropping Sony Easter Eggs in their games, the most notable being the playable Crash Bandicoot level in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The PS Vita doesn’t seem to be playable although it does look to be running Hotline Miami. So continuing the game’s theme of brutality and violence even down to the little secrets. Smart moves, The Last of Us Part II.
(Source: The Verge)