Today marks one month until we finally get to play The Last of Us Part 2. One of the most anticipated games of 2020. And I feel like it's a good time to discuss what the overall intent of the title is based purely on marketing materials and imagery shown in trailers. And how ND went about delivering that, I should point out, there will be no spoilers in this thread.
Overall goal of the game: "Ultimately, this is a story about the cycle of violence, right? But beyond that, it's a conversation about the effects systemic trauma can have on your soul." - Halley Gross
The writers on how they approached this:
Now how do they go about this? The game, more so than any other in recent memory, goes out of it's way to make the violence on display make the average person uncomfortable. And even though it's still stylized to some degree, it still looks a conscious effort was made to make the violence look more real than other video games. With ND's devs even admitting to looking at reference videos.
Imagery warning:
And beyond that, the way the game handles npcs in comparison to other titles:
every time you're experiencing these setups, you have to engage with what would have been a typical NPC. But now, you've shot him, and his friend keeps screaming his name, and you have to carry the impact of your violence with you.
Every human enemy in Part 2 is named, so characters will often call out to each other by name as they discuss tactics or shout orders. Kill someone, and their friends will call out their name in anguish. The same goes for the dogs; it seems you'll hear a lot of pained cries from dog owners if you kill their companions in Part 2 .
All in all, the game will be quite the journey.
If they nail it then this game could lead to some really interesting discussions about how violence in video games. And how to effectively merge narrative and gameplay systems to a much further degree than the first game. So cheers to it being one month away, for real this time.
Overall goal of the game: "Ultimately, this is a story about the cycle of violence, right? But beyond that, it's a conversation about the effects systemic trauma can have on your soul." - Halley Gross
The writers on how they approached this:
Now how do they go about this? The game, more so than any other in recent memory, goes out of it's way to make the violence on display make the average person uncomfortable. And even though it's still stylized to some degree, it still looks a conscious effort was made to make the violence look more real than other video games. With ND's devs even admitting to looking at reference videos.
Imagery warning:
And beyond that, the way the game handles npcs in comparison to other titles:
every time you're experiencing these setups, you have to engage with what would have been a typical NPC. But now, you've shot him, and his friend keeps screaming his name, and you have to carry the impact of your violence with you.
Every human enemy in Part 2 is named, so characters will often call out to each other by name as they discuss tactics or shout orders. Kill someone, and their friends will call out their name in anguish. The same goes for the dogs; it seems you'll hear a lot of pained cries from dog owners if you kill their companions in Part 2 .
All in all, the game will be quite the journey.
If they nail it then this game could lead to some really interesting discussions about how violence in video games. And how to effectively merge narrative and gameplay systems to a much further degree than the first game. So cheers to it being one month away, for real this time.
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