There have been lots of conflicting rumors about the plot of “The Last of Us 2”, which is to be expected with a game that major. It seems like many of the rumors are focused on the game’s protagonists, and there are many claims that we will no longer see the original duo of Ellie and Joel from the first title.
Initially, there were claims that Ellie will go solo in the new game and it will be a more isolated experience. Now, we’re seeing new rumors that suggest that the game could have a completely new protagonist – or multiple ones – although it will still feature the same setting as the original.
On the other hand, there are also rumors related to those which state that Ellie will still be in the game, just as a non-playable character. All of this sounds quite confusing, and we will probably keep seeing various conflicting reports during the game’s release, but most gamers should be used to this trend by now.
It’s especially common when it comes to a major release like “The Last of Us 2”, and we expect that the rumors won’t stop even when the developers finally give us some official information on the title. Gamers love to speculate, after all, and sometimes innocent discussions on forums can be taken out of context and repeated as fact.
Other than that, there are also some fans who are more skeptical towards the idea of a sequel, claiming that the first game was a masterpiece on its own and it shouldn’t be touched. A sequel will ruin the magic, according to them, and the developers should focus on continuing that style of gameplay in a new setting if they wanted to explore it more.
With all that in mind, we can only imagine the kind of pressure Naughty Dog must be feeling right now, and the studio has some difficult decisions ahead of them. No matter what they choose, they will be judged – but there’s no doubt that choosing to work on the game’s sequel will bring a lot more potential criticism on them, so they should be careful.
The first game was quite innovative in some places, while it also perfected other gameplay elements that had been invented by other games long before it. The game was a nice mix between many conflicting things, including the themes of isolation and companionship, and it’s easy to see why some fans would be reluctant to seeing a sequel.
If the game goes according to plan, rumors say, it should be ready by 2018. That seems like a reasonable timeframe for its development, especially given the fact that Naughty Dog will have to put a lot more polish on the title and make sure to fix every little issue they come across. The kind of attention they will get for this release will amplify any problem of the game, no matter how minor it might be in the grand scheme of things.
It looks like people involved with the original, such as voice actress Ashley Johnson, have no idea about the current status of the sequel. Johnson claims that she hasn’t been contacted by the studio yet, but of course this could all be part of a trick set up by Naughty Dog to mislead their fans. We will never know unless they decide to make an official announcement for the game themselves, so the ball is entirely in their court.