This one’s a bit of a stretch, and there isn’t much to go on, but it looks as though a sequel to the immensely successful – both critically and financially, or so it seems – The Last of Us could be in development at Naughty Dog already, alongside Uncharted 4.
You might remember that it was the secondary Naughty Dog team who worked on the first game, rather than the team working on Uncharted. That meant that production of The Last of Us overlapped with Uncharted 3, so it could be the same tale again.
This rumour comes from Brazilian website Omelete, which is the biggest entertainment website over there. There’s no reason for them to be straight-up lying, but their source may have just got something wrong – anonymous sources are hardly the best thing to trust, after all. A date of 2015 seems quite soon though, considering Uncharted 4 will likely be coming that year too.
Now, we have to look at what this means for us: The Last of Us was a game that, in my opinion at least, worked as a standalone adventure and while DLC could – and will, when Left Behind releases next month – expand the backsory, a sequel might not be quite the right route. Particularly if it’s still about Joel and Ellie and has a 2 slapped on the end.
A game in the same universe, though? That could work. Naughty Dog created a truly impressive and bleak post-apocalyptic world with the first game, so expanding this could be brilliant – what about all of those little side stories that were hinted at, or the notes you found from other survivors on your travels?
I’m not sure about The Last of Us 2, but I’m all for another game with a similar setting from Naughty Dog. Just as long as we get Uncharted 4 too.
tonycawley
Totally with you on that. The Joel and Ellie story is done. Not something I think really wants a sequel at all, some things are best just left as they are.
JesseDeya
Can’t see this selling well.
/s
bunimomike
Studios are over the moon to have one successful franchise that everyone respects the hell out of and here we are with a potential TLOU as well as the Uncharted we know is coming.
Bloody. Hell!
Cron_13
I want to play the first one still! :(
TURRICAN-808
I’m playing though at the moment – it’s excellent.
skibadee
I disagree I think Joel & Ellie story has a lot more left in the tank.
Dar-Kaus
They could set it 10 years on with Ellie now an adult and the now streetwise protagonist and Joel playing more as the older battle hardened patriarch of the community he and his brother have founded around the power station, would make for some great siege battles, think Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior.
colmshan1990
You would lose what made TLoU great- the father-daughter relationship.
No, not the one between Joel and Ellie, but the one where the game made you feel that Ellie was your very own precious girl. Tapping into paternal instincts.
Not a dissimilar mechanic to the other great narrative in gaming last year- Bioshock Infinite, and the relationship between the player and Elizabeth.
Dar-Kaus
Your absolutely right of course and there is no reason why the parental instinct wouldn’t work, she’s just going to be older, it wouldn’t stop him being over protective, hell my own daughter is 22 now and I’ve never stopped worrying about her.
Youles
I think a sequel would be successful – a lot of people thought TLoU was one of the best games they’d ever played.
Rather than use the same characters again, why not pick new characters and share their story that may have ran at the same time as Joel and Ellie’s? Or the game could follow Joel during the period after the outbreak but before meeting Ellie. There are endless opportunities really, and I would certainly buy any TLoU game as its probably one of my all-time favourites.
Bilbo_bobbins
could easily have another one I think. I don’t think it will be out for a while though if it was.
double-o-dave
You never know, but the new Uncharted could be the new Last of Us seeming there was the newspaper in Uncharted talking about the zombie ants. Both worlds could entwine.
Then again, would you want to combine 2 already successful franchises?
Porcupine_I
Yes, i actually think it would be great to have a more light hearted game about how the Uncharted cast is dealing with the whole cordyceps situation.
DirtyHabit
If UC or TLOU featured zombie ants I wouldn’t but either of them. Sounds awful.
double-o-dave
I don’t think you’re quite getting the point of the newspaper – zombie ant – fungus connection.
DirtyHabit
Uncharted is uncharted
Last of us is last of us
They came from the desert was they came from the desert.
And never the twain should meet.
Although. Tcftd was giant ants not zombies. Same difference tho…
Severn2j
I think a prequel would work better than a sequel. There’s 20 years between the outbreak and the games setting, plenty of time for Joels backstory to be told. I think Joel is a very interesting character and there are a few hints of his past in the game that could be expanded on.
IMO, Ellie’s story is done tho, anything else beyond the first games ending would just cheapen it.