The Last Of Us Part – 2
The Last of Us Part II, released in 2020, is an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Building upon its predecessor, The Last of Us (2013), the game is set five years later in a post-apocalyptic United States. It revolves around the intertwined lives of two playable characters: Ellie, driven by a thirst for revenge after a murder, and Abby, a soldier caught in the midst of a conflict between her militia and a religious cult. The game employs a third-person perspective, requiring players to combat both human adversaries and zombie-like creatures with firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth tactics.
The development of The Last of Us Part II commenced in 2014, shortly after the release of The Last of Us Remastered. Neil Druckmann, the creative director, returned to lead the project and co-write the story alongside Halley Gross. Druckmann drew inspiration from his personal experiences growing up in Israel, resulting in themes of revenge and retribution being central to the game’s narrative. Ashley Johnson reprised her role as Ellie, while Laura Bailey was cast as Abby. Notably, their performances involved simultaneous recording of both motion and voice. Gustavo Santaolalla returned to compose and perform the game’s score, further enhancing the immersive experience. The development team pushed the technical boundaries of the PlayStation 4, showcasing its capabilities. Notably, the development process reportedly involved grueling 12-hour workdays and incurred a cost of approximately US$220 million, making it one of the most expensive video games ever created.
Following some delays, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Last of Us Part II was released on June 19, 2020. It garnered critical acclaim for its gameplay, audio design, score, performances, characters, and visual fidelity, while its narrative and themes sparked differing opinions among critics. The game faced review bombing on Metacritic, as certain players expressed criticism towards the story and characters, leading to adversarial discussions. Part II emerged as one of the top-selling PlayStation 4 games and the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive, with over four million units sold during its release weekend and surpassing ten million units by 2022. It achieved more than 320 Game of the Year awards and received numerous other accolades from awards shows and gaming publications.
The Last of Us Part II:
Ellie – The main protagonist of the second game, Ellie returns as an older and more hardened survivor, still dealing with the trauma from the events of the first game.
Abby Anderson (voiced and portrayed by Laura Bailey) – The other main protagonist of Part II. She’s a soldier for a rival faction and her story runs parallel to Ellie’s.
Joel Miller – Joel makes a return in Part II, though his role in the story is significantly different.
Tommy Miller – Tommy reappears in the second game as well, having an important role in the story.
Dina (voiced and portrayed by Shannon Woodward) – Ellie’s love interest and a close friend who joins her in various parts of the game.
Jesse (voiced by Stephen Chang) – A member of Ellie’s group and a close friend of both Ellie and Dina.
Lev (voiced by Ian Alexander) and Yara (voiced by Victoria Grace) – Siblings who play a significant role in Abby’s storyline.
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| Based on | The Last of Us by Naughty Dog[a] |
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| Theme music composer | Gustavo Santaolalla |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
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| Production location | Canada |
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| Running time | 43–81 minutes |
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| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | January 15, 2023 – present |