It’s difficult to discuss why so many people would not want a sequel to The Last of Us without getting deep into spoiler territory. Its story has… rather clear boundaries, let’s say. But the game’s creative director said in a Reddit AMA that there’s a 50/50 chance there’ll be another game in the series.
Neil Druckmann, the creative director, left the door open for another game in The Last of Us‘s continuity as far back as June. And, of course, the game just released the DLC Left BehindLeft Behind. Yesterday, a redditor asked “how good are the chances of us entering the world of The Last of Us again?” to which Druckmann replied, “If you’re asking about a sequel … right now I’d say it’s 50/50.”
Now, is that probability is 50 per cent higher or lower than it should be? There are a number of things going on. One is that this is a game that won a tent full of awards, many of them Game of the Year (including ours); it’s also a console exclusive that sold, like, more than 3 million copies globally in its first month. So there’s got to be a ton of business pressure to keep that kind of a series going.
And yet, what more could be said? Druckmann told Kotaku back in June that “as the journey Joel and Ellie goes on it ends with this game.” Again, I don’t wish to tread anywhere near spoilers, but even if you explore other characters’ stories, it strikes me that a major plot driver, particularly for a post-apocalyptic story, is taken completely off the table by the original game’s powerful conclusion. Undoing that is risky business. Of course, you could do a prequel, but didn’t the game just go there with Left Behind?
Elsewhere, Druckmann was asked if he misses Joel and Ellie, having said so clearly that their story is over. ” I miss them dearly. I’d love to see them again — maybe in a different medium? We’ll see.” So that’s mysterious? A sequel and a movie? Who knows.
Then someone asked how he would handle a sequel “in a purely hypothetical world where anything goes,” and Druckmann said — tongue visibly in cheek here: “There are clickers as big as buildings. Also you have lots of new gadgets and weapons (more lasers!). Oh and Ellie can now control the infected with her new powers. We’d also probably dive into the government conspiracy of creating a secret weapon that broke loose and that’s how the outbreak started. There’s probably a shadowy secret agency in all this that you find out Joel has been a member of this whole time (that’s why he came home late in the prologue!)”
Yeah. If you guys do do a sequel, don’t do that.
Hi, we’re Neil Druckmann (Creative Director) and Bruce Straley (Game Director) of The Last of Us and The Last of Us: Left Behind at Naughty Dog. AUA! [Reddit via NeoGAF]
PS: I’m going to offer a general spoiler alert here for comments below, because some people in their enthusiasm to discuss the story may not give one in their comments. Still, be courteous to your fellow readers.
Comments
23 responses to “There’s A ’50/50′ Shot The Last Of Us Gets Another Game, Says Creator”
Due to my love of the story (as a whole, start to END) of the Last Of Us, I am one who really hopes they do NOT make a full-blown sequel(or prequel or whatever else).
Of course if they did make it, I could just not play it… but the danger is in them making something that’s merely average – or fantastic until the end. A half-baked attempt, or one that just isn’t as perfect as the parent game, could sully the characters for me – and that would be a travesty.
If a game has gameplay with amazing potential or the individual story in the first one was left too open, I say sure, go ahead and make a sequel.
But in a game like this where, by most accounts, the gameplay was fairly standard and the story was fantastic, I’d say keep it in the first one.
BUT then there’s the issue that they’ve crafted a world slightly more unique than the typical zombie shooter and in that case people want to explore more of it. In which case I would think a game where you play as a bunch of different characters with interlacing narratives would be cool. That way you can theoretically explore more physical and emotional territory in one game.
I think there’s room for a sequel in TLoU’s universe, but nowhere near the events of the first game. A completely different location, completely new characters, and a completely new timeframe would be required. If they retread old ground – a la Uncharted 3 – it’d be a huge waste. I’d rather not see a sequel at all than something which, even if it’s “good” – is underwhelming.
I wouldn’t mind seeing things from the militaries perspective.
No thanks.
I’d like to either see a prequel that led to the rise of the fireflies or more events just after the outbreak. You know- watch the world fall apart and not just try and get by after the world has fallen apart
I like that approach… leave the main characters from TLOU out so as not to mess with what was, IMO, one of the best stories told in any medium.
This would allow a return to the world at an interesting point in its time, and a chance to better the gameplay itself, which was leagues behind the story and character interaction. THere could be room for more advanced scavenger on scavenger (ie. human NPC on human player) action, which was the most disappointing aspect of the original game for me.
The ol’ catch 22 of wanting a sequel, but being almost assured that it won’t live up to expectations . 🙁 That being said, I’d love a PS4 sequel, not a port, but a sequel years down the track sometime. Not anytime within the next 4 years though.
I know I’m the minority here but I didn’t like TLoU. I am so sick of the whole zombies/end of days story line in general and would prefer to see ND take on a new IP.
The Last of Us was an incredible game but i think not doing a sequel would be a huge disservice. Sequels have a stigma, true, but let’s not pretend The last of Us was so special we simply can’t mess with it. It’s not Citizen Kane, it’s a story set in a world with characters full of possibilities. There’s definitely a direction to go in. If Walking Dead had stopped at every poignant moment in the series and didn’t have the courage to push the story into new and uncharted territory, it wouldn’t have turned out as great as it did. To me, they’ve posed some difficult questions but they aren’t so difficult that they couldn’t be answered with new, even harsher questions arising in their place. A sequel can happen and it can be just as good as the original. It felt like TLOU was the beginning of a tumultuous relationship, don’t just stop because it’s too hard.
Please no.
If a sequel was to be made, I’d like to see the same universe used, but with a focus on different characters in a new location.
I just can’t see how any other way would work (well).
I think a game set 10-20 years after the original with Ellie as the main character and her child taking the place of her in the games mechanics could work.
Maybe her child has Ellie’s hereditary immunity to the spores and a second generation immunity could be easier to duplicate and they have to begin a journey to the university from the first game.
Or maybe the fireflies regroup and search for her, many possibilities.
After the the PS4 Uncharted game comes out that will be the 4th one.5th if the include the Vita one, in almost as many years, they don’t want to do what Ubi-Soft did with Assassins Creed, so unless they come up with a new IP(quite likely)I’d say a sequel to TLOU is gonna happen.
ND didn’t do the vita one though.
I’d love a sequel. Even if it was shit, I mean absolute pure shit, it won’t change the fact that the first one was brilliant (contrary to popular belief).
It was good, but it certainly wasn’t brilliant.
Clunky combat + some poor design decisions made most of the encounters shit.
The infected were a really cool idea, but they were terrible enemies to fight against in game and sadly it was far to easy to end up in combat with them – Not helped by the fact that so many encounters bugged out and they would all rush me for no reason.
AI that was at times just outright terrible, really made it a hard game to enjoy playing through.
Story wise, I was fine with the overall story but found the way they progressed it was lacking and in game dialog was hardly there; much of the dialogue was jarring (E.G., sneaking past 10 baddies, then pop into next room and some blurts out some random line at the top of their lungs)… Ellie saying “Holy shit Joel” etc. after almost every bit of combat really pissed me off too.
I felt like Joel was a dick for like 75% of the game, so I didn’t like him much for the rest.
Graphics were very pretty, but I’d only give the game a 7 over all.
Wow. Such hate. The only combat mechanic that I found to be clunky was the shooting. Actual melee worked fine for me. The worst part of the game for me was when Joel got caught in the suspension trap but once I got past that things were great. Also Joel may have been a dick but he was still a great lead character
*spoilers* The entire thing revolves around the fact that Ellie is immune. That’s the interesting story in this universe, no other story in it can be as intrinsically tied to the main events or have as much at stake, and if they did, it would undermine the original story.
I hope the success of tlou gives them the money and the confidence to do something completely different
I must be the only one who wants to see Joel and Ellie again if a sequel happens. There’s so much to mine in that established relationship. I just hate the idea of getting to know a new bunch of characters and go through the same clichés again so we can empathise with them.
We already have a solid foundation with Joel and Ellie. Let’s progress that relationship and explore Joel’s over protectiveness of Ellie in spite of what she’s capable of. Let’s build onto that relationship.
Also I really hate this mentality of not wanting to see it because it COULD be bad. First of all, this is Naughty Dog, and second of all, Uncharted 2 was a much better game gameplay wise and story wise than Uncharted one. It’s also one of the greatest leaps of quality for a sequel in the history of video games. Both Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann had a hand in creating the first one and going on to captain the second.
Let’s have a little faith shall we?
As fun as uncharted 2 is, the setting in last of us has so much potential. I wouldn’t be ashamed to admit if they threw the idea around for a last of us styled DayZ game. Of course following from such a nicely closed ending is going to ruin the long term experience.
Ah i always imagined a sequel would feature them on the run.. From those they met at the hospital. Then Ellie finds out what Joel has done…
i hope they do it.. And release it on ps3 too because i bought an xbone..
a) Almost everyone at the hospital is dead. Every last doctor and almost all the soldiers are dead. Marlene is dead. How many Fireflies are left to know?
b) I’d hate for your buyer’s remorse / poor choices to get in the way of things.
dude, spoiler tags?
Xbone is the right choice for me.. All but missing naughty dog games
A sequel doesn’t necessarily have to follow the same characters. I would be happy if this were an entirely different story, maybe something set during the early days of the outbreak from a completely different point of view (Not Joel and Ellie).