After seven long years of waiting, Ellie is back in "The Last of Us Part II", a story of survival and revenge - Naughty Dog / Sony

  • The Last of Us Part II is the highly anticipated sequel to a 2013 game on PS3, a small narrative and emotional revolution at the time.
  • The game comes out in a complicated context for the Naughty Dog studio, with a case of "leaks" and a controversy around the culture of "crunch".
  • 20 Minutes spoke at length with the thinking head of the project, Neil Druckmann.

If Animal Crossing were the game of containment, The Last of Us Part II would be the game of deconfinement - and perhaps of the year. Indeed, what could be better, once freedom is restored, than to immerse yourself in a world of pandemics, to escape the infected, or worse, men? Atmosphere. Scheduled for June 19 on PlayStation 4, the new game from the studio Naughty Dog ( Crash Bandicoot , Uncharted ) is also and above all the long-awaited sequel to a masterpiece of video games in general, and adventure games in particular, a small narrative and emotional revolution at the time.

Seven years already, and almost as much in the game that sees our heroes, Joel and Ellie, enjoying peaceful days in a community of survivors, in Jackson County. But a tragic event pushes Ellie to leave, and to appease his revenge. While the release of The Last of Us Part II is imminent, and shaken by a case of leaks and a controversy on the culture of crunch, 20 Minutes met - exclusively - with Neil Druckmann, creative director of the game and vice -president of Naughty Dog.

Just tell yourself that in 17 days no more games will exist around me, there will be just #TheLastofUsPartII and nothing else šŸ„°šŸ˜ pic.twitter.com/AuuQJGLPwP

- šŸŽ® Extraterrestrial Gamer šŸ‘½ (@GameuseAlien) June 2, 2020

Why six long years of waiting and finally only one game The Last of Us  per generation of console, against two or three Uncharted  for example?

Sometimes it takes time to tell a complex and exciting story. We had the concept of The Last of Us Part II from the first game finished. The Last of Us was about parents' love for their children, unconditional love, and we were exploring how far we are ready to go for this love, how far Joel was ready to go for Ellie. This story has a downside: how far are we ready to go when someone hurts the loved one, how far are we ready to go to bring those responsible to justice? They are two explorations of love, from two different perspectives.

The Last of Us Part II is the most ambitious story that Naughty Dog has tried to tell, we have long thought about it. We even made a "little" game called Uncharted 4 in parallel, then when Nathan Drake's last adventure was over, part of the studio worked on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy , and the other on The Last of Us Part II . After which, everyone was brought back to The Last of Us .

Calm before the storm for Ellie in "The Last of Us Part II" - Naughty Dog / Sony

The Last of Us  portrays a ā€œpandemicā€ world, but we currently live in such a world, all things considered of course. What do you think ?

I don't make the connection between the two as much as people might think. The Last of Us is inspired by the real world, real conflicts, especially the second episode, which takes up the ideas of tribalism, trauma, cycle of violence, obsession with justice, and how they move you as no one, how they affect you and those around you. These subjects are universal, outside of a game, a film or even a pandemic. It was true a few months ago, it is still true today, and it will still be in a year or two. It was our primary objective, the rest is more secondary, the world that we describe is there to influence the characters and show them as they really are, basically.

What did you want to talk about with the first game, in comparison, and perhaps in opposition, with the second?

If I had to answer it in a simple way, in one sentence, I would say that the first The Last of Us tells the story of a filial love. But when you play it, you realize that there is more. Itā€™s about overcoming trauma, opening up to others, and therefore resilience, trust ... In the same way, what follows clearly tells of a pursuit of justice, but also, hollow, of building relationships, to see them destroy themselves, ie loss, mourning ... All these things that define us, the player can explore them, feel them, through Ellie. She is now 19 years old, she has evolved, and continues to evolve throughout this very long game. Once finished, it is possible to look back and see the path traveled, how it has changed. It is a character study.

When describing the game, it's impossible not to think back to its title:  The Last of Us . Is it this time to express what remains of humanity in us?

The title has different meanings, and that's why we chose it. Does this "Us" refer to us as a group, tribe, to those who are still alive or to those who still have a moral? Our starting point is to tell how, five years after the first game, Ellie found a little of the old world, a life in community, in Jackson. But beyond the walls, the danger is still there, and a traumatic event will push her to leave this comfort, this security, to track down through Seattle the people who have harmed her.

"The Last of Us Part 2" offers richer and deeper gameplay for more intense combat and total immersion - Naughty Dog / Sony

This episode is very dark, violent, pessimistic ... Not really a "fun" game to play?

I think that among the great works, literary, cinematographic or video games, some are difficult and dark. Like the virus of The Last of Us , which in its figuration and its way of growing up has something beautiful, but which also represents death. This contradiction also applies to Ellie and to us, we are the best and the worst of humanity.

This approach recalls that of the last Call of Duty: Modern Warfare  and its exploration of the gray area.

The Last of Us is interested in those people who think they are virtuous, that they are right, when it is a question of point of view. You can be both the hero of your story, and the villain of another's story. We mentioned it in the first episode: is Joel really a hero? It depends on what you thought of his actions. The debate is interesting, and we applied it to all the characters in the following. There are no good or bad people, just people who believe they are right, that what they are doing is the right thing, the only thing to do. We tried to avoid any judgment, any moral.

The developers of @Naughty_Dog reveal in 4 videos the creation process of The Last of Us Part II, planned exclusively on PS4 on June 19.

Here is the 1st episode with French subtitles dedicated to the history of the game.

- PlayStation France (@PlayStationFR) May 19, 2020

The first game made it possible to play Joel, especially, but also Ellie, is it the same with the continuation, with new playable characters, perhaps different points of view?

The Last of Us was about the relationship between Joel and Ellie, from Joel's point of view. The rest is still on them, but from Ellie's point of view. You surely know Breaking Bad , one of my favorite series, and his antihero Walter White. She explores over time the contradictions of his personality, he is this loving person, but capable of the worst atrocities, he is intelligent, but makes a terrible decision after another. It's fascinating. As Ellie grows, how does it change, what has she learned from Joel, how the events of the first game affect her, with what consequences? It's the engine of the game.

The influences of the first episode were clear and cinematographic:  I am a Legend, The Road, The Walking Dead ā€¦ What are those of the following?

I 'm adding No Country For Old Men for the first The Last of Us . The tension in the Coen brothers' film, we all said at the time: "My God, I never felt such tension in a video game, we will try to make it for each character, each fight ā€. It is true that it was easy to point out the fictional references, from the Sons of Man to The Walking Dead , but the main part came from our personal stories. Mine, for example, was that I was going to become a father, and that fear reminded me of my parents, what they did for me, to leave their country, to change their lives.

This is even more the case with the second game. It is based less on works than on the real world and our experiences. I grew up in Israel, so the cycle of violence I lived with. The Last of Us raises, through an interactive experience, philosophical questions, universal feelings, from an intellectual and emotional point of view.

Find out more about the new gameplay mechanics of #TheLastofUsPartII with the 2nd of 4 videos (subtitled in French) of the game creation process, planned exclusively on PS4 on June 19.

- PlayStation France (@PlayStationFR) May 20, 2020

But by the way, where are the zombies?

Be careful, there are not strictly speaking zombies in The Last of Us  (laughs). The infected are there, they have even evolved. But the majority of the game is a human conflict, and the infected a narrative device, to put pressure on the characters and remember what brought the world to its knees. The player must sense the threat, why people flee cities, why they are able to kill for food. The game thus navigates between the infected and humans, and in fact different factions of humans, with the soldiers of the Washington Liberation Front and the religious cult of the Seraphites .

How did you experience the leaks two months before the release?

Uh, that sucks. (laughs) You work hard on a game for several years, you preserve the story to the maximum, for the moment when the players will discover it for themselves, and suddenly, it's everywhere. At the time, it was very discouraging for me and the team. But then you understand that it is not the most important. For example, everyone has their favorite film, which you know by heart, each line, each shot, and yet, as soon as you see it again, you feel the same emotion, even more. We are aware of having a game, a narrative experience, greater than any twist or spoiler. You have to play it, live it from start to finish, feel what Ellie is going through, her joy, her grief, her anger ... Nothing can replace that, no spoiler can. And then, some leaks are false, so the game is still waiting for the players.

. @ Naughty_Dog has made sure that every character and detail in #TheLastofUsPartII is as authentic as possible.

Watch the 3rd behind the scenes video of development, subtitled in French, here šŸ‘‰ https://t.co/jEx2G5IJ6L pic.twitter.com/n27XgtZD4R

- PlayStation France (@PlayStationFR) May 28, 2020

Naughty Dog also made the news about the working conditions within the studio, and the culture of crunch, this practice very present in the video game and very criticized too.

This is a question that deserves a real discussion, not a short answer. But I would say that at Naughty Dog, we have pillars, on which, when we work on a game, we do not compromise: the graphics, that we push to the maximum, the gameplay, or how to find the mechanics to immerse the player , history of course, diversity too, to give the best reflection of the world in which we live, and finally the balance between life and work. We have brought together talented people, who have become talented because they have worked so hard, because they have outdone themselves, to create great games, to make Naughy Dog a market leader, and to tell meaningful stories, that resonate in people.

Just this week, we received a video from someone The Last of Us saved from suicide. You imagine ? Our games are taken very seriously by players, and we take them very seriously too. But you have to assure the teams that they can work safely, that they work hard but up to a certain point. We have already implemented things that are going in this direction on our last games, but we have not yet solved the problem, far from it, so we will continue.

If you were to keep just one thing, scene, feeling from The Last of Us Part II  ?

The thing that comes to my mind is a spoiler and I don't want to reveal the deep nature of the game, so I will say that we had a vision for this game. We knew it would be a difficult game to do, to play, and at no time have we compromised that vision. Whether people love it or hate it, this is really the game we wanted to do and the whole team is very proud of it.

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