The Last of Us Part II is set to launch exclusively for the PlayStation 4 in just eleven days. Back in April, a whole host of content from the upcoming sequel managed to find its way online for all to see. Screenshots, cutscenes, and more were leaked online. Those that were exposed to the leaked content were less than pleased with the story developments.
While it was initially thought that a disgruntled Naughty Dog employee was responsible for the leak, Sony soon claimed that they managed to figure out that the leaker was, in fact, not at all affiliated with the studio — as you can see here.
Since then, Naughty Dog and the like have essentially been acting as damage control and declaring that playing through The Last of Us Part II from beginning to end is incomparable. Joel voice actor Troy Baker stated that he frankly finds it ridiculous that many are placing so much stock into the content of the leaks to begin with — more on that here.
Well, now game director Neil Druckmann has come out and said that most of the supposedly leaked story developments aren't accurate after all. Druckmann assures that the ending, in particular, was not made public knowledge by the leak. However, Naughty Dog can't simply confirm what's right and what isn't as that in itself would be spoiling what's to come.
"There's all these theories about what the ending is, but the ending is not out there. You actually don't know how it all comes together," Druckmann told Eurogamer. "There's so many false things out there. We don't want to go out there and correct anything because that would be spoiling the game in a way – by saying what it isn't, we're kind of saying what it is."
The game director then delved into what will undoubtedly be explored in The Last of Us Part II pertaining to Ellie. The character has evolved from the fourteen-year-old girl that we first met back in 2013. For starters, Ellie is now nineteen, and she's a lot more independent this time around. Druckmann explains:
We made a journey with Ellie, and Ellie is who she is. It's been defined in the previous game. We're going to continue going forward. She's now 19. How do we explore all the facets of what it's like to be 19? You think you're invincible. You think you know what's right and wrong in the world. You are sexually attracted to people you're attracted to. Those are all things we want to explore for this character - that's how we do honest storytelling.
Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.
The Last of Us Part II is set to release exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on June 19th, 2020.