Without a doubt, Naughty Dog’sgameplay footage revealfor the highly anticipated post-apocalyptic survival-horror sequelThe Last of Us: Part 2during Sony’s PlayStation E3 2018 press conference got many gamers geared up and excited to slip into the role of its protagonist, Ellie. While she will be the primary focus of the title, it seems as if there will be someone else tagging along for the adventure, as it has recently been confirmed that Ellie will have an AI companion.
This much was revealed by Naughty Dog Vice President andThe Last of Us: Part 2director Neil Druckmann, who stated that the first game in the series has set a precedent for a player figure and a non-playable character to accompany them on their journey. According to Druckmann, “Well, so, Ellie used to be an NPC, but she’s the protagonist in this story, so the player is controlling Ellie. Umm, it’s safe to say with the game that we made in the past that there will be some NPC with you in this story, even though we’re not showing [the NPC] in this demo.”
As many fans ofThe Last of Uswill point out, Druckmann was incredibly careful with his word usage to not confirm or denythe potential return of Joelin the forthcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive, leaving lots of people with their fingers crossed that the original game’s protagonist will make a comeback as Ellie’s AI companion. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet, but with the character’s actor Troy Baker having done motion-capture work for the sequel, it’s likely that Joel’s at least in the title in some capacity.
Taking all of this into account, it will be interesting to see exactly who becomes the AI companion forThe Last of Us: Part 2, as the sequel will have a slew of new characters such as Yara, Lev, Jesse, and Dina, the lattermost of whom looks to be Ellie’s love interest in the game. That said, though, it’s likely that a lot of the player base would feel a twinge of disappointment if Joel doesn’t fill the role. Then again, Naughty Dog could succeed by simply having him make an appearance in the story, while giving another personality a chance at winning over fans.
The Last of Us: Part 2is currently in development for PlayStation 4, but lacks an official release date.
