Preview: Finding beauty in The Last of Us Part 2's broken world

Clickers and Infected galore!

Recently, I was given the opportunity to play through Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated survival-horror sequel: The Last of Us Part 2. Right now, I’m only allowed to talk about a very specific chunk of the game - but it's a really meaty one, I promise. 

In just the span of three hours, I explored optional areas, encountered new types of Infected in a convention centre, stealthed through vast environments and killed the last living owner of the PlayStation Vita. Today, I’m going to give my impressions on this bit of the game - but don’t worry! My impressions won’t include any major story spoilers.

The devil’s in the detail

This segment of the game sees Ellie setting off on a quest to find a character named Nora, who’s located in a faraway hospital. This journey will take her through a broken city, and the many factions struggling for power within it. Various Infected are also scattered about - cannibalistic undead creatures that feast on those left behind. 

Naughty Dog has a reputation for riddling their games with an astonishing level of detail - which redeems their usually linear level design. In this three hour segment alone, it became clear to me that Uncharted 4’s impressively wide-open Madagascar environment was a mere stepping stone for the studio. The areas I explored here were much wider than anything seen in The Last of Us, offering multiple avenues of exploration. 

For example, Ellie eventually came upon a barren street during her journey with crumbling buildings on either side. On my right, I saw an office space, where I found my way into a room full of supplies by making use of a nearby rope. On the left side of the street sat a brewery - abandoned by all but the Clickers residing within it. Smashing a window was the only way in, but that brought every one of these monsters running into the street. 

The first game’s levels rarely had this much depth. When it hid items behind an obstacle, it usually just forced you to drag a dumpster over to a wall or shiv a locked door. These two lengthy exploration sections were completely optional. I could’ve just walked past those Clickers and supplies - the main story was at the end of the street after all, not in those two buildings. You'd be missing out if you skipped them, though - not just on the supplies, but the experience of getting them. 

New human factions, Infected types and game mechanics - oh my!

Soon enough, I stumbled upon a very familiar sight - the slice of game that was shown off during PlayStation’s E3 2018 show. Set in a jungle-like area, Ellie stumbles onto a group of hood-wearing cultists brandishing melee weapons. I had to move forward in a wide area, while avoiding what seemed to be an army of cultists on different patrol routes. The trailer showed off a much more chaotic series of events - but I opted for a more stealthy approach, and managed to sneak through the entire area unspotted (after many failed attempts). 

I can’t remember Naughty Dog attempting anything quite so huge before in a stealth level. I could play through it five times and never do the same thing twice - and that applies to almost every combat encounter I stumbled upon in these three hours. Ellie can go prone and hide in tall grass or under vehicles, and she can jump from one place to the next. Those two things alone do so much for fast-paced movement during combat. You have so many options on where to go next, and how to get there - which really bolsters stealth gameplay. 

Try as you might, Ellie will inevitably get into a scrape or two. Combat in this game is incredibly fluid - largely due to all the new movement options, as well as the new dedicated Dodge button - L1. Tapping L1 gets Ellie to quickly dodge incoming attacks, creating openings for her to quickly counterattack. It can be especially useful when fighting off Clickers, because getting grabbed means a brutally quick death. 

In a new area set in an abandoned building, I encountered a new type of Infected - Stalkers. These critters tend to hide away from you and can be hard to spot, even if you try to see them through walls with Listen Mode. When seen however, they descend on you like a pack of hyenas, charging one after another at Ellie without a moment’s respite. Their introduction is a truly horrifying moment, and immediate proof that Naughty Dog and horror still go well together.

Oozing with grim atmosphere

While I’m not allowed to talk about the story just yet, I do want to acknowledge how gorgeously detailed this game is. Much like Uncharted 4, environments in this segment boast a spectacular level of graphical fidelity. Every area Ellie stepped foot in was steeped in photorealism, and packed with life. When I entered the brewery area, the first thing I saw were a murder of crows that flitted away from me. Foliage curled around every abandoned building, moss sprouts burst through cracked concrete and vehicles lay upside down in the streets - all signs that this place hadn’t been touched by humanity for a long time. 

The level of detail in this game also extends to its audio design. I played these three hours with headphones on, and was blown away by the simplest things - such as the constant creaking metal, as if every building you enter is ready to give in. Enemies even yell out their dead companions' names when found, which just adds to the level of guilt you feel while leaving so much blood in your wake. 

Naughty Dog’s eye for intricate detail is incredibly obvious here, and it really helps bring this short segment of Ellie’s journey to life. The way the game transitioned from exploratory segments to intense encounters with cultists, Infected and other human enemies was astoundingly seamless. It felt like poor Ellie just kept getting thrown from one frying pan into another - only, she was the one doing the throwing. 

Verdict

This segment of The Last of Us Part 2 ended with the nearly ten minutes of gameplay shown off during PlayStation’s recent State of Play episode. In it, you’ll see Ellie arrive at the hospital where Nora resides, and stealth past various enemies to get to her - including an unfortunate guard playing Hotline Miami on her PlayStation Vita. During that segment, I went in with all guns blazing, mowing down enemies and desperately scavenging for ammo between firefights. 

It just goes to show how dedicated Naughty Dog has become to encouraging player choice in its gameplay. You always had options for stealth, but there isn’t just one way forward anymore. Every environment has multiple points of entry, depending on your playstyle. Enemies aren’t dumb either - they were a constant challenge, pushing me to switch up strategies on the go. 

In a nutshell - the world of The Last of Us has changed. It’s become bigger, scarier, and more open to the way you want to play. Look forward to our full review of The Last of Us Part 2 before its release on June 19, 2020.

Small correction: Stalkers are not a new enemy type. They behaved so differently from the Stalkers in the first game, that I mistook them for new Infected!

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