The Last of Us Part II

Lore & Background

The game's development began in 2014, after the release of The Last of Us Remastered. Neil Druckmann returned as creative director, co-writing the story with Halley Gross. The themes of revenge and retribution were inspired by Druckmann's experiences growing up in Israel. Ashley Johnson reprises her role as Ellie, while Laura Bailey was cast as Abby. Their performances included the simultaneous recording of motion and voice. Gustavo Santaolalla returned to compose and perform the score. The developers pushed the PlayStation 4's technical capabilities. Development reportedly included a crunch schedule of 12-hour workdays and cost around US$220 million, making it one of the most expensive video games to develop.

Following delays, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Last of Us Part II was released for the PlayStation 4 in June 2020. A remastered version was released for the PlayStation 5 in January 2024 and for Windows in April 2025. The game received acclaim for its gameplay, audio design, score, performances, characters, and visual fidelity, though its narrative and themes divided critics. Discourse became adversarial and the game was review bombed on Metacritic, with some players criticizing the story and characters.

Reader's Guide

The Last of Us Part II is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective featuring elements of the survival horror genre. The player traverses post-apocalyptic environments such as buildings and forests to advance the story. The player can use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus. Control intermittently switches between Ellie and Abby; the player also briefly controls Joel in the opening sequence. The nimble nature of the player character introduces platforming elements, allowing the player to jump and climb to traverse environments and gain advantages during combat. The player can break glass objects such as windows to access certain areas or obtain supplies. Some areas are navigated by horse or boat.

In combat, the player can use long-range weapons such as rifles and bows, and short-range weapons such as pistols and revolvers. The player is able to scavenge limited-use melee weapons such as machetes and hammers, and throw bricks and bottles to distract or attack enemies. Collected items can be used to upgrade weapons at workbenches or craft equipment such as health kits, Molotov cocktails, and makeshift silencers. The player can collect supplements to upgrade skills in a skill tree; training manuals found throughout the environment unlock additional skill tree branches, allowing upgrades to attributes such as the health meter, crafting speed, and ammunition types. Though the player can attack enemies directly, they can also use stealth to attack undetected or sneak past them. 'Listen Mode' allows the player to locate enemies through a heightened sense of hearing and spatial awareness, indicated as outlines visible through walls and objects. In the cover system, the player can crouch behind obstacles to gain advantages in combat, and can also crawl in a prone position to evade enemies. Hostile enemies use artificial intelligence; they may take cover or call for assistance, and can take advantage when the player is distracted, out of ammunition, or in a fight. The player may be impaled by an arrow, which will progressively decrease their health meter and disables Listen Mode until removed when in cover. Player companions, such as Dina, assist in combat by killing enemies or announcing their location. The game introduces guard dogs that track the player's scent, which can be visualized in Listen Mode.

Did You Know?

• The game sold over four million units in its release weekend, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive.
• The game won 326 Game of the Year awards from awards shows and gaming publications.