Naughty Dog makes the game official, but it has to be

If there was one thing that stood out from “Grounded 2,” the documentary surrounding The Last of Us Part 2, it was Neil Druckman’s last words. The co-president of the studio, but also the mastermind of all the latest projects, released everything that fans of the post-apocalyptic game have been waiting for: the third episode in The Last of Us saga.

“I gave another interview and I was asked if there would be another Last of Us story. I said that we wrote a story around Tommy after The Last of Us Part II and I hope to be able to do that one day. And in the press, we read “Naughty Dog Discusses The Last of Us Part III”, which is completely false. It was always a short story, not a full title. Naughty Dog had other priorities at the time, such as working on the pipeline and On work-life balance. Given the context, I didn’t want to prioritize this story, so it got sidelined. I think it will eventually see the light of day. I don’t know if it will be a game or a series, we’ll see. .

The concept of the first game was simple: the unconditional love of a parent for their child. In the second, we focused on the pursuit of justice at all costs, to those we love. It was another simple concept that echoed the idea of ​​love in the first game. If we stop there, it’s a very good ending. All said, the story is over. The best thing about working at Naughty Dog is that they don’t force you to do anything. They want a sequel to The Last of Us, but if we want to do something else, they support us. I’m very lucky in that respect, I realize. I wondered if there was another concept to exploit. For years I got nothing. But recently, that has changed. I don’t have a story, but I do have a concept that I find interesting, similar to I and II. It is independent, but the three are connected. So this could be another chapter of the story. »

If Sony is demanding a third episode from Naughty Dog, it’s because the series is not only bankable, but also because it’s the benchmark in video games. But the Californian studio isn’t the type to shoot one sequel after another, it needs inspiration, a strong subject, and Neil Druckmann seems to have found the right concept to resume in this third chapter. Continue the rest of the story between Ellie and Abby, or go back into Joel’s past to explore the events between the start of the pandemic and his meeting with Ellie, and then name the game The Last of Us Part Zero? Everything is possible, but you have to be really patient to see the game land. The concept has been found, the writing has barely begun and we will have to wait for the next generation of PlayStation (in this case PS6) to see the game land.

The documentary Grounded II: Making the Last of Us Part II is available on YouTube with French subtitles. It lasts for 2 hours and is quite exciting.