“Discover the untold secrets of The Last of Us Part 2, a groundbreaking video game that will leave you breathless. Dive into an intriguing journey as Naughty Dog developers share their insights on the game’s fascinating origins and influences, including an early inspiration drawn from the dark and intense atmosphere of Bloodborne. Immerse yourself in this captivating narrative that pushes the boundaries of the gaming world, and experience a one-of-a-kind adventure like no other.”
The Last of Us Part 2 was initially envisioned as a Bloodborne-inspired open-world game, according to comments made by Naughty Dog developers in a recent documentary. This news follows last month's release of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which has reinvigorated online discussion and publicity about the ambitious and controversial title.
Naughty Dog took some significant creative leaps with The Last of Us 2. Aside from general polish thanks to advancements in technology and gaming conventions, the game featured a number of new mechanics, movement and combat options, and core elements of level design, generally being more open-ended than its predecessor. Still, the game is mostly seen as a direct evolution of the first game, both in terms of story and stealth-focused gameplay with a dash of survival horror. However, it would seem that this was not always meant to be the case.
In the Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2 documentary, developers Anthony Newman and Emilia Schatz touch on the early plans for the game: rather than The Last of Us 2 featuring a level-based, fairly linear design, the game was originally conceptualized as a semi-open-world game that got bigger as the player explored. Additionally, it was meant to be purely melee focused, with no firearms. Schatz and Newman both name Bloodborne as the primary, specific influence for this design approach. Ultimately, the open-world design wouldn't have worked well for the story Naughty Dog was trying to tell, as Newman explains.
The Last of Us 2's Potential Take On Bloodborne
For fans of both The Last of Us and Bloodborne, a melding of the two franchises may seem like a dream come true. Indeed, it would have been one of the boldest decisions Naughty Dog could have made with The Last of Us 2, but it certainly could have worked. In fact, some of the DNA of this original plan may have been retained in the final product, in the form of one of the early Seattle levels, which adopts a semi-open-world structure. That area is one of the most memorable parts of the game, so it would have been interesting to see how Naughty Dog would have handled an entire game with a similar style.
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