The highly anticipated survival horror game The Last of Us Part II is facing another delay. Still, fans are chomping at the bits to dive back into Joel and Ellie's apocalyptic world, so it wouldn't hurt to revisit the first game in the meantime to practice the mechanics again. The Last of Us is a tense game that requires precise aim, good stealth skills, fast judgement and accurate spatial awareness. One wrong move and the unforgiving AI, whether human or zombie, will call up their buddies to overwhelm you with sheer numbers.
From the gameplay and reveal trailers, The Last of Us Part II appears to have a mix of new mechanics and familiar ones present in the first game. Among other features, the HUD, crafting menus and icons have been updated with a sleeker aesthetic. However, the core gameplay of stealth and shooting has not changed, and Naughty Dog has thrown in some fun improvements for players to explore.
The Last of Us Part II keeps the small and long guns from first game, such as rifles and pistols. While it's not yet known if the massively overpowered El Diablo makes a reappearance, Ellie still uses a bow and arrow to make silent kills. Like in the previous game, Ellie is able to gather parts to upgrade her guns, and she can swallow down bottles of supplements to increase her abilities.
In the first game, Joel used thrown objects, such as molotovs, bricks, bottles, smoke and nail bombs, to supplement his deadly fighting skills. Most of these are confirmed to reappear in the sequel game. Sadly, nail bombs seem to be gone and have been replaced with explosive arrows. These arrows will still blow enemies to gory bits, though, so the tradeoff could be worth it.
Moving to close combat, weapons like shivs, machetes, axes and pipes are widely used, but be careful -- they still have limited uses and can leave players unexpectedly facing off against a Clicker with fists. Speaking of fists, Ellie wasn't swinging Joel-like haymakers during the trailer, but she is shown wielding a machete with gruesome skill. There are new quick-time prompts where Ellie can throw a bottle to hamper enemies closing in on her or gutting them with a knife. Ellie has also been shown to be able to dodge swings and wrench melee weapons from enemies.
In general, the combat seems less gun-reliant. Neil Druckmann has mentioned this is a game about hate, something that is made clear from the dimmed colors and how brutal the melee is.
Crafting is another essential part of The Last of Us that allows players to be creative in how they take out groups of opponents. It also added to the desperate atmosphere of the apocalypse, forcing Joel to forage for items to supplement his sparse ammo supply. Foraging also encouraged players to explore environments and kept players from relying on gun-heavy strategies.
Thankfully, the second game is carrying over the crafting system with improvements to streamline the process. The inventory HUD has remained the same with spaces for health kits, projectiles and guns, but players can now access the crafting menu by hitting X on the desired item. Originally, players had to open the crafting menu with the motion pad sensor then toggle to the crafting section before navigating to the item. This mechanic was both clunky and nonintuitive, so it's nice to see the second game has sped up the process while providing a crafting screen that is less crowded.
The other interactive HUDs have retained their original appearance except that the button prompts are now white. While this is a nitpick, the original colored button prompts were better as they helped players who remembered button colors better than the shapes.
Many of the first game's tensest moments came from the stealth mechanic. Naughty Dog struck the perfect balance between stealth and combat by limiting ammo and strengthening enemies to make sure most players couldn't shoot their way out of sticky situations. Instead, players had to be clever about taking out enemies quietly or sneaking past impossibly large groups with hair-raising slowness.
The second game has maintained many of the stealth mechanics by creating rich environments to squat in and continuing shiv/bow and arrow kills. Adding to the existing mechanics, Ellie can now hide under cars, slide into tall grass and crawl on her belly to better hide herself. Listening mode seems to have stayed the same, but the players can also rely on directional white blurs to figure out where enemies are coming from. Red blurs seem to indicate that an enemy is closing in with a weapon.
Like many of the previous changes, The Last of Us Part II has tweaked the health and damage system to make the experience more grounded. The health bar hasn't changed from its semicircle shape, but it is now white and has been separated from the weapon and ammo symbols for better visual clarity.
Additionally, The Last of Us was lauded for its realistic characters who reacted to pain, and the sequel has taken this to the next step. Now, whenever Ellie gets hit by a bullet or axe, the screen shakes as if to simulate the impact, and she develops tunnel vision as if fighting to stay conscious. If Ellie survives the hit and runs, she now holds the place where she's been wounded and staggers. Other enemies react similarly if Ellie has damaged them. Other small details have been added, such as her having to pull out arrow heads or getting injured by glass spraying from a broken window. Naughty Dog's attention to these minuscule details is amazing, and their hard work makes each fight feel all the more harrowing.
The AI was always one of the first game's most groundbreaking features. Characters reacted to sound, called for backup or flanked players with lethal precision, forcing players to rely on stealth and strategies. The trailer for the upcoming game shows that human AI will be even more intelligent this time around. They move in strategic formations to flush Ellie out of hiding and work with each other to pepper her to death. While AI did fight back in the first game, they now can block melee attacks and throw Ellie with impunity. Naughty Dog has also refreshed the game by adding an expanded enemy roster including female antagonists, dogs and more bloaters. Players cannot rely solely on their previous knowledge -- they will now have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of these new enemies.
The Last of Us Part II has revealed a lot of new features for players to think about before the game releases. Some game mechanics are familiar, but there are a lot of new controls to master, so fans shouldn't worry that gameplay will be too similar to the first game. Trailers have also teased an intriguing story along with nuanced gameplay, so players can expect an immersive experience at the very least.