The highly anticipated The Last of Us Part II finally landed in gamers' hands after seven years of waiting on June 19, 2020. The single-player is incredibly expansive in both its plot and gameplay. Taking between twenty and thirty hours to complete, the game covers several days between two main characters, feeling almost like two games glued together into one experience.
Even with all this content, so much still ended up on the cutting room floor. The following list details ten important things the developers planned on doing or made before deciding the game was better off without them. While some of these would have been cool to see, the final product is considered a masterpiece by many.
10 Dog
Surprisingly, Dogs play a role in the game, mostly as victims of Ellie's brutality. The team debated whether or not to let the player bypass the violence against man's best friend, but they ultimately decided against it in the name of the narrative.
Ellie was also initially planned to have a dog companion who would have helped dispatch enemies and find items before this idea morphed into Alice, the WLF dog.
9 The Player Saw Ellie Torture Nora
One of the most brutal scenes earlier in the game sees Ellie torture Nora with a pipe in order to learn of Abby's location. The camera focuses on Ellie as she swings the pipe and the player sees blood spray onto her.
In a Game Informer interview, Neil Druckmann reveals how the player was originally to see the damage the protagonist does to Nora, but the team thought the violence was too grotesque and decided it was just as effective to see Ellie's reaction to the killing.
8 The Dance Scene Was Longer And Interactive
One trailer detailed a dance in Jackson where Dina and Ellie share a kiss. This scene plays near the end of the game, a surprising discovery considering how everybody already saw it in promotional materials.
One time during development, the crucial moment was to be entirely interactive, allowing the player to walk around and talk with residents of Jackson. The scene ultimately gets the same point across without being playable.
7 Eugene's Grow House
While on patrol in Jackson, Dina and Ellie find Eugene's grow house and share an intimate moment while smoking. The scene is playful and shows the two's relationship in a carefree manner.
Originally, this scene was to include a serious conversation about Ellie's fears regarding relationships. This moment was moved to later in the game in order to show the romance without conflict before introducing emotional complexity between the two.
6 Isaac Flashback Sequence
Some players are confused as to why Isaac is so forgiving to Abby despite his maniacal nature. He tortures people without hesitation but is cautious to kill Abby when he finds her with Yara.
Laura Bailey revealed in a Kinda Funny interview that some flashback sequences planned for the game explained Isaac's deeper connection to Abby. He was a Firefly who knew Abby's father.
5 The Opening Moments Of Seattle Were More Lighthearted
The game has few moments of levity, most of which are reserved for interactions between Lev and Abby. Ellie and Dina's entrance into Seattle was also supposed to be more lighthearted.
Halley Gross explains in the aforementioned Game Informer interview that the two would have been on the road for weeks by then and their playfulness would have reflected their comfort with each other, but it did not feel appropriate for the player. It makes sense, considering Joel only died an hour or so beforehand for gamers.
4 Five Days Instead Of Three
The bulk of the game takes place over three days in Seattle, first going through the events as Ellie and then as Abby immediately afterward. This is long enough on its own, but at a time the player was to spend five days with each character.
For the sake of pacing and including only what was necessary for the story, the Seattle section was cut down to three days. Even with three days, some still consider the story overly-drawn out.
3 Ellie Going To Haven
In the finished product, players only see the Seraphites' home in the midst of complete destruction. One cut segment from the game saw Ellie crash on the island and go through the cult's dwellings before the WLF launch their attack.
The player would have seen how the enigmatic group lived and operated on a day to day basis, but the team felt it slowed down the overall story. As important as Seraphites are, the story is ultimately about the conflict between Abby and Ellie.
2 Esther
Back in Jackson, Joel was intended to have a girlfriend named Esther. She was to live near the dam in Jackson and Joel would visit her occasionally.
A flashback scene would have seen Ellie and Joel visit her house to find it overrun with infected. The two would find her with a bite and the player would hear a gunshot, unsure if she ended her own life or if Joel did.
1 Ellie Killed Abby
Many gamers felt cheated when Abby survived. They will feel even more enraged when they learn Ellie was intended to kill Abby during their final fistfight by the boats in Santa Barbara.
Only through further discussions about the ending did it change to letting Abby live. While it robs some of the catharsis, letting Abby live implies that some humanity and hope exists for Ellie.