The Last of Us Part 2's World Is So Big That Players Might Miss Entire Story Moments

Some new insights into the gameplay of The Last of Us Part II shared by the developers in an [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

Some new insights into the gameplay of The Last of Us Part II shared by the developers in an ongoing video series has given some perspective on just how large the game's world is. The world's levels are apparently so large now that there are entire scripted sequences and story moments that players may totally overlook if they're not exploring thoroughly. The Last of Us Part II co-game director Anthony Newman said Naughty Dog realizes that some players may never even see those moments, but such events are there to add to the experience and make players feel as though things are happening because of their actions.

Newman spoke about The Last of Us Part II at length along with others from Naughty Dog as the developers shared new thoughts on the gameplay features built into the new game. With Ellie having new mechanics to use like going prone and crawling through the grass or jumping on command, Naughty Dog had room to create more intricate levels to fuel exploration and provide new combat options.

"So when it came to our level design, we really wanted to challenge ourselves to make a world that really felt like a real space as much as we possibly could and didn't feel like a series of combat encounters and explorations spaces and combat encounters that felt like a Hall of Horrors or something, but something that really felt like you could explore, that seemed like a legitimate urban environment," Newman said.

Those goals led Naughty Dog to expand the world of the game beyond that of The Last of Us. It's large enough now that there "are actually entire story moments, entire combat encounters" including fully scripted sequences that players might not come across at all.

Even though some players might not find all the moments in their first playthrough or at all, the developers hope that coming across those moments will add to the game's charm.

"And there are things that we feel like … even though the portion of our player base may never see these things, the fact that when you do encounter them you feel like you discovered them, it lends them this charm and this magic that I think is unique to games, that 'This happened to me because of what I did and what the place I explored to.'"

This video was the second part in an ongoing series of The Last of Us Part II insights following the first which was shared last week. More are to come to cover different parts of the game, so expect to see those before the game releases next month.

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