The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us Part II is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4. It is the sequel to 2013's The Last of Us. It was announced at the PlayStation Experience event in December 2016. Set five years after the events of The Last of Us, players control an older Ellie who comes into conflict with a mysterious cult in a post-apocalyptic United States.

Development
Development of The Last of Us Part II began in 2014. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson reprise their roles as Joel and Ellie, respectively. The story is written by Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross. Gustavo Santaolalla returns to compose and perform the score. Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau are game directors; Bruce Straley, game director on The Last of Us, left Naughty Dog in 2017. The game will feature multiplayer.

The Last of Us Part II was announced at the PlayStation Experience event on December 3, 2016. The first trailer revealed the return of Ellie and Joel, whose story takes place five years after the first game; players control Ellie. Whereas the first game centers on love, Druckmann stated Part II centers on hate. Motion capture began in 2017.

The second trailer was released on October 30, 2017, as part of Paris Games Week. It revealed four new characters: Yara (played by Victoria Grace), Lev (Ian Alexander), Emily (Emily Swallow), and an unnamed character played by Laura Bailey. Druckmann stated that the characters "are integral to [Ellie and Joel's] next journey". The game was featured at Sony's E3 event on June 11, 2018.

Reception
In January 2017, PlayStation Blog awarded The Last of Us Part II in the category of Most Anticipated Game of the Year. Later that year, it won Most Wanted Game at the 2017 Golden Joystick Awards, and Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards. On July 2, 2018 the game was awarded in the category of Special Commendation for Graphics and Sound at the Game Critics Awards. While the second trailer was mostly well received, it drew some criticism for its violence. Jim Ryan, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe, defended the trailer, stating that the game is "made by adults to be played by adults". Druckmann explained: "We’re making a game about the cycle of violence and we’re making a statement about violent actions and the impact they have ... [the idea] was for the player to feel repulsed by some of the violence they are committing themselves."

The cutscene featured in the 2018 E3 presentation in which Ellie kisses another woman, Dina (Shannon Woodward), was praised for making a kiss – which is frequently considered to be difficult to animate – passionate and believable. Critics also praised the improved graphics, enemy AI, and combat.

The game was also nominated for "Most Wanted Game" at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards.