The Last of Us 2 is an improvement over all of the mechanics and features of the first game. Apart from the visuals and gameplay, Naughty Dog has also ensured players that the world itself is larger and more immersive.
We saw a lot of the explorable world during the recent State of Play for The Last of Us 2. It was impressive to see Ellie have more freedom when it comes to traveling, but there might be some things that the players may have missed out on the first time watching the trailers. Here’s what we know about the world so far.
It’s the biggest
According to the developers, The Last of Us 2 features the largest environments in any of the games they’ve created. This means a lot as the areas in Uncharted 4 are large as well. This size includes the game’s vertical reaches as Ellie can climb ledges now. She can also use ropes to go down caves and tunnels.
The areas are so big, Ellie will need to use a horse to travel to and from some places. While walking is an option all the time, the horses will help Ellie get through the long walks much safer.
Another big improvement is that this time around, Ellie can swim. Fans of the first game know that Ellie wasn’t able to swim, which meant Joel had to find a way to get her around bodies of water. Now, she can traverse shallow areas on her own, and this adds a new depth to the game as well.
A lot of secrets
Ellie can now jump and crawl under spaces. This has a lot of implications for combat and stealth, but the developers say that this also allowed them to store a lot of secrets for players to explore in the game. Players will be rewarded by snooping around confined areas, and this could mean getting access to upgrades, secrets, and more.
The secrets could also be hidden stories and combat encounters. There are many of these to witness, and some of the things that players may see might not be seen by others playing the game. As such, Naughty Dog recommends playing the game more than once so players can see everything.
The Last of Us 2 releases on June 19 for the PlayStation 4. There may be a lot of controversy surrounding the game due to the leaks, but Naughty Dog is steadfast in saying that the game is best experienced firsthand.
Image used courtesy of Naughty Dog/YouTube