The Last of Us 2 is undeniably a dark, violent, and uncomfortable experience. At one point, it was going to be even darker, with the director and narrative lead sharing the game's original and drastically different ending. At one point, however, accessibility options that would've made the game less violent were briefly considered, mainly concerning the game's violence against dogs.
The Last of Us 2 has been lauded for its vast array of accessibility options, from camera assists, aiming assists, and features that make the game playable for those with impaired vision and even blindness. Someone on the staff suggested that one such option be provided that would allow players to not be forced to kill dogs, as well just turn off the gore in general.
This is understandable as some have a lower tolerance for gore than others. The fact that players would have to kill dogs quickly became a controversial point when GameStop listed it as a feature, upsetting those with a fondness for dogs.
While such a feature would've been greatly appreciated, the proposal was shot down by director Neil Druckmann, as he felt that giving players the option to circumvent or avoid the violence would go against the game's message and themes.
"It might be past their comfort level but it’s not like they can’t play through that. And ultimately, the game can’t shy away from the violence these characters are committing. We kind of have to lean into that because that is what the story is about. We could easily add a gore feature where you turn it off and there’s no blood when you shoot people — no dismemberment — but at some point, you start losing what this thing is and start shying too much away from the feeling that we’re after, which is, sometimes, discomfort."
Another dog-related feature that was scrapped was giving Ellie a dog companion of her own, who would be able to go under fences and fetch items. A prototype was made but, according to Druckmann, the feature didn't get very far, but it wasn't wholly abandoned, as the dog was given to the character of Mel instead.
Killing dogs is far from the only controversial aspect of The Last of Us 2. Since even before its release, opinion on the game has been split, with many praising it as the best game of the generation and others believing that it ruins the story and characters from the first game, though some of the criticisms have come from who are against the game's pro LGBT stance.
The discourse has quickly become incredibly toxic, with the game's staff being sent vitriolic comments. One of the game's voice actors has even received death threats because of the actions of her character.
The Last of Us 2 is available for the PlayStation 4.
Source: Game Informer