With Last of Us 2 on the horizon, developer Naughty Dog has decided to celebrate Outbreak Day with a free release for fans on the PS4, in the form of a brand new dynamic theme. This isn't the first theme teased out by the team over at Naughty Dog, and with the release date finally revealed by the latest Playstation State of Play, players are eager to gobble up whatever The Last of Us Part 2 content they can.
For those unaware of what Outbreak Day is, it's a community celebration of The Last of Us that Naughty Dog set to the cannon date of the cordyceps fungus hitting critical mass and the start of the first game. Fans participate every year, sharing fan art and gameplay highlights between the community and the development team.
The newest dynamic theme for The Last of Us Part II is appropriately named the "Grunge" theme, and has a somewhat dark, and almost grimy feel to it, emphasizing the gritty feeling that the series has so perfectly conveyed in the broken world. Offering somewhat of a home-movie vibe, static images crash into view with small VHS errors shifting around the edges of view as the grainy photos fade in and out of focus. It's a very stylized view of Ellie, both sternly facing the camera, as well as looking in the distance from a hiding place, all underscored by the sounds of operating some device, possibly a gun or an antique camera, and the game's main theme being softly played in the background.
This isn't the first time that Naughty Dog has given its fans a free theme. The Burning Car Theme, depicting a scene from the 2017 Paris Games Week trailer, has the same mechanical sounds in the background, all undercut by the sound of fire crackling seemingly nearby. It's another chilling display of atmosphere, perfect for getting players ready for the dark action to come in The Last of Us Part 2.
Free themes are nothing new from developers trying to reach out to fans before heavily anticipated games are released. Having the Grunge Theme arrive in the wake of the load of information that Naughty Dog has already revealed over the weekend is sure to keep fans excitement at an all-time high until The Last of Us: Remastered drops as one of Playstation Plus's free games for October to keep engagement going until The Last of Us Part 2 finally arrives.
The Last of Us Part 2 is set to release on February 21st, 2020 exclusively on the PS4.