Despite the controversies surrounding its release, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us 2 has become the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive game and it continues to break records around the world. Many have decried the game for various reasons, but others have grown attached to it and are producing pieces of art or media of their own to celebrate. For instance, one fan created an impressive rendition of its main character, Ellie, in the style of FromSoftware's Bloodborne.
Twitter user Izzums uploaded the drawing of Ellie as a hunter to the social media site on Sunday, and it has received nearly 7,000 likes and over 100 comments as of this writing — an impressive feat for an account currently hosting only 41 followers. About a week earlier, the user posted their thoughts on The Last of Us 2, saying it was "absolutely thought-provoking" and had "phenomenal storytelling" before asking when fans can expect a third entry.
While director Neil Druckmann has confirmed there are no plans for The Last of Us 2 DLC expansions, a potential The Last of Us 3 is still on the table, though it is unlikely to happen anytime soon if at all. It's also certain that the game would have nothing to do with the 2015 gothic, victorian action RPG despite how impressive Izzums' fan art may be.
There are also currently no announced plans for a Bloodborne 2 out of FromSoftware, though a ground-up remake of their older title Demon's Souls was confirmed to be coming to PlayStation 5 during Sony's "Future of Gaming" event earlier this month. At the same time, rumors have suggested that the original Bloodborne may be ported to PC and PS5 as well, though again with no official word on the matter.
As successful as Naughty Dog's latest release has been, its controversies have extended beyond disapproval of story elements into more general criticisms of the video game industry as a whole. The Last of Us 2 was rather infamously a labor of intensive crunch on behalf of its developers, which have led to questions about the ethics of pushing employees so hard to make what some consider groundbreaking art.
Regardless of this ethical question, the game has released and has clearly resonated with fans like Izzums, whose own art is a testament to that connection. That they used the Bloodborne art style makes sense, as the game has also resonated widely in gaming circles and led to many inspired titles like Morbid: The Seven Acolytes.
The Last of Us 2 is available now on PS4.