The Last of Us 2 is a game that is simply overflowing with details in its character models, environments, and everywhere else. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that new discoveries are still being made to this day, with one fan sharing a neat attention to detail regarding Joel's cassette for Ellie during The Last of Us 2's museum flashback.
When it launched at the end of the PS4's lifespan, The Last of Us 2 was arguably the best-looking and most environmentally dense game to grace the console. Practically every area of the game managed to tell its own story in thanks to subtle details like discarded clothes and relics of former camps. Furthermore, The Last of Us 2's narrative priority results in many clever secrets that eagle-eyed players can spot on subsequent playthroughs, like how JJ opens his eyes when Ellie isn't looking at him. Current rumors suggest fans will have another chance to dive into the game as The Last of Us 2: Director's Cut is in the works.
Reddit user ImAFlyingShark recently shared an incredible observation players can find in The Last of Us 2's birthday flashback with Ellie and Joel. The highlight of the level is a beautiful sequence where Ellie envisions herself as an astronaut thanks to a cassette recording of a rocket launch that Joel gifts her. During this event's cutscene, Joel pulls the tape out of his shirt pocket, and as ImAFlyingShark's post shows, players can see the cassette beforehand by angling the camera properly. Players likely won't think anything of the detail if noticing it on their first playthrough, but after the fact it is another example of Naughty Dog's impressive attention to detail.
Many in the comments of ImAFlyingShark's post thank them for sharing, but the larger conversation pertains to the suspension of disbelief required for The Last of Us 2's story to work.
For example, this level starts with Joel and Ellie swimming their way to the museum, which if this was the real world, would ruin both the cassette tape and Sony Walkman they use to play it on. A larger instance of this would be how unrealistic The Last of Us 2's gory combat is, with Ellie and Abby able to heal their litany of stab wounds and bullet holes with simply a bandage.
So even if this detail might threaten one's immersion (hopefully only mildly), it is nonetheless an interesting one. It may not have the hilarity of The Last of Us 2's indestructible PS3 consoles or when Whitney's PS Vita shows the text, "You're dead," after Ellie kills her, but its relation to one of the game's more poignant moments makes it special. It would conversely be a bit disappointing if after knowing Joel takes the tape out of that pocket, that it actually wasn't there during the level.
The Last of Us 2 is available on PS4.