Following the events around Ellie discovering she has an immunity to Cordyceps, The Last of Us' Left Behind DLC was a well-received and self-contained narrative that added context to the main game without relying too much on it. PlayStation's other first-party studios would do well to take a cue from Naughty Dog and The Last of Us for their hit franchises.
Nearly three years on from the 2020 release of The Last of Us 2, and hot off the heels of its critically acclaimed HBO television adaption, anticipation for the next chapter in Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic franchise is at an all-time high. A multiplayer title set in the world of The Last of Us was teased at Summer Game Fest 2022, but Naughty Dog has been tight-lipped on the title ever since. Nothing has been announced regarding a potential add-on for The Last of Us 2, but there are a ton of avenues Naughty Dog could explore if it went down that road.
The Last of Us' Expansion Strategy
Left Behind was the follow-up DLC to 2013's The Last of Us, which explored a formative moment for its pivotal character, Ellie. The three-to-four hour vignette honed in on filling out backstory and providing a strong sense of pathos for Ellie, which carried over to the base game. Left Behind had players battle for medical supplies while Joel was deposed during the Colorado winter, but its main draw was the flashback portion that introduced fans to Ellie's ill-fated best friend, Riley, as they explored a dilapidated shopping mall. Its placement between main acts in the story of The Last of Us, while still being a standalone experience, was a bold choice that more studios should emulate.
PlayStation's suite of first-party studios are no stranger to post-launch support for its games. On April 19, Horizon Forbidden West will release its Burning Shores DLC, which will have Aloy explore a ruined Los Angeles. Between season passes, content updates, and full-fledged expansions, Sony's studios are well-versed in keeping players busy for hours beyond their release dates. God of War Ragnarok recently dropped a New Game Plus update, timed well for fans eyeing a fresh playthrough. While adding onto a game's foundation is a welcome strategy, there is an untapped potential in going the way of Naughty Dog.
More PlayStation Games Would Benefit From Naughty Dog's Strategy
While an expansion that served as a continuation to the story in God of War Ragnarok would come as celebrated news to fans, a better choice might be a side-story - or even a prequel - featuring auxiliary characters. The way Left Behind provided a detour in The Last of Us while adding emotional depth to its characters could do just as well in the God of War universe. An expansion focusing on Thor and his daughter Thrudd could be a fascinating side journey with a relevant contrast between Kratos and Atreus's relationship, for example. Instead of Aloy embarking on another quest to a new and dangerous land in the Horizon series, perhaps its next DLC should focus on the distant past, perhaps featuring the feud between Ted Faro and Elisabet Sobeck.
The Left Behind DLC for The Last of Us shows that not all additions to games have to just be more of the same. The PlayStation titles set to release in the years to come, as well as those already out, would benefit tremendously from smaller, intimate-focused DLC expansions that explore characters, settings, and themes removed from their base games.
The Last of Us Part 1 is available now on PC and PS5.