It's hard to think of many games that have had as significant a cultural impact as Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, and while it's not been confirmed yet fans are dying to see where The Last of Us 3 takes them. From its reimagining of zombie tropes to its devastating emotional stakes, The Last of Us felt like a seismic shift in gaming that has affected many releases since and has also helped set the bar for video game adaptions. The Last of Us and its equally award-winning sequel brought many fresh ideas to the action-adventure survival horror genre, but future entries could afford to make some changes.
Centering a game around two main characters is nothing new. Still, thanks to The Last of Us' compelling story and voice acting, the two-protagonist dynamic was the perfect foundation for the influential narrative. Perhaps due to The Last of Us' success, many video games that have been released since have had a similar character setup. While this remains a popular go-to dynamic, future installments that expand The Last of Us universe further could pursue something a little different to make sure they stand apart.
The Last Of Us Character Dynamic
When The Last of Us burst onto the scene in 2013, many were unsurprised that it soon achieved universal acclaim. From performances that got right under players' skin to a bleak new world that didn't feel too far away from gamers' own, many agree that Naughty Dog's action-adventure game was a masterpiece.
Since it was launched, players have seen similar AAA titles that also contained the parent-kid dynamic, even if they put their own spin on it. Joel and Ellie's relationship is central to the entire story of The Last of Us, and the taciturn but over-protective adult with the troublesome charge to look after was a formula that subsequent games such as 2018's God Of War also revolved their stories around.
This protector or mentor relationship is something that has cropped up again and again in recent years, in everything from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to A Plague Tale: Innocence. It's undoubtedly a narrative approach that works and can be an effective shortcut to inject emotional weight into an action-focused game, but it might be getting a little overused. Players have experienced it in both of its guises in Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic series, from Joel's point of view in the first game and then from Ellie's in The Last of Us Part 2, and many are hoping future installments can mix this up a bit.
The Future For Last Of Us Protagonists
Fans already know that they're getting a multiplayer game set in the world of The Last of Us, but the as-yet-untitled game is still a mystery at this point. This will be the developer's first standalone multiplayer project, and thanks to its expansion of the IP many players are already incredibly excited for it. The game will feature new locations and characters, so it's safe to assume it's taking the action away from Ellie and the faces gamers are already familiar with. However, some fans are more concerned with the continuation of the mainline franchise's story and where The Last of Us 3 might be headed.
Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann has spoken about the possibility of The Last of Us 3 before, but no official news has been released just yet. Regardless, fans have lots of ideas of what they want the next game to contain, and new protagonists are just one feature on a very long list. Moving the story away from this overly-familiar duo dynamic that characterized the first two games in so many ways would let future installments chart their own course, creating something original not just from The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2, but also from other AAA titles that have followed in Naughty Dog's footsteps.
The Last of Us 3 is rumored to be in development.