The Last of Us 2 tells a brand new story which focuses on Ellie rather than Joel, but in some ways, it is also a commentary on the happenings in the previous title. This is made clear by the very first thing players see in the game's intro cutscene, a shot of Joel cleaning a guitar. This and the scenes that follow all are reminiscent of the prologue to the original The Last of Us, and this parallelism helps to cement some of the game's core themes in the minds of its players more effectively. MASSIVE SPOILERS for The Last of Us 2 ahead.
For those that may not have played the first game, or simply don't remember the beginning of it, The Last of Us starts out with a shot of Sarah, Joel's daughter, sleeping on the couch. This is a time before the outbreak which resulted in infected people roaming the land. Throughout the entirety of the prologue sequence, players control Sarah rather than Joel, and it isn't until after a time skip that Joel truly becomes the main focus of both the story and the player themselves. There are some obvious parallels between this and The Last of Us 2.
The Last of Us 2 - Who's The Main Character?
The question above is rhetorical, as anyone who knows anything about this title should be able to say that Ellie is clearly the main character, but the game's intro poses this query nonetheless. Just as in the first game, when players controlled Sarah for the prologue, players control Joel for a short while before switching over to Ellie. This has a slightly different effect since fans are familiar with Joel's character already, but it works well to provide a familiar feeling to the game's intro.
While this intro cutscene is much shorter than The Last of Us' prologue, it follows the same pattern. Joel is the playable character until a four year time skip reintroduces fans to a much more grown up Ellie. This time skip parallels the 20 year time skip from the first game, and it becomes clear that things have changed quite a bit. Joel and Ellie's relationship already seemed much more awkward during the intro cutscene, and things are obviously not right after the time skip either.
The Last of Us 2 - Time Skip
The Last of Us has always made great use of time skips in its stories, and the same can be said here about The Last of Us 2. In the first game, the largest and most notable one was at the very beginning, when it is revealed that the game will be taking place 20 years after the initial infection. Throughout the story, smaller time skips crop up between each season which allow the player to get through the pair's year worth of travel while only experiencing the truly impactful moments. A similar strategy is used here in The Last of Us 2, although it takes a slightly different form this time.
The initial time skip of The Last of Us 2 seems to skip over some pretty important details, many of which have been previously shown in trailers, including Dina and Ellie's kiss. In this case, the time skip accomplishes its previous function while also providing some mystery about where things are between Ellie and the people in her life, Joel included. Continuing on through The Last of Us 2 provides answers to a lot of the questions that the beginning poses, so it will be interesting to see how fans react to the rest of the game and whether or not they'll find any other parallels.
The Last of Us 2 is available now exclusively for PS4.