Despite numerous controversies leading up to its release and a divisive response from fans, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us 2 has been a rousing success for the studio, quickly becoming the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive and breaking more sales records in countries like Japan. Those fans who have enjoyed the game are also continuing to dive deep into some of the sequel's more immersive mechanics, such as Ellie's freedom to play a detailed, functioning guitar.
Already a number of videos have appeared online of people using Ellie's guitar to play real songs, for instance, The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun," but one cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" uploaded to YouTube Thursday has drawn attention for good reason. Roshan Maloney's cover, which is jokingly described as "featuring Ellie" in the video's title, combines both a great rendition of the song using the in-game guitar with powerful vocals to create a lovely experience.
In fact, the cover — which is one of two videos currently uploaded to Maloney's small YouTube channel — has even garnered the attention of The Last of Us 2 Director Neil Druckmann on Twitter. Druckmann expressed shock at the quality Maloney was able to produce, saying "are you [expletive] kidding me" before praised the video for being, "So good!"
Even with this overtly positive element coming out of The Last of Us 2, going into the comments under Druckmann sharing the video on social media unearths a widely varying set of takes from people praising the game to outright hating on it. There are numerous reasons why people are mad at The Last of Us 2, yet there is also plenty to like in the game and its monetary success should speak to some of it.
That hate has also surprised Druckmann himself. On Kinda Funny Games' Last of Us 2 Spoilercast, the director told host Greg Miller that he expected people to be upset by certain elements of the game, but did not anticipate this level of fan response, particularly based on plot developments early in the game.
Without a doubt, The Last of Us 2 will go down in the annals of video game history, for good or bad, based on how much of an impact it has made on the industry. At the very least, musical performances like Maloney's cover of "Hallelujah" are inspiring to see, and fans of the series can expect more thanks to The Last of Us' upcoming HBO series.
The Last of Us 2 is available now exclusively for PS4.
Source: Twitter