The Last of Us Part Two adds Westworld writer Halley Gross to its team, while creative director Neil Druckmann says that the game's story will be 'intense'.
At PlayStation Experience 2016, developer Naughty Dog wowed gamers by officially announcing The Last of Us Part Two. The game's creative director Neil Druckmann also confirmed that Ellie would be the main protagonist and that The Last of Us Part Two is a story about hatred.
While there aren't much more details to go on regarding the game's story, on Twitter, Druckmann confirmed that The Last of Us Part Two's story is "intense." Druckmann also said that he "can't wait to share more of the story" with fans, but with the game in early development, it's currently unclear just when more details on the narrative will be shared.
Moreover, Druckmann said that Halley Gross is his "kickass co-writer" on the upcoming game. Gross is best known for working on HBO's hit television Westworld, having written the episodes Trompe L'Oeil and The Adversary and having been a story editor on the episodes Chestnut and The Stray.
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While it's unclear if The Last of Us Part Two is inspired by Westworld, it wouldn't be the first game to take ideas from the show and vice versa. Westworld took inspiration from GTA and BioShock, while Hideo Kojima has said that the show features an 'exact theory' of his game design. If Part Two was to go in a similar vein, it would certainly be interesting, if not incredibly divisive.
No matter what The Last of Us Part Two team looks to for ideas, it will have a big job on its hands. Druckmann has already had to address concerns that Part Two won't live up to its predecessor, as fans of the original game have expressed doubts that it will be able to deliver a better story than the emotional tale of The Last of Us.
Fans' doubts also stem from the decision to bring back Ellie as a playable character (the game also features Joel in some capacity, according to the announcement trailer) and some are unsure that there's more that can be said on these characters and that the series wouldn't be better off if other characters took their place.
Undoubtedly, The Last of Us Part Two team wouldn't go ahead with the game at all if it didn't think that it had something incredible to offer, especially as the studio is aware of how highly gamers regard the first game. But the concerns held by fans are understandable and they are unlikely to go away until Druckmann and co. share more of the game's story as promised so hopefully they'll deliver on that front soon.
The Last of Us Part Two is in development for PS4.