At E3 2018 we saw one of the best gameplay trailers in The Last of Us 2, it is so good that some thought it is a fake. The concerns spread soon after the trailer went live and downgrade speculations started flying. But thankfully, Naughty Dog has assured the community there is no downgrade planned for The Last of Us 2.
According to level designer Emilia Schatz, the studio is trying hard to make sure what was shown at E3 is representative of the final product. Speaking in a recent interview, Emilia Schatz shut down rumors of the demo being fake and said it was indeed running on a PS4 Pro in real-time. However, since they are still working on the game, the demo MAY see some changes before the final game roles out.
The rumor of it being fake surfaced when Shadow of the Tomb Raider developer posted on social media. He was among the first ones to accuse The Last of Us 2 demo of being fake. Any demo that’s shown before release ends up seeing some changes before release. The demo was so good and well crafted that it led to some calling it fake.
And changes don’t necessarily mean downgrade; they can be made to gameplay, animations, and other aspects for the betterment of the overall product. The new movement animations and gameplay mechanics look good so we hope they make it to the final game.
Another concern about the game is regarding Joel being a no-show. We have only seen Ellie fight her way to survival in The Last of Us 2 which gave rise to speculations for Joel’s demise. But according to Schatz, they are at a point where they can only show Ellie. Her comment doesn’t do anything to confirm or deny Joel’s death.
Where we are in development, we can only show Ellie as a playable character. This may change in the future, but I can not say more for the moment. There are still many things about the game that have not been revealed.
The Last of Us 2 is releasing in the next two years for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro. More of the game should be shown during December’s PlayStation Experience.
