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The Last of Us Part II gets new release date after major leaks

Director Neil Druckmann is ‘heartbroken’ but maintains that major leaks of The Last of Us Part II will not spoil the experience come release. 

Having being delayed indefinitely earlier this month, we now have an official release date for The Last of Us Part II. But was Naughty Dogs’ hand forced, and why is the game trending worldwide at the moment? 

Us unlucky folk already know exactly what’s going on. My hefty dose of spoilers came in the comments section of an MMA post on Facebook, suffice to say they’re literally everywhere. But if you’ve managed to avoid them then kudos to you. We aren’t going to get into them here. You’re safe.

What did the leaks come from?

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At the weekend, a bunch of new gameplay snippets, vital cutscenes, and developer menus emerged online from an unnamed source rumoured to be a disgruntled Naughty Dog employee, according to reports from GamesIndustry.biz. The leaks were then jumped on by gamers and compiled into extensive lists which are making the rounds on social media and internet forums. 

The original source was quickly flagged for copyright violation and was taken down, but predictably Naughty Dog’s efforts proved to be futile, and in a matter of short hours The Last of Us Part II was trending worldwide. 

We can’t glean too much from the hysteria ourselves – as we’re trying to avoid completely spoiling the game – but the general consensus surrounding Ellie’s upcoming chapter is negative… real negative.  

As I mentioned earlier, a few monstrous individuals are posting major spoilers in the comment sections of completely unrelated posts, so you may want to put a pause on your social habits for the next few days if you’re really invested in the franchise. It’s too late for me but save yourself. 

Naughty Dog’s reaction

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It was only early this month Sony announced indefinite delays to The Last of Us Part II for ‘logistical reasons’, likely relating to concern over the COVID-19 lockdown impacting sales of physical copies and their many tiers of special editions. But it appears the major leaks may have forced Naughty Dog to push the launch day forward and to bank heavily on digital sales of the PS4 exclusive.  

The game’s director Neil Druckmann took to Twitter shortly after mainstream media caught wind of the online frenzy to announce the new release date: June 19th, and to plead with fans not to spoil the release for others by spreading the leak. 

Despite mounting negativity over the story’s new direction and vital twists, Druckmann revealed that he’s confident ‘the final experience will be worth it’, no matter what people have seen or heard up to this point.

My thoughts

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Just like everyone else I’ve yet to get my hands on the game, and so my opinion may change come launch day this summer. But sat here in this moment, I don’t feel comfortable trashing a product before even giving it a chance. 

Angry fans aren’t lamenting the gameplay by any means; new snippets look as exhilarating and terrifying as the original E3 demo, it’s purely the narrative that’s got gamers’ goats despite the fact we’ve yet to see how cutscenes and gameplay elements will tie together. I maybe in the minority here, but Naughty Dog are masters of pacing, and I’m convinced they’ll deliver the requisite trauma and feels we’re all expecting from the full experience. 

As is the case with most successful franchises, it seems nostalgia is high on the agenda and people want more of the same with the new entry. When you love something, granted you don’t want its nuances to be completely torn up, but equally you have to be open minded enough to allow for fresh new ideas or a change of direction. Let’s give the sequel a chance to succeed at a minimum. 

The developers at Naughty Dog pour their heart and soul into their projects, and I’m not comfortable dismissing their work before the full product is even out. 

As far as I’m concerned, Christmas falls on June 19th this year 

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