Grave Gamer News & Views — tlou

Fan art or potential Last of Us 2 concept art? It’s actually fan art done by the game’s concept artist! Which means… well, it means it’s still fan art. Hopefully the fact that it’s an exceptional piece of artwork will distract you from the pit of despair that’s opened within you.

Sir Marek Okon is the artiste behind what he refers to as an “homage to one of the best games I’ve ever played.” He even has a cool background story to accompany the image of an older (and much more musical) Ellie.

Our favorite post-apocalypter has become somewhat of a myth thanks to far-reaching rumors of a girl immune to the fungal infection that’s wiped out our population. Because of this, a woman at the verge of hope and desperation hunts Ellie down, seeking a cure for her own loved ones.

Still braver and wiser beyond her years. Marek Okon’s fanart is incredible – I’d play it. pic.twitter.com/LhuQiWQiJb

— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann)

May 6, 2014

Pretty mighty stamp of approval when the game’s creator gives the thumbs up to your concept.

Daughters by DrawingisLife92

Happy belated Outbreak Day.

Clicker In Bloom by Natasha DSaville

The Last of Us is Selling Like There’s No Tomorrow

For a game that many admit makes them cry within the first fifteen minutes, it is surely putting up its dukes at retail.

With 3.4 million boxed and digital copies sold in the three weeks since its release, Sony confirms The Last of Us is the fastest selling PlayStation 3 title of 2013.

I’m incapable of being surprised by this news.  I’ve quickly called it one of my favorite games of all time and a modern masterwork of interactive storytelling.  Naughty Dog, I even picked out a plump box quote from my review for your inevitable Game of the Year Edition: “It’s fucking awesome.  It’s really just so very fucking awesome.”

‘Course, the end of the world is far from over as the game’s newly formed legion of instant fans still have story-based DLC roving their way in the near future.  Plus, with numbers like that, you can bet Sony isn’t keen on letting The Last of Us stand alone for long…

Naughty Dog: “There Are People in the Studio That Would Love to Come Back to These Characters”

So.  What does having one of the most widely beloved and critically acclaimed games of this generation get you?  “A sequel,” screamed every publisher on the face of the planet loud enough to sunder it.

That’d be the traditional school of thought.  Like Hollywood, the gaming industry no longer puts their chips behind one-off, difficult to market affairs.  Every time a new IP is born, publishers typically bank on it becoming an overnight franchise.  But The Last of Us isn’t your typical IP.  I saw something incredibly special and engrossing in the game and, more than apparently, I’m not alone.  It’s a unique title with an ephemeral quality I sincerely doubt a sequel could replicate.

But does developer Naughty Dog feel the same?  The game’s creative director and scribe, Neil Druckmann really doesn’t mind if a follow up never gets off the ground.  “We were very conscious that we didn’t want to leave this story dangling,” said Druckmann to PlayStation blog.  “If we never do a sequel, we’re okay with it because we told the story we needed to tell.”

Fair enough.  A masterpiece usually doesn’t finish with “To Be Continued…” (unless we’re talking about Back to the Future, but I shouldn’t even have to spout such universally known facts).  Speaking to Kotaku, however, The Last of Us sounds more like a misnomer than anything, with Druckmann stressing that this one journey – referring to the central plot set up in this game – is complete for Joel and Ellie, yet the rest of his team isn’t against further Cordyceps-tactular misadventures.

“…As far as whether we come back to Joel and Ellie or not, or whether we come back to the world or not, that’s all up in the air,” said the writer.  “I can tell you there are people in the studio that would love to come back to these characters, but the only way we would do it would be if we had something new, something meaningful to say.  Because the last thing we would want to do is repeat ourselves.”

I found the end of Joel and Ellie’s narrative deeply satisfying, but truth be told – and this is a lightweight spoiler – the finale does leave a wide enough door open for a continuation.  Does it need it?  Hell, no.  Would I be against revisiting two of the most roundly developed and engaging characters in video game history?  Hell, no.

Until The Next to Last of Us is a reality, fans of the instant classic are able to look forward to single-player DLC focusing on a side-story that Naughty Dog assures us will reveal more about the characters and the post-apocalyptic world they struggle to stay alive in.