The Last of Us 2: Neil Druckmann had planned a much more macabre ending, explanations (spoils)

No one has missed it: The Last of Us Part 2 is a dark and violent story game, which has not failed some people to point the finger at it for its scenes deemed to be shocking. That said, for a game whose storyline portrays a post-apo world where survival is the leitmotif, this violence has a believable and authentic resonance. That being said, in reality, the title developed by Naughty Dog could have ended on a much more macabre note than that offered in the game. It was indeed during a podcast with the Game Informer team that we learned that Neil Druckmann had other projects for the character of Abby in particular. As we know, during the final fight between Ellie and Abby, Ellie manages to overcome her demons and let Abby live despite this visceral hatred that has inhabited her throughout her revenge process. Halley Gross, who co-wrote the story of The Last of Us 2 alongside Neil Druckmann, reveals that upon arriving at Naught Dog, it was decided otherwise. Ellie was indeed to kill Abby at the end of the game, and somehow give satisfaction to the players who would be shocked by the death so violent of Joel.

When I signed, a lot of things were similar to the final rendering. We tested a lot of versions on the last act, but it was known that in the end, Ellie kills Abby. It was halfway through production that we changed that, and Ellie ends up dropping it, in order to show us that there’s a part of the old Ellie in her, the Ellie with her humanity, the Ellie who has. been influenced by Joel, this character still exists despite this mad desire for revenge.

This change of direction came when the writers discussed the fate of Lev and Yara, and they were not yet sure which one or the other should die or stay alive. It wasn’t until it was decided that Lev would stay alive that Neil Druckmann came up with this idea of ​​letting Abby live, so Ellie couldn’t go through with her revenge. For Naughty Dog, it was the best decision possible and it also allowed to offer more possibilities and to leave the door open for a third episode.

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