The retail version of the game still contains all the underlying animations and scripts for the discarded feature.
Renowned modder Speclizer has unearthed a hidden “Hold Up” mechanic within The Last of Us Part II, a tactical feature originally developed by Naughty Dog but ultimately omitted from the final release.
This gameplay element would have allowed Ellie to ambush enemies from behind and force them into submission with their hands raised. Players could then manipulate the captive’s movements, directing them where to walk or forcing them to face a specific direction. However, the interaction was designed to be volatile, as captured hostiles would eventually attempt to regain the upper hand by lunging for their weapons and resisting.
Since Naughty Dog left the unused assets and code fragments within the game files, Speclizer intends to fully restore the mechanic for players. However, he noted that the restoration process is quite labor-intensive and requires significant effort to stabilize. The upcoming mod will be exclusive to the PC version of the title, as the PlayStation 5 platform does not support third-party modifications.
Source: iXBT.games