The first leaks and rumors about Naughty Dog’s The Last Of Us Part III are dripping through the cracks in the internet, though big details like a release date, screenshots, game footage and so forth remain under wraps.
These are actually fairly tame leaks, and I hope we don’t find ourselves in a situation similar to the ramp up to The Last Of Us Part II, when huge chunks of the game including basically its entire story leaked prior to release, causing Sony to crack down with brute force on anyone even discussing the game online, and massive uproar.
In any case, according to leaker DanielRPK, (at least) five new named characters are being introduced in Part III. These are a group of “scavengers” using a Victorian house as their base of operations. They include:
- Lucas — An “affable” character who “develops a relationship with another young scavenger and will have a turn to show his dark side” (because it’s The Last Of Us and so of course we must see the dark side in everybody!)
- Mason — A former solder who must “choose between his loyalty to Ezra and the house” when Val gets put in charge.
- Val — The female leader of the group.
- Ezra — A guy who wants to take over the house from Val.
- Gracie — A young woman.
The scavengers live on the outskirts of a post-apocalyptic city, though which city remains to be seen. Meanwhile, leaker ViewerAnon says that Ellie is “at least as important in LAST OF US PART III as she was in PART II”
He adds that “Major filming is happening this year” which, I suppose, means major filming of actors doing motion capture for the game.
Notably absent from any of these early, early (very, very early) leaks is Abby, by far the most divisive and controversial character in just about any video game ever made, but certainly in The Last Of Us Part II. That doesn’t mean Abby won’t be in the third game—I’d be shocked if she wasn’t—but wouldn’t it be wild if Naughty Dog just let her story end with Part II and picked back up with Ellie and an all-new adventure.
If the first game was about love and the second game was about hate, what will the third game be about? Perhaps the intersection of the two: Bored indifference. We shall see.
What are you hoping for in The Last Of Us Part III? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.
You can read my review of The Last Of Us Part II right here.
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