What would you like to see in The Last of Us multiplayer game?
Disclaimer
I’m a huge fan of the Last of Us Part I and Part II. With no hesitation, I’d say Part II is my favourite game. I also loved the HBO series, and I’m sure I’ll like Season 2 as well. This is a controversial hot take online, it seems, but I don’t share any of that to convince anyone, rather to set the stage for this discussion.Specifically, that it’d be nice to keep this discussion between:
- People who enjoy the games and spinoffs. That doesn’t mean you have to love everything about them, but you’re generally optimistic about the series.
- People that may be new to the series, but are interested in the multiplayer game.
I really dislike that I feel the need to make this disclaimer and perhaps it’s not necessary on Tildes (I’m new here). But it’s been really difficult to find a space online to discuss this series with other people who enjoy it.
I played the original PS3 version of the Last of Us, but I have never tried Factions. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, but at this point, I’m going to wait to try out the new multiplayer when it releases.
I’ve seen a few details floating around online: it’ll be set in San Francisco, have a new cast of characters, and have it’s own story.
I want to know, what kind of mechanics and story elements do you want to see make it into the multiplayer? If you played Factions, are there any stand out features that you want to see return? Do you care if it’s live service? Do you want it to have “seasons” that build on the story over time?
My Thoughts (Spoilers)
Game Mechanics
Personally, if the multiplayer has the same gameplay mechanics as Part II, it’ll already be mechanically great for me. If we see Naughty Dog continue to build on those mechanics with more weapons, executions, animations, and banter, it’ll be even better.
I really liked how they made Joel, Ellie, and Abby all feel different to play in the main games, so I hope the new cast of characters have a similar implementation. I would also love to see more variants of infected and “bosses” like the Rat King.
It could also be interesting to bring the gameplay closer to Grounded mode. That’s where I’ve felt the main games really shine, because people and the infected feel genuinely lethal. Every encounter requires some serious strategizing and equipment management. This would probably alienate too many players, but it doesn’t have to be quite as extreme as Grounded, something akin to Hard/Survivor would work as well.
What to expect from the story?
I have no idea what to expect from the story, and I think I’m open to anything Druckmann wants to do. I hope Halley Gross returns as a writer as well, because I really like what she brought to Part II.
Ultimately, I want to learn more about the infected and the Fireflies (as well as other militia groups). I hope the story also reemphasizes and builds on Ellie’s immunity (even if she’s not featured directly in the multiplayer), because I think that could help set-up Part III.
Speaking of Part III, which could easily be its own discussion. Part II’s ending was soul crushing, and I want to see Ellie have some closure. Her immunity is still the biggest mystery in this world and I don’t think she’s fully accepted or embraced it. Though we saw glimpses of that in Santa Barbara at the end of Part II. I’d love to see an older Ellie in Part III that leverages her immunity to survive in more exploitative ways.
Multiplayer Story Implementation
I’m not very familiar with multiplayer games, particularly ones that attempt to tell a story (especially with TLOU being so narratively driven). But I think seasons could be interesting if done right. It could make for some fun discussions online as new seasons are released and the community uncovers the details. I think I like the idea of an open map format with event triggers (akin to The Division 2) more than restricted lobbies and matches.
Alternatively, I’m down to see something new and innovative. Some kind of hybrid between the single player experience and scripted events, but set in a multiplayer world.
Live Service?
I would love to simply pay full price for this game and not have to see any live service components. However, I think that’s unlikely to happen. I expect there to be premium cosmetics, emotes, and executions. Especially if there’s going to be long-term support and something like seasons, because there’s really no other way to do it.
Factions was fun! It's been so long since I played it, but I love all of naughty dog's multiplayer modes Uncharted and TLoU
I loved how the slower, plodding movement that Joel had was brought over into multiplayer. Having to move yourself through the environment carefully was always a really fun aspect, avoiding running or glass to flank the other team.
If they do bring it back, I hope ranged weapons or ammo becomes more scarce. I remember vaguely being sort of disappointed that so many fights devolved into firefights when so much of the last of us was counting bullets, stealth, and melee. And I don't remember if there were zombies in Factions, but having NPC 3rd parties would be a fun mix up I think. 2 players hunting each other in the midst of an enemy base, a field of those bow and arrow guys from part 2, or a nest of zombies would be really fun. Hiding from the NPCs first, hunting the enemy players second.
Yes, definitely! I think cutting down the availability of ammo is in line with bringing the game closer to the harder difficulty modes in the main games. I think in general it would push players towards more strategic play styles.
The environmental aspects (e.g. glass on the ground, dogs, breakable windows, etc) are another thing I hope makes it into this new multiplayer game. I also like the idea of incorporating NPCs into the mix and I hope that is the case, both for the story and gameplay.
I'd like to see a 2-player mode where you only get a victory if you survive the horde and the other player.
Have it encourage co-operative play alongside the versus, so the players have to balance their need to take out the other player with a temporary alliance to survive the horde.
Maybe even have 2 levels of victory, where going full co-op gets you some XP or whatever, but being the lone survivor gets you more.
This is a really cool idea!
I think a series of events that are co-op against some enemies (hordes, infected, militia) before moving into a more confined space to fight one another (similar to the Ellie vs Abby fight) would be quite neat.
I honestly don't want one. I feel like the draw of TLoU was the story, which was meticulously arranged to give an amazing (and controlled) experience.
I would argue the same for the Uncharted series, and to a lesser extend the new Tomb Raider series.
In my opinion, games like these don't benefit or need multiplayer because it doesn't fit the story or playstyle the game designers wanted from the beginning, and the feel of the game.
If I wanted a "TLoU-like" multiplayer I'd play The Division (which I played a lot) or something designed specifically for multiplayer.
But the first game already had an excellent multiplayer, and it was fairly unique compared to most other games including the Division. It wasn't merely some tacked on experience like many others, nor was Uncharted 4's multiplayer (their most recent). It was as well considered as the single player campaign.
The story is largely irrelevant but the settings and atmosphere was preserved, and the multiplayer modes for both these games fit the playstyles established by the single player campaigns (especially U4's swinging mechanics, which were new to the series and really added something unique to the miltiplayer).
This isn't some situation where they're tacking on a multiplayer last minute and developed by a whole other company like Bioshock 2 or Doom 2016. Naughty Dog have a surprisingly good track record of multiplayer modes with their games.
I would argue that this game is already being built from the ground up for multiplayer. I know quite a few of the concept artists working on the project, and I think there’s a lot of excitement about what can be done with the mechanics and within TLOUs world in a standalone multiplayer game. Granted, that doesn’t mean everyone will like it when it releases, but it’s always cool to see studios try new things.