The Last of Us 2 is nearly two years old, and that is exactly how long eager fans have been waiting to hear about which direction the franchise is headed next if a third installment is ever announced. Though it was controversial among many fans, a majority of those players appreciated The Last of Us 2 for both its narrative and its gameplay.
The Last of Us 2 kept suspenseful survival mechanics that were peppered into the original game’s action-adventure but added much more fluidity to The Last of Us's combat with a significant improvement toward graphical fidelity in character models and environmental textures. One modder has shared a gameplay video of Ellie battling a Stalker in the Hillcrest garage during Seattle Day 2. However, one visible distinction is notable that the mod is responsible for: Ellie’s hair has been changed from dark brown to a platinum blonde.
YouTuber Angel-gbc, in collaboration with texture tools provided by @smasher248, shares a mod of Ellie with texture-edited hair to make it look like she has blonde hair instead of brown hair. This may seem like a small feat, but its detail is impressive and suits the character as if it had been her natural hair color all along. Angel-gbc has been prolific on YouTube with character model mods from The Last of Us 2, with many inspired texture mods for Ellie. Further, the mod makes Ellie look even more comparable to her real-life actress, Ashley Johnson, who typically has blonde hair herself.
In Angel-gbc’s gameplay video, it does not seem like Ellie is able to take damage as she rushes head-long into combat with precise gunshots and a flurry of knife strikes. The video starts as Ellie retrieves the bow from the Stalker, and then fade-cuts to one of The Last of Us 2’s most tense combat encounters in an elaborate neighborhood full of lush overgrowth and dilapidated houses.
Angel-gbc also depicts the mechanic where players can hold off on killing an enemy in The Last of Us 2 and have them beg for their life, though this results in them eventually fighting back if players drop their guard or let them go. This sequence, like many harrowing events in The Last of Us 2's narrative, is particularly difficult due to the number of scent-tracking canines that the WLF have with them. But Angel-gbc’s video is chiefly meant to show off their blonde Ellie mod and how it looks in these moments.
The Last of Us 2 is out now on PS4.
