The Last of Us released in 2013 to universal acclaim, with critics touting the game as a masterclass in tying the emotional narrative together with tight gameplay. What most people don't know is that The Last of Us also shipped with a multiplayer mode called 'Factions.' The multiplayer mode carries the stealth and scarce ammo from the singleplayer experience to make every encounter in the multiplayer mode as tense and stressful.
Naughty Dog recently announced that The Last of Us 2 will not have a multiplayer mode bundled in to focus on the core of the singleplayer campaign. However, they have stated that the multiplayer mode will be a stand-alone title, with details released in the future. More time in the oven means that Naughty Dog is going to try their hardest to make both experiences the best that they can be. Here's what we think should be added to the multiplayer game.
10 Keep the 'Factions' Metagame
Thematically, the first Factions mode in The Last of Us is similar to managing a group of survivors. Completing achievements and tasks, like downing a certain number of players, will net you supplies for your group of survivors. Losing too many games and not fulfilling those requirements can put your survivors at risk, and if you lose enough, you'll be forced to start over.
The goal here is to survive 12 (in-game) weeks. Due to this, multiplayer offers a certain risk of losing that's different than most games of this type, where the only thing you would stand to lose is your kills to deaths ratio.
9 Add 'Infected' Enemies
Even though the multiplayer mode of the game handled the PvP elements right, it felt as though something was missing. All of the game's titular infected characters like Clickers were nowhere to be seen.
Imagine going up against another squad, but there are Clickers in between the two teams. Team 1 throws a bottle near Team 2, causing the Clickers to shamble toward the other team. Team 2 will then have to fend off the Clickers at the risk of being engaged by Team 1 or reposition. Adding in a few Infected can add more tension and a layer of strategy to the experience.
8 Allow Executions To Be Countered
The Last of Us teaches us that we'll do anything for survival, no matter the cost. Executions are typical in most arena shooters like Gears of War or Apex Legends, but what if Naughty Dog allowed executions to be countered or button-mashed out of? Executions are risky in Factions because they award more supplies with every successful attempt, but they leave you open to attack.
The second iteration of Factions should allow you to fight your way out of execution. Instead of just playing the animation out, start a button prompt that each player has to do in order to get away or finish their enemy. Thematically, everyone in The Last of Us is fighting for their lives, why not extend that to the multiplayer mode?
7 Location-Specific Damage and Debuffs
It's a given that headshots are more effective than leg-shots, but what if those leg-shots slowed your enemy's movement until they healed? The weapons in The Last of Us are already deadly, but adding in location-specific damage could add more weight to each shot.
Bows could cause bleed damage - which will not only drain the player's health but will leave a trail of blood wherever they went. Getting hit in the chest means sprinting duration is shortened along with an audible cough and damage to the arm can hinder their use of two-handed weapons. Provided that all these debuffs can be healed.
There's a lot that Naughty Dog could add that changes the way we think about multiplayer shooters.
6 Loadouts With Playstyle Specializations
Loadouts in the first Factions had certain perks and playstyles that augmented abilities like stealth, movement, and aiming. Naughty Dog can take this a step further and add specializations. There's already support perks that allow faster healing in the first iteration, but what if the healer specialization could give reduced debuff time?
With the aforementioned location-specific damage, Naughty Dog can have breakable armor pieces for players that protect them from getting debuffed. A blacksmith specialization could let players mend armor for their teammates.
It doesn't have to be all support type roles. A tank specialization could allow a player to wear more than 1 armor piece at the cost of their movement speed.
5 Weapon Crafting Bench
Powerful weapons were also tied to your loadout. Good weapons like the 'El Diablo' can only be crafted when the player has acquired a certain amount of supplies. However, crafting an El Diablo during a multiplayer match feels silly, as if the player character crafts it out of thin air.
Add a weapon bench in each map that forces players to play around an objective in 'Supply Raid' (the limited lives Team Deathmatch mode). Cycle the location to force players to move. Of course, camping the weapon bench is a viable play, so make sure the enemy team isn't lurking about.
4 Oh No, Not Another Horde Mode
Horde Modes are a staple in the spectrum of game types. Not every mode in the multiplayer suite for The Last of Us 2 has to specifically be PvP. Adding in a cooperative PvE mode could round out the experience, giving players a chance to work together for the betterment of their survivors.
Let players hold down a building to defend against waves of Infected. In the first Factions, scenarios played out via text boxes. Sometimes those scenarios involved defending camps and it would be nice to play out those defense scenarios out instead of picking an objective and firing up the next game of Supply Raid.
3 Implement a '2vE' Mode
The Last of Us is Joel and Ellie's survival story. Why not add a multiplayer mode that emphasizes this theme?
Here's the pitch: two players queue together in a lobby of 5 other duos. The 'Joel and Ellie' duo are randomly selected - they have increased health, crafting speed, and they are the only ones with the 'listen mode' ability. The other 10 players are working together to find and eliminate the main duo team while the duo team is looking to do the same.
It could be a different take on the Battle Royale genre that changes the way we think about that genre.
2 Even a 'Battle Royale' Mode Could Work
Thematically, everything about The Last of Us screams Battle Royale. Survival, scavenging, being the last one out - are all elements that popular BR-style games are known for. The entire focus of the multiplayer shouldn't just be a BR, just a nice bonus to the generous suite of multiplayer modes.
It doesn't even have to be overly-ambitious. Scale it down to a modest 20 players and use the open-world map from the campaign. Scatter a bunch of Infected around the map. No airplane drops, no buses - the game randomly spawns you in the general area of where you pick. Emerge victoriously and an announcer proclaims "You are The Last of Us."Â
1 Add Horses
Naughty Dog has said that The Last of Us 2 is going to be significantly larger in scale. From early gameplay footage, Ellie can be seen riding on a horse. If there's going to be a battle royale mode, players are going to need faster ways to move as traversal can be quite slow for a multiplayer map that size.
Throw in a few horses, let players roam the open fields. Let players shoot from their horses. Judge the players that shoot the horses. It's all about quality horseplay. If Red Dead Redemption can do horses, then Factions can do horses.