The Last of Us stands as one of the most successful and popular first party IPs on the PlayStation platform, with two award winning installments already released so far. It was known that Naughty Dog is already working on a multiplayer focused The Last of Us game, but a recent leak had surprising information about plans for the future. Supposedly, Sony intends to remake the original The Last of Us game for the PS5, revamping it to take advantage of the capabilities inside Sony's latest home console.
While this rumored remake isn't necessarily the worst possible outcome for the franchise, many have already been swift to state how this is a bizarre direction, and a tad redundant as well. The Last of Us isn't even a decade old yet, and having been released at the end of the PS3's life cycle, still doesn't look or play that bad. Of course, this potential remake would help improve various aspects of the game, but many still feel that the original is perfectly fine as it is. The remake is already controversial as it is, but there is a potential inclusion that could garner an even further mixed reception upon release.
The Standalone Abby DLC
Although critically acclaimed and considered one of the best games on PS4, The Last of Us 2 still managed to stir up a fair deal of dispute when it launched last year. One of the most controversial subjects was the inclusion of the new protagonist Abby, the character who ultimately kills Joel and is controlled by the player for a significant portion of the game. Her arc and behavior as a character just didn't resonate with many players, with some taking that hate too far.
For some, the additional rumors of a standalone Abby story DLC was like pouring salt in the wound, but that's obviously a personal thing. As many loved her who hated her, and she's undeniably an important of the story overall. All that aside, regardless of whether or not it aggravates a pocket of players, game development is not an easy venture, and can take numerous hours of effort and gigantic budgets to support the projects. These games are a commitment, with long term plans and extreme dedication from the teams to see things through to completion.
It's for this reason that the aforementioned remake of The Last of Us may be seen as an opportunity by Naughty Dog to make good use of this planned Abby DLC. Just as quickly as there were rumors of its existence, there were even more whispers that the Abby DLC may have been cancelled for unknown reasons. Still, if the project does exist, a considerable amount of work must have already been done for it, which would be a waste to just throw away. Now that the dust has settled surrounding the controversial narrative in The Last of Us 2, the studio may see a good window in the rumored remake to introduce this planned Abby DLC.
Changing The Past
The remake for The Last of Us would surely benefit the title with improved graphics and tweaks to the gameplay, but one aspect that many may argue should be left alone is the storyline. The journey of Joel and Ellie travelling across a post apocalypse United States has become an iconic video game narrative, and touched many player's hearts with its tragic themes of loss and love. The original game had DLC of its own as well with Left Behind, a short side story that further explored Ellie's relationship with Riley, a close friend she loses prior to meeting Joel. This story DLC (like many others across the medium) build off established concepts and story beats introduced in the main game, then further flesh them out
The Abby DLC could be added on to show another side of those events, or it could be that it's offered as some sort of pre-order incentive. This is the most obvious possibility, but there is the chance that Naughty Dog does something much more unprecedented and shocking. Abby wasn't in the original game in any way shape or form, despite it being later revealed that her father played a pivotal role in the storyline.
While this happens all the time with franchises, where unseen details are added in to help sway the story in a particular direction, Naughty Dog now has the capacity to slightly alter what has been done to create a more seamlessly connected narrative. More of Abby's relationship with her father before, around, and after this moment could be shown, and while perhaps controversial, many would likely love to see this perspective.
All of this is purely speculation, but it wouldn't be shocking for Naughty Dog to want to make use of a DLC pack it already poured so much work into. A remake also poses the opportunity to reimagine the original vision, as even Naughty Dog itself would have probably done things differently now, since creative visions can change over time. Perhaps directly incorporating Abby and her father into the story of the first game is a method to help mitigate some of the criticism in The Last of Us 2, but it remains to be seen how a decision like that would be treated by players.
The Last of Us Remastered is available now for PS4.
