The Last of Us 2 Had Plans for Ellie to Get a Dog Companion

Naughty Dog had early plans to give Ellie a dog companion and not forcing dog killing necessary.

Even before its release, PlayStation 4-exclusive action-adventure game The Last of Us Part II from developer Naughty Dog and publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment has been subjected to a series of controversies and criticisms.

Naughty Dog originally wanted to make The Last of Us 2 a bit more friendly and tone down its overall scale of violence. They even had plans to give her a canine buddy to keep her company while she would go on a murderous rampage.

the last of us 2 ellie dog companion ps4 exclusive neil druckmann action adventure survival horror naughty dog sony entertainment interactive tlou 2
The Last of Us 2 Had Plans for Ellie to Get a Dog Companion

RELATED: The Last of Us 2 Voice Actress Gets Death Threats Online

Not only people were pissed at story direction of TLoU2 following a major leak but adding dogs as enemies was another debatable topic, because people couldn't get around the idea of canine brutality even in a post-apocalyptic world.

Things were escalated further when retailers store GameStop decided to promote "Dog Killing" as an in-game feature. Although official statement confirms that killing these guard dogs are optional, it is nearly unavoidable in most cases.

RELATED: The Last of Us Part 2 Sales Drops by 80% in U.K. Charts

Sometime players can sneak past them using an opposite direction or being prone to become nearly invisible. However, majority of player community has found themselves in a fight against man's best friend and were forced to kill them.

In a recent interview, game director Neil Druckmann has acknowledged how uncomfortable players might have felt killing dogs but ended up not making it optional since finding a way out of violence will go against The Last of Us 2's story.

the last of us 2 ellie dog companion concept art dark horse books ps4 exclusive neil druckmann action adventure survival horror naughty dog sony entertainment interactive tlou 2
Ellie Dog Companion Concept Art

RELATED: Sony Reaches Out Reviewer Over The Last of Us 2 Criticisms

Druckmann also revealed idea of a scrapped concept of getting Ellie a dog companion to offer aid during her journey of revenge and bring her items that she will be unable to reach by herself but they gave the dog away to an NPC anyway.

Whether or not Naughty Dog would have allowed players to skip up dog brutality, The Last of Us Part II would still be a very gritty experience given how much stabbing and killing Ellie does eventually in order to get back at her enemies.
Next Post Previous Post
No Comment
Add Comment
comment url