The Last of Us: Part II wouldn’t have been made unless there was ‘something important to tell’

Some people would probably argue that The Last of Us didn't really need a sequel, in a sense that it functioned fine as a standalone adventure that was more or less wrapped up in a neat bow. 

Naughty Dog obviously felt differently as it's developing The Last of Us: Part II, although its creative director has assured fans that they wouldn't have made a follow-up unless it had 'something important to tell.'

Speaking with Game Informer, Neil Druckmann admitted that the Santa Monica outfit was even a little cautious about pumping out Left Behind, the lone single-player expansion for The Last of Us, for fear of potentially damaging its characters.

That didn't happen obviously, as Left Behind functioned as a perfect complement to the core narrative and helped add a little more depth to Ellie's backstory. Well, at least I thought so. 

And with The Last of Us: Part II, Druckmann and team see an even bigger opportunity to 'flesh out a complex character in even more interesting and nuanced ways.'

'We wouldn’t make a sequel unless we felt like there was something equally important to tell. Even when we did Left Behind, there was that fear of, "Are we hurting this?" Left Behind was a huge success, and fleshed out the characters further,' he said. 

'Here there was this opportunity not only to tell what we thought was a very important message that we believe in, but to flesh out a complex character in even more interesting and nuanced ways. And if we’re going to do that, you can’t ignore that ending. You can’t just shy away from it.'

The Last of Us: Part II is in development exclusively for PlayStation 4, and will feature Ellie as the only playable character as well as bringing back the original game's multiplayer mode.