The Last of Us Development Series Episode 4: Them or Us

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The Last of Us Development Series Episode 4: Them or Us

The various choices you’ll have to make with regard to combat in The Last of Us are representative of the larger human struggle in the game world. How will people act when tension is unbearable and their life might be on the line? What are the consequences of those actions once enacted? While the third video in our development series explored the moment-to-moment tensions in the world of The Last of Us, our fourth video looks at the action and potential consequences of inertia in the face of those tensions. Take a look:



The Last of Us Development Series Episode 4: Them or Us

If you’ve missed any of our development series, be sure to watch the first video and second video to get up to speed. An in-depth glimpse into all the topics covered in the series is available in Grounded: The Making of The Last of Us, our ninety minute documentary about the development of the game. You can get Grounded by purchasing the season pass.

We have two episodes left in this series. The next video will explore the characters of Joel and Ellie, who they are, and some of what it took to make them as pivotal to the game as we wanted them to be. The final video in the series was teased in our Vanity Fair coverage of the art of The Last of Us. Look for a deeper dive into the gorgeous art and beautiful music behind the game in the coming weeks. The Last of Us is available now in stores and digitally worldwide.

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51 Comments

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  • THIS IS THE HARDEST….TIGHTEST, MULTI PLAYER I EVER PLAYED

  • @EricMonacelli THE LAST OF US 2 PS4 YES

    • Your guess is as good as mine! Thanks for the MP love. We’ll be supporting it for a long time.

  • I loved Uncharted Golden Abyss, and my first game I took the time to platinum.

    It has great replay value, and a story that reminds me of the feel, and moral outline of some of 80’s classic T.V.
    (Like M.A.S.H. or similar).

    Finding out as an adult the importance of such shows, compared to some of todays more modern televsion.
    I am glad you have found ways to integrate it in todays gaming.

  • The Last of Us is such an amazing game! It has everything: a great single player experience, and awesome multiplayer! I haven’t had this much fun in multiplayer in a long time! Thank you Naughty Dog for making something new and exciting!

  • By far, The Last of Us is the very best video game I’ve ever played. I’ve never played a game, that brought out so many emotions. I cried 3 times in this game. The amount of love devoted to this game is deeply moving. From the graphics, gameplay, sound, lighting, just oozes perfection. I feel in my heart, Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker’s performaces as “Joel” & “Ellie” will be talked about for generations to come. They really made those characters living breathing people. I enjoyed The Last of Us so much, I actually felt kind of sad when I finally beat it. I didn’t want it to end.

  • If there is one thing I could ask for in a patch or a sequel, its that the AI takes greater care in not being seen and understands the restrictions the player is under so it too will abide by them. To many times did I see an NPC allie run right in front of a clicker when I would have been a dead man. Too many times did I see them run so close to an enemy when I hadn’t been detected yet and act as if they weren’t even there.

    Don’t get me wrong this game is amazing and I feel like this is one of those games that only comes along once every few years. Totally worthy of a 10/10, but these bugs and hiccups could have broken any normal game.

    Keep making your games pretty ND, but it maybe spend some more time on this. I hate saying this because I know how hard it is to write good AI, but you guys are so damned close.

  • The Last of Us is an amazing game. One of the best this gen. I have been having a blast with the multiplayer as well, which is surprising since I never did get into Uncharted’s multiplayer much. It’s very different and pretty refreshing with all these fast paced run and gun multiplayer games out there.

    I would love to see Last of Us 2 for PS4. I’ll be picking up the season pass as soon as I get my next paycheck. Looking forward to the story dlc and multiplayer additions. Glad to hear you say you will be supporting the MP for awhile, Eric!

  • I can’t wait for the DLC to come out !!!

  • I’d like to see this series franchised for sure. I think the way to do it would be to tell other stories from around the U.S. or even other parts of the world. Those stories could fit in the same timeline, or take place after TLOU ends. We could get to journey with new characters and help them through their struggles in dealing with the fungus. Thanks for making such a great game, and here is hoping for many more!

  • The last of us gets 12 out of 10 in my book. very gritty superb action amazing story bravo naughty dog

    • Whoa. This one goes to 12?!?! That’s awesome. Thanks! We can’t wait to get working on the DLC and share it with you. See you online!

  • I love these videos….you did a fantastic job with TLoU ND the atmosphere of the game is intense….oh and I so want that shirt of UC2.

  • The Last of Us is a masterpiece of pure art form. There are no other games out, that compare to the pure human emotion of what Naught Dog has done. The infected make you want to run away. But you want to understand or learn more. Plus you feel obligated on keeping Ellie safe. But as we play you learn that Ellie can hold her own. After all Ellie grew in an environment of uncertainty, hardship as an orphan. In a City of violence or martial law. There is so many diffrent ways to play The Last of Us their should be a sequal in finding out who Ellie was before she got bitten by an infected, or what the next chapter will be. Unless this is one of those cliff hangers that you never know kind of things. Naughty Dog is the only one that can answer that. It might be one of those things we will find out sooner or later. I’ve heard their working on something but that just might be a rumor. I love The Last of Us and future games for the PS system of the future. thank you.

    • Thank you. We are working on something – the DLC – but we aren’t sure what it is yet. We’ll let you know once we figure it out.

  • sorry i missed spelled a couple of words.

  • Hi i am a huge LAST OF US fan love the single player love the multiplayer. To say the TLOU is GOTY is a huge understatement TLOU is the game of this generation.Enough fan boying any news on the first dlc pack

    p.s. NO MICROTRANSACTION plz

  • Hey. I’d just like to say that you guys have made an amazing job with The Last of Us. It has an engrossing and emotional story, masterfully-crafted encounters, brilliant graphics, excellent sound design and believable characters. It is by far my favorite game ever made (btw, it was UC3 before and UC2 before that).

    I can’t wait to see what you guys do with the PS4 because you are by far the best developers in the industry. Hopefully the Uncharted team manages to make UC4 leaps and bounds better than UC3 and TLOU.

  • BEST GAME EVER!!!! Big thank you to everyone at ND for making this AWESOME game!! God knows how many times I’ve played the story. lol. I’ve lost count cos it is soo amazing and played it a lot. Tomorrow I will be starting ANOTHER play on the story!

  • When is the DLC coming out?

    This MP is so intense and unique, imagine if you guys had made it so much bigger than it already is, it could have been its own game. I really wish the MP for the Last of Us 2 is much bigger than the first one. :(

    • We’re already planning and working hard on the DLC. Once it’s ready you’ll be the first to know!

  • Why isn’t there a “sit your ass down and don’t move” button for Ellie?

  • I am so glad that I can finally watch all this content that I passed up on during my TLOU blackout. I think the experience was far better by doing that amazing game and the MP is quite good. High Five… Yeah! :)

  • I loved everything about this game! By far one of the best PS3 games out there! Question though..Any news about any new multiplayer game modes? Would be awesome to play some survival mode with friends like in Uncharted 2 and 3. Especially with Infected and clickers running after you :)

  • I echo all of the informed comments above me. We have all actually played the game. We’re not idiots who come on the blog just to say “meh” to games they didn’t play but just read reviews about.

    This is the best writing in any game I’ve ever played. I’m not just talking about dialogue either. Just brilliant.

    I agree the AI is kind of hinky. Tess and Ellie go running about, sometimes bumping clickers, with no consequences. But oddly, when they bump me, or come and crouch practically on me, the physics are there, I can’t move until I can bump them a little.

    I want that “sit your a** down” command as does Psycho Eddie, and a “shut up while we’re in danger” one, too, lol.

    I almost never replay games, but after finishing on Normal last week, I’ve restarted on Survival and yikes!! I love this game, and it’s a very cruel love.

  • LOVE everything the game. Can you guys add a hardcore mode for multiplayer? Like no hud, listen mode, etc.

    • Interesting idea. I’ll mention it to the MP team. We are working on more MP content for sure.

  • Finished the game 2 times now. I really like fact you can play the game again (plus) and still have the skills and weapon upgrades from the 1st play through. That was a smart.

    I have to play a third time, need only 1 upgrade.

    SEASON PASS

    Can you get it through the PS Store as DLC if you bought the game on disc?

    • Yes, you can buy the season pass on the PS Store even if you bought the game on disc. It’ll work just fine as long as you have the disc.

  • May I ask who is the person behind the torturous DLC Trophies in Uncharted 3 and are they going to add equally painful and impossible DLC trophies to TLOU?

    TLOU is already on my Trophy list (and I bought the season pass too in good faith), I just hope I don’t get screwed over. :(

    Also Eric, I implore you guys to go back to UC3 forum posts and blog posts where users demanded DLC Trophies and check their individual PSN profiles. Only 1-2 out of dozens of these people even bothered to get the Trophies they whined over.

    Thanks <3

    P.S. any upcoming rare treasure weekend for UC3? I'm one treasure away and I want to get my 100% in UC3 already so I can finally move on D:

    • Trophies are a collective effort. We’ll look over UNCHARTED 3 ones and see what’s reasonable if/when we any anything.

  • Thank You Eric!

    There have been so many blogs on this game & before it came out it was mentioned that you can get the Season Pass at the retail store if you bought the game on disc. Kinda confused me a bit.

  • The combat in the game is really awesome. You feel underpowered and sometimes overwhelmed by the enemies, specially human enemies. I think that ND has something really great going on with The Last of Us, and I cannot wait to see them explore this kind of gameplay even more.

  • I’ve had some of my friends tell me they wish it was 8v8 instead of 4v4. I say their wrong!!! Just kidding. Not really. Having 4v4 battles lets the stealth part of the game shine. I’m sure there will be DLC later on and can’t wait to jump on it!

  • The Last of US is so incredible.. Started on Hard, then on Hard Plus.. Now @ about 38% on Survivor.. Like level 15 on Multiplayer…

    s**t really sucks if you don’t have team members with microphones. super intense gameplay on the mp matchs. I like the new no party find game option. maps are good, I wish you couldn’t play the same map twice in a row.

    already got the season pass.. I wonder when will start

    on an off note I can’t wait until society is in shambles and we have to survive like they do in ruined worlds. I was in the army and Iraq.. once you come back it’s different.. I feel life had reason when someone was trying to kill me. In the world where only the fittest and smartest survive, gathering for gear and food. It would put the spark of life back into my eyes.

  • @Eric Monacelli

    No. I’ve completed the game and restarted it on Hard Plus, but haven’t proceed past the first chapters with Sarah.
    I’m a father and I found the closure of Sarah’s story arc was hard for me to deal with the first time through. Ellie’s arc was just as difficult for me. That aside, I found there were several places where Ellie needs a “hide/sit DOWN” button. I found myself taking cover many times while Ellie ran around alerting guards and why isn’t Ellie equipable? She flat out says she’s Katniss with a bow!!

  • I bought the season pass solely for the Grounded video.
    The DLC is the icing on the cake. Haha.

  • awesomeninja492

    True masterpiece Naughty Dog, 10/10. Best $60 I have spent in a long time. A very large contender for not only Game of the Year, but Game of the Generation. I also have an idea for multiplayer DLC:

    If you’re releasing stuff like full MP packs then maybe one of them could deal with the infected. One of the modes could be like one player starts out as a runner and everyone else is a survivor. The infected player spreads the virus and gets others infected. And you could see how long people survive. Also the virus would mutate during the match, so the runner may become a clicker. And then that could affect the player’s senses like in the game. And that could just be one of the modes.

    There’s tons of options to go with both Single player and MP DLC, but regardless, I wish both of the Naughty Dog teams the best of luck with PS4 and beyond!

  • Best game ever!!! I’m on my 5th play thru. I thought Uncharted was good, but after this game… I luv u Naughty Dog! So many more possibilities for stories. Can’t wait for single player DLC. And hopefully another TLOU in the future.

  • Finished this game yesteday, and it was AWESOME!! Definitely one of the most amazing gaming experience I ever had… you, Naughty Dog team, really deserves our respect and recognition. Loved the way that you worked around the characters, also about how cruel could be the reallity of human nature fighting to survive in a world with no order.

    Really liked the way you treated the infecteds not as the main point (besides its importance), but the human nature and choices. All of it makes this game special! But also can’t forget to mention its great gameplay and impressive graphics.

    Thank you! Keep it up with the good work; and I can’t wait to see what you’re planning to bring on PS4.

  • Eric Please Respond I normally don’t write things here but i love this game so much best game ever. i would love to see a dedicated sound for the ps pulse stereo headsets kinda how bioshock infinite had one i would love to play the game you guys ment for it to sound love the headsets love the game 10/10

  • I worry I’m turning into a Last of Us junkie. Seeking out further discussion about this ‘game’ is becoming something of a habit. So thanks for feeding my habit! :-)

    I say ‘game’ because that feels like too lightweight a word to describe Last of Us. It’s not the perfect game, and it’s not the perfect story, but the blend and execution might make the perfect interactive experience.

    I started gaming with Pong on a B&W TV, and I’ve spent way more time glued to virtual worlds over 35+ years than I care to confess. But I’ve never felt so captivated by any of the experiences I’ve had along that journey.

    Fallout 3 probably came closest, but I am awe of the collective genius which came together to make Last a reality. From the moment I loaded the game for the first time, watching those curtains blow in the breeze and listening to that amazing music for the first time, I dared to hope for something special.

    I was right.

    Well done everyone. Gaming came of age with this title if you ask me. It crossed a threshold which raises the bar in a way which will be very hard for anyone else to match.

    Including Naughty Dog! But I know you’ll give it a darned good try. Thank you, and good luck.

  • Please, Naughty Dog, make a The Last of Us for Vita.

  • Amazing game!

    But fix the numerous glitched trophies please!

  • I’ve been whining about getting “adult games” for years and now someone finally, REALLY gets it. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

    I also can’t remember the last time I had so much fun in multiplayer. Please, unlock more maps soon!

  • Here’s a MP idea. Do a game mode where it’s Hunters vs Fireflies vs Infected. The object of the game would be to see who could survive against the Infected the longest and the game mode would have 4 rounds like in survivors.

  • Do you still get the “grounded” video with purchase of the season pass? I read it was only a day 1 bonus. I really want to watch that video!

  • Can you guys add like a converting system? Like convert two boosters into one you want.

  • I love this game. Its one of the best games I have ever played. I plan on playing this over and over. Good job on making a great game.

  • The last of us is the most amazing game ever 1 out of 10 it gets 20!

  • Fantastic game, hate the trophy selection, but what a great game. I started my “+” replay immediately after finishing to work on maxing out skills before moving up in difficulty. Such a wonderful piece of writing and artwork.

    Awful trophies, great game.

  • Similar to @nano1124 … would be nice to create multiplayer sessions with custom rules — no listen, no upgrades, etc.

  • Not that I need it but those Day 1 bonuses should be available to all those who bought a Season Pass.

    I’m finally downloading “Grounded – The Making Of The Last Of Us” which is on the Day 1 bonus list. Can’t wait to see it with 1080 rez

    The Last of Us game should have been 1080… What happened?

  • So I got The last of us yesterday and I just started playing multiplayer but every time I play multiplayer it signs me out of my account during the match is it a glitch or something

  • Coming from an old school multiplayer fan, this is the best and most innovative multiplayer I’ve played since the early Source days of HL, Counterstrike, Team Fortress and Day of Defeat. I’ll be playing this for years to come! Thank you! That said, create a hardcore mode that disables listen mode and resets armor and bullets each round :)

  • Amazing. I’m on Survival know and I think I died more than once. I finished easy – easy +. normal – normal +. I skipped hard to survival. I think that was not a wise move. But I am surviving. Thank god for Ellie to hand me medical kits and ammo when I needed them the most. The more I play the more I learn how the Game was designed. Naughty Dog and PS3 has come along way since my first Playstation. Just waiting for the day when their are more sequals to the story of The Last of Us.

  • Haven’t touch MP yet as I want to finish the story first, hope people are still playing when I get there!

    Love the game, mainly the quite exploration parts with the detailed and fascinating environments. Hope a potential sequel and DLC focuses on that side still not just action!

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