What We Want: A New Setting With Changing Seasons
One of the many things The Last of Us did brilliantly was tie individual chapters to specific seasons during the course of a single year. We had the foreboding hue of fall, the icy depths of winter and the hopefulness of spring sunshine. Looking back, each of these chapters stands out not only for the action that unfolds but for the colour palette of the individual seasons. I’d like to see a return to this method of storytelling, with the story set in different seasons, played out over varying terrain.
This time around, we can expect bigger, denser environments; locations that that take full advantage of the PS4’s computing power. If Uncharted 4 is anything to go by, Naughty Dog will continue to demonstrate their mastery for linear levels that funnel you in a single direction without ever appearing linear at all.
The trailer for Part II points to Ellie and Joel situated inside a woodland cabin in the heart of a forest, and as settings go, it looks like a perfect opportunity to show off the technological strides made in Naughty Dog’s engine. Here’s hoping forest areas are replete with dense foliage, wildlife and atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife.
After all, the series has always focused on the juxtaposition between the beauty of untamed wilderness versus the savagery that runs its soil red.