A lovely signature of Naughty Dog games has been the NPC companions who accompany players and aid them during the story’s combat and stealth encounters. Even more so, these allies are a fantastic source of relatable and natural dialogue as characters get to know one another or strengthen an existing relationship while exploring. Based on what Neil Druckmann has revealed about it,Naughty Dog’sIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophetwill be a lonelier experience, possibly with protagonist Jordan on her own for a majority of the game—granted, with Kumail Nanjiani playing a role, it probably won’t be a quiet game bereft of entertaining NPCs for long.
The newly unveiledLast of Us Complete, unlike a common remaster and remake, bundlesPart 1andPart 2together and claims to package the “full story.” If Naughty Dog truly doesn’t have any actionable plans for aLast of Us Part 3to followThe Last of Us Complete, it’ll be unfortunate not to have Ellie or Abby’s story continue. Likewise,The Last of Usslamming its doors shut would miss out on an opportunity to double down on its sometimes bewildering and unhelpful ally system. Indeed, with all other pieces already slid into place, a fully two-player co-op game in the same vein asResident Evil 5would be a natural stage of evolution forThe Last of Us.
The Last of Us’ NPCs are Its Beating Heart
InPart 1, Joel and Tess are smugglerswho agree to escort Ellie across the country for the Fireflies (initially to earn their guns back, but soon it’s by Tess’ dying demand). From the moment when Sarah wakes up and goes downstairs to when Ellie is hoisted atop a cliff facing the town of Jackson, it’s the people whom players meet along the way who truly giveThe Last of Us’ bare-bones story some skeletal muscle:
InPart 2, Joel and Ellie are now embedded in Jackson with relationships established. Meanwhile,The Last of Us’ Abbyis a brand-new character whose perspective introduces players to the Washington Liberation Front and looks a little deeper into the Seraphites. Allies who accompany either Ellie or Abby in their paralleled Seattle journeys include:
Allies Who Accompany Abby in The Last of Us Part 2
A Co-op Last of Us Game Would Be a Layup for Naughty Dog
Co-op may not be Naughty Dog’s specialty, but if it added co-op functionality it would no doubt be able to have a terrific game that could support either one or two players and feature protagonists who are there for each other as companions throughout the whole experience. Ellie and Dina basically demonstrate precisely what that could take shape like, bantering back and forth while strategizing and cooperating in encounters against infected and Wolves.
IfThe Last of Usever did echoChris Redfield and Sheva Alomar’s co-op companionship inResident Evil 5, it may be a rare opportunity for Naughty Dog to finally explore a novel pair of characters who are removed from Ellie’s chapter in the story.
LikeResident Evil 5, it would be neat if players could deliberate and trade items in their inventories; one player might hand the other a brick, for example, while the other hands them a spare one-third of binding material. UnlikeResident Evil 5, however,a co-opLast of Usgamecould stew in stealth and have both players crawling around in the grass to flank bandits or shiv clickers.
It’s always satisfying when players take someone out via a stealth grab and watch as their ally performs the same move on a nearby enemy and in a co-op game it would be excellent to achieve that as two players. Unfortunately,The Last of Us Completeand the ambiguity enveloping aPart 3pare down any chances of an extracurricular half-sequel or spin-off, much less a full-blown co-op game.
