The Last Of Us 2: Everything We Know So Far

8. The Game's Theme Will Be "Hate"

The Last of Us
Sony

Though it might be hard to believe considering just how much misery Naughty Dog put players through in the original Last of Us, they developed the game with the theme of "love" in mind. That admittedly is present throughout every inch of the title, as despite all of the horrible deeds, the story never wavered from focusing on the bond between Ellie and Joel.

Going into the sequel though, Neil Druckmann has stated that instead of love, the sequel is being based around the theme of "hate". Even from the trailers released so far, fans have been able to see why, with the initial reveal promising a dark revenge story while the second one was an unrelentingly brutal torture sequence.

Away from the explicit content though, the new theme has gotten fans worried about the relationship between Ellie and Joel. If the first game was all about their love, the second could be about tearing that apart, potentially thanks to the rift that began with Joel's questionable final actions in the original story.

Advertisement
Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.