‘The Last of Us Part 2’ release date: New trailer highlights the sequel’s dark storyline; Hints at Joel’s role

The new trailer for “The Last of Us Part 2” has been dropped. And as can be expected from Naughty Dog, the game will have one dark storyline to explore.

Creative director Neil Druckmann previously said that the main theme of “The Last of Us Part 2” is vengeance and that’s been highlighted by the latest trailer too. Ellie was seen heading out their small town along with several others but ran into trouble on their way.

Dina is presumably captured, tortured, and killed by the Seraphites in front of Ellie. This then drove her to go on a killing spree in “The Last of Us Part 2,” pitting her against the dangerous cult and varying threats in her quest for vengeance.

The Last of Us Part 2 may be using Joel as a moral anchor

Joel was also seen in the trailer, and it appears that he was separated from Ellie at some point in time. It’s been confirmed that “The Last of Us Part 2” will take place five years after the first game story concluded and it’s still unclear what really happened during this gap.

There are a lot of speculations surrounding Joel and his role in the sequel. One such assumption posits that the hardened smuggler will be the main villain of “The Last of Us Part 2.” However, looking at the trailer, it appears that Naughty Dog will be using Joel as a sort of moral anchor to keep Ellie from succumbing from the hatred consuming her. After all, he went down a similar path when he lost his daughter.

The Last of Us Part 2 revealed Ellie is still keeping her immunity a secret

It also appears that the group that Ellie is with doesn’t know that she’s actually immune to the virus as she was seen wearing a mask in the trailer. The decision to keep that information hidden highly likely stems from Ellie wanting to stay low as there are a lot of people who are interested in studying that immunity. Finally, “The Last of Us Part 2” trailer also revealed that the game will be coming out on Feb. 21, 2020, confirming previous speculations.

Ahead of its launch, the sequel is already being considered as a running candidate for Game of the Year. And rightly so. The combat looks amazing, the graphics are crisp, and the storyline will undoubtedly wrench the heart of millions of gamers going by Naughty Dog’s previous output. Of course, with “Cyberpunk 2077” and “Final Fantasy VII: Remake” also coming out next year, winning the award is going to be a tall order.