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’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will 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 unveiled Last of Us Complete, unlike a common remaster and remake, bundles Part 1 and Part 2 together and claims to package the “full story.” If Naughty Dog truly doesn’t have any actionable plans for a Last of Us Part 3 to follow The Last of Us Complete, it’ll be unfortunate not to have Ellie or Abby’s story continue. Likewise, The Last of Us slamming 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 as Resident Evil 5 would be a natural stage of evolution for The Last of Us.
The Last of Us Complete May Be Digging Two Graves
The Last of Us Complete and its Collector's Edition have just been revealed with the bundle possibly connoting a definitive end to the franchise.
The Last of Us’ NPCs are Its Beating Heart
In Part 1, Joel and Tess are smugglers who 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 give The Last of Us’ bare-bones story some skeletal muscle:
- Tess
- Marlene
- Ellie (as Joel)
- Bill
- Henry and Sam
- Tommy and his power plant crew
- David
- Joel (as Ellie)
In Part 2, Joel and Ellie are now embedded in Jackson with relationships established. Meanwhile, The Last of Us’ Abby is 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 Ellie in The Last of Us Part 2
- Jesse
- Dina
Allies Who Accompany Abby in The Last of Us Part 2
- Manny
- Mel
- Alice
- Owen
- Yara
- Lev
- Nora
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.
If The Last of Us ever did echo Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar’s co-op companionship in Resident 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.
Like Resident 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. Unlike Resident Evil 5, however, a co-op Last of Us game could 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 Complete and the ambiguity enveloping a Part 3 pare down any chances of an extracurricular half-sequel or spin-off, much less a full-blown co-op game.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Franchise
- The Last of Us
- PC Release Date
- April 3, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- January 19, 2024
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
