The Last of Us Part II State of Play featurette is a tour de force

Naughty Dog has shown why they are considered the top dogs – pun intended – of the gaming industry with their newest State of Play. The video event was all about the studio’s highly anticipated upcoming The Last of Us Part II and managed to surpass the already sky-high expectations. Watch the entire 20 min+ presentation here!

We only have to wait 3 weeks until The Last of Us Part II finally comes out for the PlayStation 4. The wait for one of the most wanted sequels in gaming took almost an entire console generation to materialize. A crazy turn of events when one considers how publishers usually try to immediately churn out sequels to successful games. But Naughty Dog and Sony have more to lose than just money. It’s about prestige.

The original Last of Us is often cited as one of the best games of the last generation, and for good reason. Meticulous attention to detail, outstanding production quality in terms of visuals and animation, and overall excellent writing ultimately elevated Naughty Dog among the most beloved developers out there.

As such, expectations for The Last of Us Part II are immense, and it wouldn’t have come as a shock for any studio to fail meeting them. But if you had any doubts, the recent State of Play featuring TloU2 ought to have eradicated all of them. With more than 20 minutes of actual gameplay footage, there were plenty of opportunities to learn about the various mechanics of the game.

Highlights of the show are a long and tense mission where Ellie infiltrates an enemy hideout. Stealth, crafting, and combat are all interwoven nicely in the set-piece and showcase the breadth of options. There’s even a cheeky call out for an infamous Sony device we won’t spoil here. You absolutely need to check out the entire video and don’t worry, there aren’t really any important spoilers in it.