Post-pandemic game The Last of Us Part II will arrive during this pandemic

Writer/Director Neil Druckmann took to Instagram yesterday to announce The Last of Us Part II has officially gone gold.  This effectively means Naughty Dog has completed development for the 1.0 version and physical copies are prepped for mass production.  A collective sigh of relief for fans who've had to deal with a couple delays in less than a year, including the recent indefinite delay caused by the real-life pandemic COVID-19.  You can rest assured that the new June 19th release date is a definite lock, whether purchasing the game digitally or physically.

Druckmann spent some time congratulating the team's collective hard work that went into every aspect of it: graphics, animations, music, voice acting, and much more.  He also presented some emotional honesty during that Instagram post too, describing how he cried once the credits rolled.  Whether or not you, the audience, will join in on that shared sentiment seems likely considering the toll the first game took on critics and fans alike, including Gaming Nexus' Mike Mahardy at the time.  His concluding words on The Last of Us: "Like the fungus that infected its deformed inhabitants, The Last of Us is not an enjoyable thing to experience. It’s depressing, exhausting and even disturbing. But , contrary to everything I tell myself, it’s something I won’t soon forget."

It goes without saying that either every or almost every writer on Gaming Nexus is looking forward to embark on Ellie's treacherous journey.  We hope you are too.   

A brief overview of the game:

Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.