Naughty Dog’s hotly-anticipated The Last of Us has been given a massive info burst courtesy of the latest issue of U.S. publication Game Informer (via GAF).
First up, the magazine confirms that the game will be set in world decimated by a human fungus outbreak some 20 years earlier, with Joel – a former weapons and drugs smuggler – being the main character.
Ellie, the young woman who accompanies Joel on his travels, resides in a boarding house in a military quarantine zone and finds herself fascinated by various items from before the outbreak, such as CDs and books.
Apparently, any individual exhibiting signs of the fungus disease within the QZ are executed on the spot. As a favour to a dying friend, Joel removes Ellie from the camp. The pair’s relationship is inspired by films such as True Grit/Road to Redemption, as well as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’ fellow bromance between Nathan Drake and Tenzen.
As previously reported on PSU, the demo GI witnessed is set in Pittsburgh, and sees our heroes ambushed by hunters. Joel, who also happens to be a former hunter, is forced to fend off these enemies as he and Ellie explore the world.
The demo mainly focused on human foes as opposed to the infected creatures depicted in the reveal trailer, though this is for good reason: Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells says it’s “the focus of the game.” However, fungus-infected foes are seemingly teased at the playable teaser’s conclusion.
Interestingly, Naughty Dog confirmed that The Last of Us will support some form of online component, though details on this have yet to be revealed .
Director Burce Straley said: “We’re going to have some sort of online component,” adding: “We’re working on a bunch of ideas, but we haven’t nailed anything down. We definitely know it’s going to be awesome.”
Furthermore, the game’s creative director, Neil Druckmann, confirmed that The Last of Us will offer a self-contained story, with no cliffhanger present.
“The story is self-contained. The story stands on its own,” he said. “We don’t end on a cliffhanger. The characters and the journey they go through ends with this story.”
The Last of Us is due out in late 2012/early 2013 exclusively for PlayStation 3. Stay tuned to PSU.com for more info as we get it.