KEY POINTS

  • Following leaks to previous games from Naughty Dog, some details from "The Last of Us: Part II" has been revealed to the public
  • Writer/director Neil Druckmann is disappointed in the leaks because his team spent years working on the game
  • He also disputes the notion that the sexual orientation of one of the game's characters was done just to satisfy those looking for diversity

Neil Druckmann, writer and director of the highly anticipated "The Last of Us: Part II," has spoken on the leaks from the game.

“They sucked,” Druckmann said.

Noting in an interview with Eurogamer that he and his team worked on the game for so long, with "The Last of Us: Left Behind" released in 2014, it was disappointing that details became available to the public ahead of time.

This isn’t the first time that developer Naughty Dog has dealt with leaks.

The ending to the original "The Last of Us" leaked in 2013 while in 2016, robbers stole a truck carrying copies of "Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End," allowing spoilers to be posted online. Ironically, Druckmann served as a creative director on both of those games.

"That didn't take away from anything at the end, because nothing compares to playing it," Druckmann said of the leaks of Naughty Dog's previous games.

"Nothing compares to being Ellie and feeling those moments, not just in cutscenes, but in gameplay, conversations, the music and the emotional effect that has on you," he adds.

With "The Last of Us: Part II," further controversy arose surrounding Ellie’s sexual orientation because of the leaks.

“We made a journey with Ellie, and Ellie is who she is,” Druckmann said.

“It's been defined in the previous game. We're going to continue going forward. She's now 19. How do we explore all the facets of what it's like to be 19?" he asks.

"You think you're invincible. You think you know what's right and wrong in the world. You are sexually attracted to people you're attracted to. Those are all things we want to explore for this character - that's how we do honest storytelling. ”

Druckmann also disputes the notion that has come out from the leaks that Ellie was written to serve certain groups. “A lot of the misconception is like, oh, we're somehow sacrificing the story to win diversity points. And that's not how we work,” Druckmann said.

“Everything is in service of the story. Getting better diversity gives us a better story, gives us fresher perspectives on conflict. And I hope once they play the game, they'll realize it,” he said to Eurogamer.

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