When the gameplay footage of The Last of Us was shown at Sony’s big E3 press conference this year, it was presented as an ultra-realistic post-apocalyptic survival story. It also showed brutal footage that included brutal and disturbingly graphic violence. Faces were smashed and shot in a presentation that fit well with E3 2012’s running theme of ultraviolence.
So, it’s obvious that The Last of Us can be played with a sort of gung-ho brutality. Perhaps, though, Sony’s E3 presentation was more about showing how the impressive enemy AI reacted to quickly changing combat situations. Today, Sony has released more The Last of Us gameplay footage from the recent Penny Arcade Expo Prime in Seattle. This time, exploration and stealth are highlighted, showing that force isn’t the only option for gamers. As you can see, though, a battle seems to be inevitable:
For what it’s worth, the footage was posted to the PlayStation blog by Eric Monacelli, community strategist at Naughty Dog. Monacelli’s blog post stated that the developers didn’t want gamers to be stuck with crappy smartphone hidden-camera footage of the gameplay.