‘The Last of Us Part 2’ release date: Is the game’s realistic violence going to be a problem for the sequel?

“The Last of Us Part 2” isn’t expected to come out until next year but the hype surrounding the title still persists within the gaming community. This isn’t surprising given that the first game is considered as one of the best titles ever to hit the market.

The gameplay demo of “The Last of Us Part 2” showcased immersive graphics and realistic combat system, with the game’s violence one of the main factors that resonated to the fans. But while these strengths speak well to the effort of developers, it could also spell trouble what with the spate of killings that is spreading across the U.S.

Violent video games have once again been accused as the main cause for these incidents and “The Last of Us Part 2” could be plagued by this narrative. This is especially true since the developers’ main goal was to make combat as realistic as they can, Kotaku reported.

The Last of Us Part 2 will have realistic violence

“We’re making a game about the cycle of violence, and we’re making a statement about violent actions and the impact they have on the character that’s committing them and on the people close to them. And our whole approach is to say, ‘We want to treat this as realistically as possible,’” creative director Neil Druckmann said. He further explained that the aim behind this realistic violence in “The Last of Us Part 2” was to make the player feel “repulsed” with what they’re doing.

Guns, machete, axes, and a host of other weapons are present in the game that can be used liberally to dispose of enemies and move the story forward. There’s no doubt that Naughty Dog will draw criticism from their decision to make “The Last of Us Part 2” as violent as they can, especially since Donald Trump is intent on blaming it on this industry instead of looking on the real cause.

The Last of Us Part 2 and the accusations levied on the game industry

So is there any truth to this claim? Well, according to a new study, there’s no link between violent video games and teenager aggression, Forbes reported. But it should be pointed out that the researchers placed emphasis on trash-talking in the game and should be further studied. Of course, since “The Last of Us Part 2” is a single-player role-playing game, it will not be affected by this negative aspect.

With regards to the sequel’s release date, Naughty Dog is still keeping everything close to its chest. However, it’s widely believed it will come out in February 2020. “The Last of Us Part 2” was supposedly slated for release this November but that all changed when “Death Stranding” took that spot.