The Last of Us Part 2 key art

The Last of Us Part 3 Should Take a Cue From HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2

The wait for The Last of Us Part 3 could take a while, given that director Neil Druckmann and Naughty Dog are focused on shipping Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The gaming community still has the second season of the live-action adaptation to look forward to, and the game developers could borrow a few notes to improve the delivery of the third and potentially final chapter of the source material.

HBO Is Laying Down the Groundwork for The Last of Us Part 3

Ellie looking at Dina off screen in The Last of Us Part 2.
The Last of Us Part 3 should be split into two games. Image Credit: Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog started the franchise with a linear tale of a broken man finding a reason to live. Joel’s story in The Last of Us Part 1 was a simple story about second chances, and on the other hand, the controversial sequel was about the cycle of rage and hatred consuming Ellie. Druckmann’s desire to deliver grounded human stories often clashed with limited runtimes that could have been easily avoided if he hadn’t condensed an ambitious story into one project.

The Last of Us Part 2 was released in 2020 as one of the final major first-party PlayStation 4 games, garnering praise for the improved gameplay mechanics, visuals, and graphics. The sequel was heavily criticized for the poor pacing by switching between Ellie and Abby’s campaigns. The emotional strain took a toll on the player base, and the developers could have done something better to keep fans invested without ruining the pacing.

Unlike the video game counterpart, HBO decided to divide the story of The Last of Us Part 2 across multiple seasons. The Last of Us Season 2 release date has finally been revealed, with a new window confirmed to be this April; however, the second season will not cover the entirety of the sequel’s story. This is a clever way to give the story room to breathe and each character and faction enough time to establish while sharing new details absent from the source material.

Perhaps Naughty Dog should take another risk and end The Last of Us Part 3 on a cliffhanger followed by an immediate sequel similar to how recent blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame caught the attention of the entire world. The developers should give these stories the room they deserve rather than forcing too much into one package, as they did with Part 2.

Regardless of what Druckmann is cooking up at the studio, there is no telling how much bigger and ambitious The Last of Us Part 3 could be. Hopefully, the mistakes made in Part 2 will be avoided, such as the awkward pacing by switching perspectives halfway through the game and rushed story developments between the WLF and Seraphite factions, something that reinforces the need for The Last of Us Part 3 to be split into two, giving us the fair send-off we (and the world) deserves.

For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out our list of Easter eggs found in the reveal trailer of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet or our list of story moments that should be adapted in The Last of Us Season 2.

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