How The Last of Us Part II’s Marketing Created A Shocking Twist

The Last of Us Part II's marketing was certainly damn effective.

The Last of Us 2 Joel

Please note this article contains references to a major The Last of Us Part II spoiler.

Cultured Vultures spoilers

The Last of Us Part II has finally arrived after 7 years of wondering and speculation about the open ending of the first game. For most gamers who are reentering the quarantine zone for the first time in 7 years, though, the biggest takeaway by far is going to be the shocking twist that occurs within the first few hours of the game.

Of course, this twist wouldn’t be nearly as impactful if it hadn’t been for the brilliance of Naughty Dog’s marketing leading up to the release of the game. Even folks who dodged trailers and went on blackout leading up to the release of The Last of Us Part II will be familiar with the early marketing push for the game.

Indeed the two trailers most fans will remember would be the announcement trailer that saw Ellie playing guitar before telling Joel that she was going to get revenge and the gameplay reveal trailer that began with footage of Ellie kissing her new love interest, Dina, at a party.

Naturally these “clues” would lead players to draw conclusions about what The Last of Us Part II would be about. Since the theme of the game is hate, as Neil Druckmann revealed early on in the development cycle, the clues led most players to the notion that Ellie wants revenge for the murder of Dina.

After all, we see Ellie talking to Joel in the reveal trailer, and the gameplay trailer doesn’t show Ellie hunting and killing people in the woods until after we’ve seen her kiss Dina. Obviously Naughty Dog was leading us by the nose with this stuff to keep us off the trail of what the game was actually about, and damned if it didn’t work like an absolute charm.

The first inkling we get that something is amiss is when, early on, the player is put in control of a character named Abby. She seems to be seeking revenge of her own on someone in Jackson, the hydro-dam town from the first game. This someone turns out to be Joel and, as Abby ingratiates herself with Joel and Tommy while they’re on a routine patrol, she’s able to lure them back to her friends: the Washington Liberation Front.

After a shocking burst of violence, Joel is left prone and beaten with a golf club. Ellie arrives just in time to watch Abby brutally finish him off and, like that, the masterstroke of Naughty Dog’s marketing push is revealed in one horrific, skull-crushing splatter. Had we not all been so collectively sure that the game was about Ellie seeking revenge for Dina, we might have guessed that this is where The Last of Us 2 was really going.

While some of the tactics that Naughty Dog employed to make this twist the surprise that it was might be seen as dubious at best, with the legacy of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (a game that pulled off much the same trick) still fondly remembered 20 years later, it’s likely that these feelings of betrayal will one day change to respect for the surprising level of subversion on display.

Further the twist also complicates the narrative of The Last of Us Part II in ways that many players still have yet to see. Ellie is essentially seeking revenge on those who killed Joel without knowing why they were after him to begin with. It could be that the choices Joel made at the end of the first game have come back to haunt him in the form of his surrogate daughter’s murderous rage. Is this the life Joel wanted for Ellie? Doubtless it isn’t, but his actions may have paved the way for her bloody new path.

It’s been almost two weeks now since the release of The Last of Us Part II and reactions have been divisive to say the least. Whether you’ve already seen where Ellie’s quest for vengeance will take her or whether you’re just getting around to the game, the twist of Joel’s early death will live on for years in the annals of great gaming twists, and the devious marketing that made this possible is a big part of that legacy.

The Last of Us Part II is out now exclusively for the PlayStation 4. From our review:

“In trying to subvert expectations, The Last of Us Part II discards the best aspects of its predecessor to provide a rote revenge tale that is ill-considered, ending on a note that makes everything — all the violence, all the loss, all the struggle — feel utterly, hopelessly pointless.”

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