The Last of Us 2 will focus on verticality and more 'agile' gameplay

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

The Last of Us 2 is still a few weeks away from its release on May 29, but a new gameplay video has shown off another glimpse of what's to come – and boy can Ellie jump.

In the video, shared by the official Naughty Dog Twitter account, we got treated to a more lithe and agile Ellie than in the previous The Last of Us game – which makes sense, given she's a few years older this time around.

It's a brief clip, but one that shows the smaller tweaks and changes to the way that Ellie – a secondary character in the original PS3 game – is handled as a player character. 

She can reach higher ledges, jump higher distances, and (we imagine) will be able to fit into smaller tunnels and vents than her companion Joel could in the first game. The difference in physicality will have required a rethink of the game's platforming elements and how the player navigates space, and we can't wait to play through the new story Naughty Dog has created for PS4 (and likely, one day, PS5) consoles.

Coming to a screen near you

While we expect The Last of Us TV show on HBO to retread much of the events of the first game, it will be interesting to see whether this new, older take on Ellie makes an appearance, in the first season or after – and whether it will require more than one actor to show off the age difference convincingly.

Players did get the chance to play as Ellie for select levels in The Last of Us, with a more substantial mission in the Left Behind DLC (for which actor Ashely Johnson won a BAFTA for her work voicing Ellie).

Henry St Leger

Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.

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