While Naughty Dog has always been an incredibly talented studio, its games have often been criticized for their enjoyable but basic gameplay, withJak and Daxterand the first fewUnchartedgames being good examples of this. The narrative and characters are often the biggest highlights of aNaughty Dog game, and while that’s certainly true forThe Last of Us, this series does feature the most refined and complex gameplay in the developer’s history. But that might not be enough for the upcomingLast of Us Multiplayergame.
WhileThe Last of Usfeatures satisfying combat mechanics, andThe Last of Us Part 2improves upon the formula in just about every way, this core loop might not translate all too well to a multiplayer setting. A lot of the satisfaction found inThe Last of Us' combat gameplaycomes from the ability to outsmart AI opponents and use the environment to the player’s advantage. That might be a little hard to replicate in a multiplayer setting, especially one that Naughty Dog wants players to return to time and time again. And if that is the case, thenThe Last of Us Multiplayermay want to borrow one core concept from a beloved Valve game.
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With it being a spinoff,The Last of Us Multiplayerhas a unique opportunity to take some risks and shake up the traditionalLast of Usgameplay formula. While fans would expect aLast of Usmainline game to deliver a similar gameplay experience to the last two entries,The Last of Us Multiplayerhas a little more leeway, and can potentially introduce game modes and gameplay concepts that would otherwise never make it into the series. And if Naughty Dog wants players to stick around for the long haul, then having additional game modes is key.
It’s currently unclear exactly whatThe Last of Us Multiplayeris going to be. If it’s anything likeThe Last of Us Factions, then fans can expect to be split into teams and dropped into an arena where they’ll be facing off against each other in a series of classic game modes like team deathmatch and last man standing, albeit with some alternative names and some slight mechanical tweaks. But if the rumors are to be believed, thenThe Last of Us Multiplayeris going to offer a completely different experience altogether, instead dropping players into a PvPvE scenario, similar toEscape From TarkovorCall of Duty: Warzone 2’s DMZ mode.
Regardless of whatThe Last of Us Multiplayer’s main mode ends up being, Naughty Dog shouldn’t be afraid to take a few risks, and develop some more experimental game modes, and Valve’s belovedLeft 4 Deadseriesoffers the perfect inspiration. Introduced in the very firstLeft 4 Dead, the “Versus” mode sees a team of four survivors go up against a team of four infected players. While the survivors simply need to complete the campaign as they normally would, the opposing infected team needs to stop them in their tracks. To do so, the infected team takes on the role of some ofLeft 4 Dead’s iconic special infected types, including anything from the long-range Smoker to the leapfrogging Hunter, all the way up to the hulking Tank.
Left 4 Dead’s Versus mode gives both teams of players a completely different gameplay experience, making it the perfect mode to play when fans have had enough of just going through the campaign again.The Last of Us Multiplayermight benefit from a similar mode. WhileThe Last of Us' infectedtends to be a bit more subtle and subdued thanLeft 4 Dead’s, it would still be fun to take control of infected types like the Bloater and Stalker. IfThe Last of Us Multiplayerwanted to deliver a truly unique gameplay experience, then it could even let players take on the role of a Clicker, only being given sight when their opponents make a noise.
The Last of Us’ multiplayer spin-off is currently in development.
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