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The Last of Us’ popularity never really dwindles, but it’s certainly experiencing somewhat of a peak right now thanks to the success of HBO’s TV adaptation. Like many, I’ve been hoping for a The Last of Us Part III announcement ever since I reached the credits of Part II. Naughty Dog are acting coy about its existence but I’m almost certain that it’s a question of when, not if.
In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, The Last of Us’ creator Neil Druckmann said, “I know there's a bunch of people wondering about The Last of Us Part III and whether that will be a thing or not. All I could say is, at Naughty Dog we're very, very privileged that our publisher is Sony [...] People think there's all this pressure and we have to make a sequel. That's not the case.” Basically, Druckmann is saying that Sony isn't forcing Part III. It looks as if they’re throwing us off the scent though.
The Last of Us Part I is set to release on PC on 28 March.
This year marks the franchise’s 10th anniversary and it’s been hinted that the year will feature surprise announcements. Cast your mind back to 2021 and Druckmann confirmed that he’d already written a Part III outline with Part II co-writer Halley Gross. My point is, I’m sure one day that Part III will be unveiled to us officially, but I cannot stop wondering what’s next in store for Abby and Ellie, so I asked AI - ChatGPT to be specific - to predict the plot of The Last of Us Part III. As ChatGPT pointed out, “It's important to note that this is a fictional story and not confirmed by the developer Naughty Dog.” So without further ado, here’s how the experiment went.
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Let’s start off with where we find Ellie. “The game starts several years after the events of The Last of Us Part II,” the AI began. “Ellie and Dina are living in the thriving Jackson community, raising their child together, and their relationship is stronger than ever but their peaceful existence is shattered when a new threat emerges, one that threatens not just their community, but the entire country. Ellie sets out on a journey to find the source of the threat.” Already, I have questions. At the end of Part II, Dina had left Ellie so I’m curious to know how in this hypothetical scenario they ended up back together. This would also mark the second time that Ellie has ventured off alone, leaving Dina behind. Surely that would be the final straw in their relationship?
What’s this mysterious threat, you ask? Let’s hop on over to Abby’s side of the story. The AI wrote, “Abby is now a part of a military organisation which is trying to take control of the country from the Infected and other hostile groups.” I’m going to determine that this is referring to the Fireflies as that’s where we last saw Abby heading. “Abby's story starts with her and her squad on a mission to infiltrate a settlement controlled by a hostile group but during the mission, something goes wrong.” It adds that Abby “reflects on the choices she’s made, the people she’s hurt and her role in the group.”
Meanwhile, Ellie “uncovers a sinister conspiracy involving a powerful military organisation.” The Fireflies again? Reading into this, I’m getting the impression that perhaps the Fireflies aren’t the saviours we thought they were. It adds that eventually, Abby’s questioning of the group leads to her “capture.” Ellie later learns that “the organisation’s leader has a personal vendetta against her.” After discovering that Abby is a hostage of the group, Ellie seeks to break her free.
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An Ellie and Abby team up? I can get behind this. The AI continued, “As Ellie and Abby are reunited, they are forced to confront their past and the events that led them to become enemies. But as they work together to escape, they begin to realise that they have more in common than they thought.” So Abby and Ellie are united by a common enemy … the Fireflies. Unexpected, but I’ll go with it. Our next question is, what could the Fireflies possibly be up to? Well, according to the AI, it may be a rather rogue group of Fireflies.
“The player discovers that the leader of the military organisation is experimenting with the Infected to create a new, more deadly strain,” it wrote. “The player will have to fight the new Infected and the military organisation in order to stop the spread of the new strain and to save humanity from extinction.” I’d call that a plot twist. For some reason, the group that were once seeking a cure are now creating an army of Infected. I can only imagine that a rather power-hungry twisted individual infiltrated the Fireflies and used the group’s resources for their own nefarious means. Maybe that’s why Ellie and Abby are happy to work with each other. They know the importance of restoring the reputation of the Fireflies, of providing hope to people.
If you thought Part II’s Rat King was bad, wait until this next part. “The player soon encounters a new type of Infected - worse than the Rat King - known as The Behemoth. It is much larger and stronger than the previous Infected, and has the ability to control other Infected,” the AI said. Oh geez. I would not like to encounter that big boy. If you were wondering about Tommy and Lev by the way, the AI claims they’d likely assist Ellie and Abby in their fight against evil. Specifics are a little thin in the ground though.
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Right, so we have mind-controlling Infected and an evil mastermind. How do we draw this story to a close? The AI said Ellie “will have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity from extinction.” My interpretation is that perhaps Ellie finally sacrifices her life to create a cure, completing the journey her and Joel set out on many years ago. I’m not exactly sure where Abby ends up. Maybe she becomes the new leader of the Fireflies, spearheading the vaccine roll out and finishing her father’s journey. That would be a sad yet sweet ending.
With that, my little experiment draws to a close. I have to say, the AI story isn’t as bad as I thought, although I did expand upon its more generic elements. I quite like the ending and the idea of Abby and Ellie working together - and I even think The Behemoth would be a cool boss fight but the rest of the plot could do with some tweaking. This is all a bit of silly fun though. Naughty Dog are masterful storytellers and I’m sure whatever they come up with will be incredible and far better than this. It’s fun to play ‘What if?’ though. I do hope the real thing isn’t too far away.
Topics: The Last Of Us, The Last Of Us Part 2, Naughty Dog, PlayStation