The Last of Us: Part 2 revealed in trailer, Ellie and Joel return

"In the first game, the theme was love... this story, it's about hate."

Mark Walton

Sony revealed a teaser trailer for The Last of Us 2 at PSX 2016.

The Last of Us, one of the finest story-driven games of a generation, is getting a sequel.

Revealed during Sony's PlayStation Experience event in Anaheim, California, The Last of Us: Part 2 is set five years after the events of The Last of Us, and stars an angry 19-year-old Ellie. Joel, the lead from the first game, makes a return too.

Few other details were revealed—the trailer, which shows Ellie playing a guitar surrounded by zombie bodies, was intended for E3 2017—but developer Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann revealed that voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson will be reprising their roles as Joel and Ellie. In a panel session at PSX, Druckmann also hinted at the broader theme of the sequel, saying: "In the first game, the theme was the love between these two characters... this story's the counter of that. It's about hate."

For those that played The Last of Us, the sequel may come as something of a surprise, particularly given the nature of its story. However, Druckmann directly addressed concerned fans:

So much thought went into this—I know there's trepidation about going back to these characters. We feel that as well. No one loves these characters more than we do, and we wouldn't do it if we didn't have the right idea. I had ideas with different characters and it didn't feel right. The Last of Us is about these two characters. All I ask is that fans of the first one put some faith in us—we're going to do right by you.

The Last of Us was released in 2013 on PlayStation 3, and was widely praised for its storytelling, as well the portrayal its its two lead characters. It remains one of the most accomplished pieces of video games storytelling around. The game has since been remastered and released on PlayStation 4, complete with the similarly praised "Left Behind" DLC.