After months and months of quiet, The Last of Us Part 2 jumped back into the spotlight in September with a brand new story trailer, release date, and a hands-on opportunity that allowed us to play two hours of the Naughty Dog sequel. From our preview time with The Last of Us Part 2 , we learned a lot of details, large and small, about how the sequel evolves the original game.

The Last of Us Part 2 Story, Gameplay Details 36 IMAGES

Setting

Our demo introduced us to two different settings for the game — Jackson, Wyoming and Seattle, Washington, a location previously teased in past trailers.

Jackson is the site of Ellie and Joel’s home at the start of the sequel.

Ellie can still pick up various items and notes around the world, though they have much greater fidelity and detail this time around.

When Ellie first gets handed a molotov cocktail bottle (unlit, don’t worry) by Dina, the player can rotate the bottle in Ellie’s hand, and the liquid moves realistically.

When Ellie and Dina are exploring another survivor’s weed den, they stumble upon some prn VHS tapes. One is named with a clear Crash Bandicoot pun, Smash Brandi’s Cootch.

The Last of Us Part 2 is not open-world, but will have wider spaces that allow characters to investigate its periphery to learn more about the world and characters.

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Gameplay

The “listen” ability returns, allowing Ellie to hear through walls and sense where infected and human enemies are located nearby.

The listen ability now lets players see the scent trail Ellie leaves behind when enemy dogs are nearby.

Ellie and Dina ride on horseback in one level, and your horses are thankfully quite loyal and smart. If you run too far away from them, they’ll amble their way over to your location so you don’t have to criss-cross a level to get to them.

Dogs can be distracted with a tossed bottle or brick, but eventually if you get too near them again, or a new dog, they’ll pick your scent back up.

Trap mines, stun bombs, molotov cocktails, pistol silencers, and medkits can all be crafted from items found around the environment.

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Weapons can be upgraded once again with parts collected throughout the world. Ellie can make these upgrades throughout the world at workbenches she finds.

Weapons include a shotgun, rifle, pistol, revolver, and bow and arrow.

Ellie did not have a bow during the Jackson, Wyoming portion of the demo, but later got one along the way in Seattle.

Arrows can be recovered after successful headshots, and new arrows can be crafted from gathered materials.

Ellie has upgrade skill trees. Ellie can earn new abilities by collecting the necessary amount of pill bottles throughout the world. Some of the skills we saw included increased health, increased movement speed during Listen mode, and increased speed of medkits.

Ellie can jump thanks to a dedicated jump button.

Ellie can also dodge in combat thanks to a dedicated dodge button.

Ellie can crouch for cover, or lay prone on the ground.

Ellie is able to hide in grass, but if not completely covered can be noticed by an approaching enemy.

Naughty Dog has introduced a new type of infected - the Shambler, a slower but more powerful enemy type.

Other infected that returned in the demo were Runners and Clickers.

Common enemies call each other by name, and have relationships with one another, so killing one may alert others on a more personal level.

Character

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Joel and Ellie live in a large settlement in Jackson, Wyoming at the start of The Last of Us Part 2.

Dina lived there before the two arrived, but has become Ellie’s best friend.

Joel still loves watching cheesy action movies, and he and Ellie, on the night of the “Patrol” level in our hands-on demo, had plans to watch one.

Ellie’s horse is named Shimmer and Dina’s is named Japan.

Ellie is one of the members of the Jackson, Wyoming settlement who goes out on daily expeditions to survey the area and ensure its safety.

Ellie wears a gas mask during one section of The Last of Us part 2 demo, though as we know from the first game she’s immune to the cordecyps virus. We don’t know why she’s wearing the mask, but our best guess is it’s to keep up appearances and not reveal her secret.

You’ve seen part of the Ellie and Dina conversation down in the weed basement, where they discuss the kiss they had from the E3 2018 The Last of Us Part 2 showcase. I watched the full cutscene during my demo — Dina rates the kiss a 6, in a very teasing, affectionate way.

Ellie’s time in Seattle introduces the WLF, or the Washington Liberation Front. They’re a militant group who have taken over the area and are xenophobic, imprisoning or killing those who trespass on their territory.

Ellie has come to Seattle to rescue Tommy, Joel’s brother.

Overall Game

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The Last of Us Part 2 will not have multiplayer (but I also think a standalone Last of Us multiplayer game could be great).

The Last of Us Part 2 will be released on two discs.

The Last of Us Part 2 is Naughty Dog’s longest game ever.

The Last of Us Part 2 has three special editions - the Special, Collector’s, and Ellie Editions.

With that in mind, I've broken down those details, ranging from gameplay, setting, characters, and release plans for The Last of Us Part 2, below. (If any of this feels familiar, I covered much of it in my preview, but be sure to read on for even more!)

Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of its weekly PlayStation show Podcast Beyond!, and can't wait to play more The Last of Us Part 2. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush