A new feature has been teased for the upcoming The Last of Us online multiplayer game, that suggests a number of door-related animations are being implemented in the project — and that these animations could tie into various stealth mechanics.
We haven’t heard about TLoU’s multiplayer spin-off in some time, since Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann stated that the title has been in development for two years back at Summer Game Fest 2022. However, its Co-Game Director and Lead Animator have now revealed a sliver of information on Twitter, suggesting that it has beefed up one particular facet of The Last of Us 2.
The Last of Us multiplayer is going to have a lot of door animations
The game’s Lead Animator Maksym Zhuravlov took to Twitter to show a video of The Last of Us 2’s copious door animations, revealing that the Naughty Dog team believed they were finished working on them after development on TLoU2 wrapped, as they would be able to “reuse” the animations “forever.”
However, Zhuravlov then revealed that he was “wrong” about this belief, implying that the Naughty Dog team has once again been hard at work on its door animations. Vinit Agarwal, the project’s Co-Game Director, also chimed in, concurring with Zhuravlov.
Working on doors in our current game and yes, @MaksZhuravlov was wrong unfortunately. https://t.co/Oibg8SKrqx
— Vinit Agarwal (@vinixkun) February 27, 2024
While door animations may only seem like a small detail, their inclusion in The Last of Us’ multiplayer game opens up a bunch of opportunities. It suggests that the game may heavily lean into the series’ stealth gameplay, similar to the original’s Factions multiplayer, with players potentially using doors to sneak up on other players. Considering how many unique door animations were present in The Last of Us 2, that more are being added in Naughty Dog’s multiplayer project hints at the level of detail that could be present in it.
In other The Last of Us news, a trial of The Last of Us Part 1 is available on PS Plus Premium as sales skyrocket thanks to the new HBO show.
