The Last of Us Part II Gameplay Premiered in State of Play Broadcast

Sony premiered a gameplay trailer for The Last of Us Part II on Wednesday, broadcasting what will likely be the last gameplay preview before the game's June 19 release during a State of Play stream.

The stream began with a previously released trailer before Neil Druckmann addressed the audience over new gameplay footage, discussing details of gameplay and story.

Ellie is 19 in The Last of Us Part II, which is set four years after the first game. She's on a quest to save her friend and possible partner Dina, and to that end explores Wyoming and the Pacific Northwest chasing after her. Druckmann says the game will span multiple seasons and climates, allowing for a wide range of environments.

Ellie is more mobile in Part II, capable of using ropes to climb up or down sheer surfaces, or to swing across gaps. She's also agile and stealthy, capable of dodging enemy knife attacks and lying down in tall grass to hide.

Druckmann says Part II includes "some of the largest environments we've ever created," allowing players more freedom in how they approach encounters with the game's three main enemy factions in Seattle — the setting for much of the game.

The Washington Liberation Front, which began as resistance to the military occupation, now controls much of Seattle using repurposed military weaponry. The Seraphites, also known as the Scars, are religious zealots bearing scars on their faces that attack with stealth.

The third faction is the Infected, of which several new variants appear in the game. Druckmann showed off the more aggressive, newly infected Runners, the returning Clickers, stealthy Stalkers, and a new type known as Shamblers. Shamblers, which wear heavy armor, expel spores when near enemies that burn their victims. Druckmann promises more types when the game is released.

Crafting returns in Part II with increased depth and visual flair: weapon modifications will actually appear on the guns in question.

The broadcast ended with the new gameplay trailer that appears to take place relatively early in the game. Ellie begins in a swampy area, swimming in a river. In the distance, she hears non-player characters looking for her, so she swims off to the side and into a flooded basement.

She finds a woman wearing headphones and playing a portable video game console in the basement, and sneaks up to interrogate her. The woman — apparently playing Hotline Miami, based on the music from her headphones — tells Ellie that what she's looking for can be found upstairs in a nearby hospital. She then tries to break free, and Ellie stabs her in the throat.

Leaving the basement, Ellie finds herself in a wide open field full of tall grass, cover, and enemies. She kills several enemies while remaining in hiding, but is forced to get loud when a dog appears on her trail. She tosses a Molotov cocktail at it from above and runs as it howls in pain.

Ellie sneaks along the side of the area, killing enemies with her bow as she moves. Eventually she makes it through the doors to a stairwell and blocks them behind her. Some more sneaking ensues until, finally, she drops through a vent and corners a woman named Nora, ending the demo.