'The Last of Us Part II Remastered’s developer revealed the game initially had a much darker ending.
'The Last of Us Part II Remastered’s developer revealed the game initially had a much darker ending
The title, which is an upgraded version of the 2020 PlayStation game, was originally going to end with Ellie brutally drowning Abby in the final scene, in an act of vengeance for Joel.
In the game’s developer commentary track that is narrated by Neil Druckmann, the president of Naughty Dog, and writer Halley Gross, the director said that the ending was changed because “Joel wouldn’t have wanted Ellie to kill Abby”.
This version would have seen Ellie go home to her Jackson farm, before meeting Abby, who would attack her in an attempt to exact their revenge on the protagonist for taking the life of their child, Lev. After a fierce fight, Ellie would emerge from the fight victorious.
With this ending being removed, the version that made it to the final cut of the game sees Ellie relent and show mercy to Abby, who had bitten two of the protagonist’s fingers off. The hero then lets Abby escape with Lev to look for the Fireflies.
‘The Last of Us Part II’ was initially bashed for its graphic and unrestrained violence, and the inclusion of this cut ending would have likely only added to the criticism.