From Naughty Dog‘s point of view, the newest kidney-back disorder afflicted Jackson’s development; along with it came a snow-filled complex in The Last of Us Part II, evoking a sense of a location that is almost like an ancestral home. Hailey Del Rio, a designer collaborating on the project, states it’s unbelievable how every little detail carries its weight in storytelling.
In case you have not played this (though I quite understand you may want to replay the heartache), The Last of Us Part II Remastered is for anyone with access to PS5 and, furthermore, PC-Steam here and Epic Games Store. So, if you’re still waiting for it, here goes your chance to return to the heart-wrenching revenge journey of Ellie.
But back to Jackson. Del Rio spoke about how the team shied away from rendering a general post-apocalyptic aesthetic. No, sir, they really went down the rabbit hole. Each building, each street, every random piece of clutter was placed in its position for a reason. They wanted Jackson to feel like a living and breathing community and not just an existing set piece for the story.
Picture this: you walk through Jackson, hear children playing, witnesses adults chatting, and see laundry hanging out to dry. This slight detail makes the world come to life. Del Rio describes an intense investigation into the layouts of small towns to make sure this place lacked that left-over feeling of a sterile videogame level.
And now, look at the lighting. Oh my God, the lighting. The warmth of sunlight on snow, the glow that spills around windows on dark nights-they will always make Jackson feel warm and frail, like a tiny oasis of safety in a dying world.
And this breakdown is just what the fans need. Naughty Dog‘s always been at the summit of environmental storytelling, and here again, the peeling back of that curtain is just so signature in terms of appreciation for the game.
If you’ve finished Part II already, then maybe the remaster is excuse enough to go back for a pretty big test. If you haven’t, buckle up; there is no dodging this one. Jackson serves as a setup for one of the wildest rides in gaming.
No comments in response to the tweet yet, but fans will really be gutting every frame of this breakdown. Expect messages of gratitude and fan art based on Del Rio’s breakdown.
Bottom line? Naughty Dog are bulletproof. If that’s the amount of love and care that went into one location, please, just imagine what the next thing has in store.
