Summary
The Last of Ushas always maintained elements of gunplay that carried over somewhat from Naughty Dog’sUncharted. However, whileUncharted’s shooter gameplay was bombastic and epically proportioned,The Last of Usmarinated its gunplay in more of a survival-horror perspective with ammunition being more precious and far fewer enemies who are more imposing. In fact,The Last of Us’ gunplay has always had an element of suspense since it involves cat-and-mouse stealth, where enemies creep between waist-high cover points as much as the player does.
Of course,The Last of Usmight not be readily associated with the term ‘shooter’ since not all of its combat revolves around firing guns, though that is a significant part of the combat when players are engaged fully in offensive strategies.The Last of Us Part 2makes this even more succinct with Abby and the WLFs who are well-equipped with military-grade weaponry, rather than the handful of pistols or shotguns Joel was able to scrounge together. Moreover,The Last of Us Part 2’s No Return roguelike modetips those scales further, and in doing so Naughty Dog has never seemed more primed to tackle a Punisher game.
Naughty Dog Leaning into Shooter Gameplay Could Precipitate a Marvel Punisher Game
Naughty Dog’s Long-Rumored to Be Developing a Punisher Game
Ever sinceNaughty Dog’s Neil Druckmannexpressed an interest in working on a Punisher game, the possibility of Naughty Dog doing so has been highly anticipated. There’s nothing that suggests fans should be ready to hear such an announcement, either, but because Naughty Dog has been such a resounding success for PlayStation it seems like it would have its pick of an IP if offered anything.
Marvel has recently and wildly been handing out its license to developers, including:
If Naughty Dog’s emphasis on an action-filledLast of Usmode might mean anything concerning future games, the developer’s next game may have similar shooter mechanics as well. That’s why, if Druckmann was to get his wish,a Punisher game would be right up Naughty Dog’s alley.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Gunplay Could Be a Clean Transition to Punisher
It would be difficult to imagine Frank Castle lobbing bricks around to distract enemies, but all the core mechanics thatThe Last of Ushas as a foundation could lay the same brickwork fora Punisher game. Even though Punisher has had a bit more relevancy in popular media around the time that the Netflix Marvel adaptation came out, the character is still somewhat of a blank canvas with nowhere near as rigid of a depiction as icons like Spider-Man or Batman.
Naughty Dog could take the emotional tragedy Frank suffers and make it a harrowing tale, and gunplay is already well within its wheelhouse. No Return arrives withThe Last of Us Part 2’s remaster next month; it’ll be interesting to see how that plays and how that contributes to the overall experience. It’s not to say that Naughty Dog’s next game will be a roguelike, but if gunplay is a gameplay element that the studio is honing in on then it would be exciting if those talents could transition to a Punisher game, too.
Then, if Naughty Dog truly wanted to make its take on Punisher unique, it could give him the black-and-white War Machine suit to run around in. Either way, Naughty Dog will hopefully have more to share about its next endeavors soon.
The Last of Us Part 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Play the winner of over 300 Game of the Year awards, remastered for the PlayStation®5 console. Relive or play for the first time Ellie and Abby’s story, now with graphical enhancements, new gameplay modes like the roguelike survival experience No Return, full DualSense® wireless controller integration, and more. Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closur
