The Last Of Us Part II: 'A game about bad people doing bad things to survive'

It's been six years since Ellie and Joel adventured across a post-apocalyptic America in the hugely successful game The Last Of Us.

But finally, the wait for fans is nearly over. Sony has announced the release date for The Last Of Us Part II.

They've also dropped a new trailer - packed with action, horror and emotional reunions.

But how do you follow such an acclaimed game? And did it need a sequel at all?

The Last of Us Part II is due for release on 21 February 2020 - so gamers may want to book the day off now.

"People are really excited," games journalist and presenter Alysia Judge tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"Even people who, at the end of The Last of Us, said it was perfect and didn't need a sequel."

Definitely not going in there

Perfect might be pushing things, but the first game does hold an impressive 95% score on review site Metacritic, won numerous awards and sold more than 17 million copies worldwide.

'Killing felt exactly how it should; Awful'

Alysia says it achieved this success, in part, because the game's makers, Naughty Dog (the team behind Crash Bandicoot and Uncharted) mixed powerful storytelling, amazing visuals and asking more of gamers than most big-budget titles.

"It's about bad people doing bad things to survive. Killing someone here felt exactly how it should: awful," says Alysia.

"It wasn't just another game about zombies, it's about humans and people - and ultimately the relationship at its core between Joel and Ellie.

"Its graphics were insanely amazing and then it combines that with this really strong narrative."

Post-apocalyptic daddy Joel is back for more brooding in the shadows

The Last of Us was released in 2013 toward the end of the PlayStation 3's time wedged under our televisions and The Last Of Us Part II comes as many people expect Sony to start winding up the PlayStation 4.

But while many fans are getting hyped about the new trailer and release date, Alysia says she'll be keeping calm until February.

'We'll only know what it's like when we play it'

After all, Naughty Dog has previous when it comes to misleading gamers.

"In this game, it looks like you're playing Ellie for the majority of it... but we'll see," she says.

She's still burned from how Naughty Dog stayed vague about Joel and Ellie's relationship before the release of the original game, and what the characters were on the road to achieve.

"Naughty Dog often play with fans' expectations for the trailer, I feel like we'll only really know what the sequel is like once we start playing it."

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