011The Big 10
STORIESEVERYONE’STALKINGABOUT
those things that I think just kind of
helps contrast the darker aspects,
like, yes, you just fed on someone in
an alley and left them unconscious
and then you go out and, you know,
there’s like a wreath on the door and
like Christmas lights and everything
is very cheery downtown. It’s a good
contrast. It’s pretty dark; I think it
makes it darker.”
While Bloodlines 2 isn’t a proper
Christmas Game, then, it can’t be
denied how important the festive
holiday period will be in it. The
brooding, monstrous experience of
the vampire contrasting vividly with
a holiday that celebrates generosity,
community, and some of humanity’s
better traits is a fascinating aspect
that we can’t wait to unspool further
whenweplaythefullgame.
Bloodlines 2 has been delayed from
March 2020 to later in the year.Next year’s biggestgame getsdelayed
The Last Of Us
Part II stalls
ACTION HERO
“While we’re relieved that we
won’t have to compromise our
vision, we’re disappointed that we
weren’t able to avoid this exact
situation,” said The Last Of Us
Part II’s director Neil Druckmann.We’ve waited a long time
for this – we can hang
on a bit longer for that
extra quality boost.03
You will have read
our hands-on with
Naughty Dog’s epic
sequel The Last Of
Us Part II last issue
and thought, “Yep,
can’t wait to play that.” Well you’ll
have to, because Naughty Dog has
delayed the game until 29 May.
Following the excitingpreview
event, game
director Neil
Druckmann said
the team felt
“invigorated”. But
during the weeks
that followed
something
changed.
He explains in a
open letter on the PlayStationBlog:
“It was during the last few weeks, as
we were closing out sections of the
game, that we realised we simply
didn’t have enough time to bring the
entire game up to a level of polish we
would call Naughty Dog quality. At
this point we were faced with two
options: compromise parts of the
game or get more time. We went
with the latter, and this new releasedate allows us to finish everything to
our level of satisfaction while also
reducing stress on the team.”
This isn’t the first time Naughty
Dog has delayed the release of a
tentpole release. Fans will remember
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End went
through a similar drama.
It’s commendable that the
developerwon’tcompromise its
vision for The Last
Of Us Part II.
Though we’re
disappointed to
not be playing
Ellie’s journey in
February as
planned, we
believe in Naughty
Dog’s ability to
delivera polishedgame.
“We wish we could’ve foreseen
the amount of polish we needed, but
the size and scope of this game got
the better of us,” Druckmann says
(our emphasis). The implication is
this will be one of the largest, most
impressivegamesonPS4.IT’S LAUDABLE
THAT THE
DEVELOPER
WON’T
COMPROMISE.How do you feel about the delay to The
Last Of Us Part II? Tweet us @OPM_UK.