How The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered's Lost Levels would have offered further insight into Ellie's trauma

eurogamer.net:

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered released last week, giving players a native-PS5 version of Ellie and Abby's harrowing experiences.

Along with this rerelease, developer Naughty Dog included some extra bits and pieces to entice players back, such as its roguelike survival mode No Return (see first video below). However, the extra that piqued my interest most when I dived back in this weekend was the game's Lost Levels.

As a reminder, there are three Lost Levels included with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered: Jackson Party, Seattle Sewers and The Hunt. Each offers an interesting bit of background for each level, such as why it didn't make it to the final cut and other development insight. But the bit I want to talk about specifically is how two of the three Lost Levels would address Ellie's trauma. Please note, there will be spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 below.

As you are likely aware, The Last of Us Part 1 protagonist Joel is beaten to death with a golf club by Abby, relatively early on in the game's sequel. The fatal blow happens in front of Ellie's eyes, as she lies pinned to the ground by members of the WLF. It is a harrowing watch even as a player and Ellie is understandably left traumatised by the incident. After Joel's death, she sets out on a quest of vengeance that takes her to Seattle.

This takes us to the second Lost Level, Seattle Sewers. During this section, Ellie has to deal with water puzzles and dead ends before she can make her way back to the surface. This exploration takes Ellie through a tight pipe complete with a Clicker enemy obscuring part of the way forward. There is no option but to squeeze past the Clicker, and in this moment the fungal corpse momentarily changes into an alarming vision of Joel.

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