Naughty Dog is gearing up to launch its post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us, one of the most anticipated experiences of the year, later this month, and has just released the first ever screenshots of its mysterious multiplayer mode on its official Facebook page.
Although the PS3-exclusive places a large emphasis on the single-player campaign, the developer's lead artist Nate Wells made a lofty assertion about the mode on Twitter and stated: "I wish I could appropriately prepare you people for [The Last of Us]...But even if I were allowed to, I can't. And I really can't prepare you for the best [multiplayer] ever conceived."
While Wells' statement may be too strong for many gamers to stomach, Naughty Dog's proven pedigree over the years inspires great confidence in their ability to pull off a strong showing. The developer's past works include the Uncharted, Jak & Daxter, and Crash Bandicoot series.
In an interview with EvolveEnt, Naughty Dog community strategist Arne Meyer explained that the team's DLC plan is exclusively multiplayer-oriented and that players should not expect any extra single player chapters to be added to the game. Currently, no further details concerning the multiplayer mode have leaked, but Naughty Dog suggests keeping tabs on the Playstation Blog for further updates.
In other Last of Us News, creative director Neil Druckmann told GameInformer that owners of the game's digital copy will have the opportunity to begin playing as soon as the download reaches fifty percent completion, a feature which next-gen consoles promise to expand upon.
As for Naughty Dog's future, The Last of Us Game Director Bruce Straley explained to Digital Spy that the developer plans to expand on their current graphics engine rather than start from scratch at the dawn of a new generation, something which reportedly caused much "turmoil."
Notably, Naughty Dog is a two-team developer, and one of their projects is tightly under wraps. Perhaps we will catch a glimpse of the unannounced project at E3 next week.
The Last of Us demo is currently available to God of War: Ascension owners, but the full version of the game launches on June 14.