The Last of Us Part II: Significant Plot Details Leaked

This Article contains spoilers.

Delayed indefinitely by Sony, highly anticipated game The Last of Us 2 has received a significant blow to its hype by way of leaked gameplay footage that made its way to YouTube yesterday. While Sony quickly took the footage down, the “internet is forever” and once let out of the bag was quickly spread through different uploaders in various segments, and reactions to the new information have not been the most positive.

Keep in mind that while these are what appear to be finished cutscenes and gameplay element, with the nature of video game development these scenes may be changed at a later time as the game is still technically ‘in the works’ and may not be representative of the final product. Who exactly leaked this is up for speculation also, with many suggesting it may have been a disgruntled employee due to how severe the crunch on this title has been. However there has been no evidence of that, and is currently just speculation.

UPDATE: Naughty Dog has released a statement regarding the leaks:

With that said, spoilers are given below, with links to appropriate clips while they remain online:

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-First off is a leaked task list for the game, showing that several levels towards the end are played from new character Abby’s point of view, according to a debug menu. It’s not entirely certain if these are cutscenes themselves or full on levels.

Sources such as 4chan had rumored playthroughs with additional details, such as Ellie dying at Abby’s hands and a sequel baited regarding Ellie’s friends seeking revenge, and that Abby’s father was one of the surgeons Joel killed at the end of the first Last of Us. However none of the available clips substantiate this, and it should be taken with a grain of salt. Additionally despite online speculation that Abby is MtF transgender, there is no evidence given in the shown clips.

–In the first cutscene shown, Joel and now older Ellie make it through an abandoned building discussing Jesse, a friend of Ellie’s that Joel assumes she has affections towards. Later after encountering a zombie, the two of them talk and Ellie reveals when they left the hospital Joel told her there were many others immune to the zombifying infection like her, something she doubts. Joel informs her there was no cure. Later talking with Jesse’s girlfriend Dina while she stitches up herself, they appear to be tracking fellow survivors, one of which is Abby, who Ellie decides to go after.

–In the next scene, Ellie and Dina are shown playfully teasing each other in their underwear. Jesse comes back early and encounters the two quickly trying to put back on their pants as an annoyed Jesse walks off. Exactly where this clip falls in the continuity is uncertain, as it may precede the one before it.

–The next silent clip shows Ellie walking into a room with a shotgun while a battered and bloodied Joel lies on the ground. Abby stands over him with a golf club, while others in the room wrestle Ellie to the ground and one of the group proceeds to start kicking her. He’s pulled away and another body is shown in a similar condition to Joel on the floor before the scene is abruptly cut off.

–The next clip shows Ellie waking up, telling Dina she has to finish something, much to Dina’s frustration and dismay. Ellie says she loves her, while Dina retorts for her to prove it and stay. When Ellie informs her she has no plans to die Dina makes mention that neither did Joel or Jesse, indicating that both of them are indeed dead. Ellie decides to go after Abby anyway, while Dina states she’s not going to go through the heartache of loss again. The scene then switches to Abby and another shorter character with a bow, Lev, discussing following a lead.

–The last clip shows Abby brutally punching down Ellie, before Dina rushes in with a knife, flailing it around to try and stop a pinned Abby before Lev shoots her with an arrow. and Abby smashes Dina’s head into the floor repeated before holding the knife to her throat as Ellie begs her to stop. As she’s about to kill her anyway Lev calls her out her name, and she relents, shoving Dina off her and storming off as Ellie chokes slightly on her own blood.

-In one unavailable clip, Ellie is shown mourning over Joel’s grave. Where this falls in the continuity is uncertain, but most likely precedes the preceding brawl.

Additional information will be added in subsequent articles, but for now the game appears to be taking quite a controversial direction. Whether a Last of Us Part III is planned is unknown, though the fight between Abby and Ellie do seem to occur so close to the end of the game it leaves little room to wrap things up according to the task menu. Whatever the case, Sony and NaughtyDog both are going to get some interesting replies from curious fans looking over the leaks.

Riot Puts Bounty Out For Bugs on New Anti-Cheat System

Offering up to $100k to find flaws in new software.

As reported yesterday by Jack Frost, Riot’s new anti-cheat software, Valeriant, installs itself deeper into user’s PCs than most software: into your computer’s rootkit directly. Now through a bounty hosted on HackerOne, users are being invited to help pinpoint security vulnerabilities in said software, with the more dangerous exploits earning the most money. The lowest level is $25,000 for finding a flaw that let’s hackers access a user’s personal information, while the highest is described as “code execution on the kernel level”, basically allowing a hacker to hijack a computer completely.

Such anti-cheat software is troubling on its own given how easily software can detect false positives and just how deep into your computer’s “brain” this gets its hooks into. Riot seems a bit aware of this fact, as this bounty is far higher than most others posted on the site to help find security flaws, with the closest highest being Rockstar Gaming at $10,000 at most. Riot’s own other bounties for other games don’t come anywhere near this amount, and a spokesman for their security team stated the tactic was intended to allow them to put their money where their mouth is.

Regardless Valeriant has caused a cause for concern for many users, as it is not only always on and given the highest permissions, but any bugs that are found in the software will require Riot to work with Microsoft to fix them. Given their ties to Tencent, a Chinese company that holds a whopping 93% stake in Riot, it’s easy to feel concern they may abuse such access themselves with users possibly none the wiser.

Veteran Voice Actor Rick May Passes Away Due to COVID-19

Voice of Team Fortress 2’s Soldier Among Other Roles

Today Larry Albert stated on his facebook page that he was shocked to discover fellow voice actor Rick May had passed away due to the Corona Virus. The two, who had known each other for over thirty years had worked together as the Sniper and Soldier for Team Fortress 2, also worked together on a radio program titled “The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” since 1998, in which May voiced the character of Inspector Lestrade. Previous to his death May had suffered a recent heart attack, and was also battling cancer.

Richard J. May, born September 21, 1940, voiced several other characters in other franchises, including both Peppy Hare and Andross in Star Fox 64. He was also a theatrical performer, touring the award-winning one man play, “Bully! An Adventure with Teddy Roosevelt”, among many other roles. Hired by Valve in 2006, May voiced the iconic Soldier in every appearance of the character, and is fondly remembered by Albert as a “force of nature”, adding “he might have bragged that it took a pandemic to bring him down.”

He is survived by his wife Diana May. Rest in peace.