The Last of Us 2 director says that he "stands by the game we made" despite criticism

The Last of Us 2 director Neil Druckmann has recently stated that he "stands by the game we made" when referring to the criticism it received from some players. 

In an interview with Game Informer, when discussing how the studio dealt with the negative reaction towards The Last of Us 2, Naughty Dog co-president and the game’s director Neil Druckmann stated: “When we started making The Last of Us Part 2, specifically, we knew we were making something that would be controversial for part of the fanbase.” 

He then follows up with this statement reassuring fans that "our intention is not to upset people or alienate people, our intention is to tell a story that’s meaningful to us that we think has some value behind it, and is worth spending years of our time making," before finishing with "it’s unfortunate [that some didn’t like The Last of Us Part 2], but I stand by the game we made."

Druckmann then revealed how difficult of a time it was following the game leaking just a few weeks before its release. "That was a really low point for me," he explains "when we had the leaks, before anybody had a chance to play it, that’s when we got a ton of negativity, and we started questioning, 'is this game going to be successful at all?' We didn’t even know how much the leak really hurt us."

On a more positive note, despite some fans deciding they didn’t like what Naughty Dog had to offer in The Last of Us 2, plenty of other fans have gone above and beyond to show their appreciation for the game. This has led to the game winning several awards such as Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2020, as well as Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick awards. These, along with many other awards, made The Last of Us 2 - at one point - the most awarded game ever.

Get an idea of what the award-winning studio is currently working on as Naughty Dog teases its “first standalone multiplayer game” in a new set of job listings.