Controversial Moments in The Last of Us Part II

If you want a ranking that’ll get any fan of The Last of Us Part II talking, this is it. This countdown covers the five most controversial debates the fandom has ever wrestled with—decisions that split friends, upended expectations, and kept message boards burning for months. The drama isn’t just about who lives or dies. It’s about risk-taking, themes, and the very soul of a blockbuster sequel. Let’s get right into it, counting down from number five to the single most fiercely debated talking point in The Last of Us Part II’s history.

Number five: The shift from open world to linear gameplay During early development, Naughty Dog planned for The Last of Us Part II to feature open world environments with hub worlds in Jackson and Seattle. Players would have completed missions in these expansive spaces, switching between characters as the story demanded. As production progressed, the game transitioned to a more linear structure, with tightly controlled pacing and narrative progression. The decision was made because the creative leads, including Neil Druckmann, Anthony Newman, and Kurt Margenau, felt a linear format better served the emotional journey and narrative momentum. For fans, this became a point of heated debate. Some wanted the freedom and replayability of a true open world, while others argue the focused approach gave the story its power. The abandonment of the open world structure is a textbook example of Naughty Dog’s philosophy: narrative first, even if it means cutting features that had already been in development.

Number four: The length and scale of the game The Last of Us Part II is the longest game Naughty Dog had produced to date, with a development process involving 2,169 developers across 14 studios, and a reported budget of $220 million. The main development team at Naughty Dog consisted of about 350 people, and the project spanned more than five years. This enormous scope led to a game with substantial content—longer playtime, bigger environments, and more elaborate encounters than its predecessor. The debate among fans comes down to whether bigger really meant better. Some celebrate the ambition, the hours of gameplay, and the depth of detail in Seattle’s overgrown ruins. Others feel the pacing suffered, that certain segments dragged, and that the game’s emotional impact was diluted by its sheer size. The scale was intended to immerse, but for many, it became a point of contention about how much is too much in a narrative-driven experience.

Number three: Abby as the second protagonist Perhaps few decisions upended player expectations more than the introduction of Abby, portrayed by Laura Bailey, as a fully playable protagonist. The switch was inspired by the character handoff from Joel to Ellie in the first game, but here it’s pushed further. Druckmann and Halley Gross, who co-wrote the story, wanted to force players to empathize with someone they’d been primed to hate. Abby’s character arc mirrors and contrasts Ellie’s, with both driven by trauma and the pursuit of justice—or revenge. The writers made a conscious choice to reveal Abby’s vulnerabilities after her initial act of violence. Fans split immediately. Some praised the risk, calling it a bold narrative experiment that deepened the themes of empathy and the cycle of violence. Others saw it as a betrayal, arguing they were manipulated into caring for a character they were never meant to like. Mental gymnastics or storytelling masterclass? The debate rages on.

Number two: The removal and evolution of Joel Joel, portrayed by Troy Baker, returns in Part II but meets a violent end early in the story. Druckmann considered Joel’s death a core part of the sequel’s structure from the beginning of development. The scene was designed to feel “gross, unceremonious, and humiliating,” stripping any sense of heroism away. There were multiple early drafts—some more gruesome, some in which Ellie was not present, and even one where Joel had a girlfriend named Esther, who was later scrapped. The impact of Joel’s death was intended to provoke anger instead of sadness, making players experience the thirst for revenge firsthand. Fans remain divided to this day. Some see it as a necessary reckoning, a consequence of Joel’s actions in the original game. Others feel it was a narrative miscalculation, eliminating a beloved character too soon and leaving them emotionally detached from the rest of the journey. It’s one of those moments that no amount of developer explanation seems to settle.

And finally, number one: The central theme of revenge and its execution The most debated aspect of The Last of Us Part II is the relentless focus on revenge as both theme and gameplay loop. Neil Druckmann drew on his own experiences growing up in the West Bank, where violence was a constant topic. He was inspired by stories like Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Dave Grossman’s On Killing, wanting the player to feel a “thirst for revenge” and then sit with the consequences of violence. The entire story is structured to show the cost of retribution, especially when seen through both Ellie’s and Abby’s eyes. The game pushes the player to uncomfortable places, forcing them to commit or witness brutal acts, then reflect on what’s been lost. For some, this is the game’s greatest triumph—a mature, unflinching look at the cost of hate. For others, it’s an endless cycle of misery, with little hope or catharsis, making the experience exhausting rather than enlightening. The polarized reaction was predicted by the creative team, who admitted they’d rather inspire passionate hate than apathy. This point sits at the heart of every debate about The Last of Us Part II: does the game’s insistence on making the player complicit in violent, vengeful acts elevate the medium, or push it too far?

There’s no way everyone’s going to agree with this ranking. Maybe you think the controversy about accessibility options should’ve made the list, since Naughty Dog’s inclusion of around 60 options—like high-contrast mode and customizable controls—was seen by some as groundbreaking and by others as over-engineered. Or perhaps you’d argue the portrayal of trauma and mental health deserved a spot, since Halley Gross drew from her own experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder to write Ellie’s and Abby’s journeys. But that’s the fun of it. If you’re a fan, you’ve probably argued at least one of these points, maybe all five. So let’s hear it—what did we miss? What’s overrated? Send in your own rankings, and keep the debate going.