The recently released film Alien: Romulus adds a new slice worldbuilding Foreigner Franchise. It tells the story of three siblings whose path crosses with hostile aliens such as facehuggers and chestbursters. It becomes clear early on that all is not well with Andy, and as the film progresses, things only get worse. This dynamic could be implemented in a creative way in The Last of Us.

If Naughty Dog is brave enough, it will be inspired by Romulus and make a new The Last of Us game where a character slowly succumbs to the infection. It would be a long and tragic storyline, and players would also learn more about how the infection progresses and strips its host of their humanity. It would be a brutally heartbreaking story, but it could be just what the franchise needs to continue to evoke strong emotions in players.

The slow decline of Andy in Alien: Romulus

It is established early in Alien: Romulus that Andy is not functioning properly. He becomes a cold and calculating character whose loyalties have changed. Thankfully, the film ends on a somewhat hopeful note and his sister turns Andy back to his old self.

The next The Last of Us The game could also create something similar. It could involve a storyline where Ellie makes a new friend who then becomes monstrous abominations of themselves. It would be a particularly traumatic experience for Ellie, as she has already witnessed her friend Riley turn into an infected. It would be an absolutely heartbreaking event, but Naughty Dog is known for creating games that evoke strong emotions.

As players watch the slow transformation, they gain a deeper understanding of the infected and their transformation processes, which is explored in depth in the games. The idea of ​​a slow infection is appealing because it forces players to confront the fact that their demise is inevitable and the person they once loved has turned into something ugly. It also forces players to think about philosophical issues such as identity and humanity.

There is a clever way Naughty Dog could implement a slow infection

One of the possibilities The Last of Us 3 could mimic the dynamics of Alien: Romulus is the introduction of a new strain of infection that slows down the transformation of its victim, forcing players to watch a loved one’s humanity gradually fade away. It would also help with the world building of the game by putting more focus on the process of becoming infected.

Unfortunately, Alien: RomulusThe dynamics can never be fully transferred to The Last of Us for one simple reason – there is no cure for the infected. However, the lack of a cure could lead Ellie to travel far to find one. In many ways, the lack of power players have to help their friends would be quite morbid and could add to the psychological horror aspect of the game. A slow infection would also force Ellie to think deeply about how long she will let her friend live before all of humanity is lost and the infected must be eliminated.

Things have been pretty quiet around Naughty Dog for a while, leaving gamers wondering what the studio is up to. Some rumors claim the studio is working on a new IP, while others claim The Last of Us 3 will be Naughty Dog’s next game. Whatever the studio’s next game ends up being, players can be assured that it will be an emotionally gripping game with some of the best writing in the industry. Until official announcements are made, it’s probably wise to take all rumors with a grain of salt.