The Infamous Golf Scene From 'The Last Of Us Part 2' Was Inspired By A Real Life Event

That extremely shocking and explicit scene in The Last Of Us Part 2? Yep, can't miss it, can't mistake it? Turns out that the writers drew from an anecdote which then inspired the grisly end of one of the most important characters.

Here's your warning that spoilers for The Last Of Us Part 2 follow.

When the game leaked ahead of its launch, it was this moment that sparked significant ire in some corners of the community. Early on in the story, Joel and Tommy encounter Abby and Liam's group, and upon discovering their identities, the survivors take the two men down. Abby, who is in fact the daughter of the surgeon that would have operated on the teenage Ellie, exacts her revenge on Joel for robbing her of her father. She picks up a golf club and hits him over and over while Ellie is restrained and physically unable to look away as the injuries become more and more grievous.

In an interview with The Washington Post, creative director Neil Druckmann explained that this wasn't originally the way that the character was going to go out."For a long time, Abby stabbed Joel in the back then twisted the knife to paralyze him," he said. I mean, that sounds equally awful - both of these outcomes are gnarly deaths for a beloved character. "But the knife felt more like an Ellie thing. We wanted something different." Knives are Ellie's weapon of choice, and the gameplay itself was specifically tailored towards a stealthier and much more savage style of play to reflect Ellie's anguish at losing someone she loved.

The golf club then came to mind when Druckmann remembered a macabre mishap of his youth. When he was 16, he and his friends took a trip out to go golfing. Druckmann was unfortunately standing too close, and the club hit him with some serious speed and power behind the swing. The injury required 30 stitches and there's apparently a permanent dent in his skull from the event. Eesh. "Ha. No one asked me about it," joked Druckmann. "My friend was into it. He invited me to go to a driving range. He was showing me the ropes. I stood behind him, and got smacked on the back swing. Blood everywhere."

The Last Of Us Part 2 is nominated for a whopping 13 awards at BAFTA's British Academy Games Awards, which will be livestreamed later this month. As well as this, there's the EE Game of the Year award which you yourself are able to vote on. The roster reads: Valorant, The Last Of Us Part 2, Hades, Ghost of Tsushima, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Voting is open now and available through this link.

Topics: News, The Last Of Us