Single-Player, Abby-Starring DLC Rumoured For ‘The Last Of Us Part 2’

Here's one to file under Strictly A Rumour (for now). We already know that The Last of Us Part II's anticipated multiplayer mode is in development at Naughty Dog, and will release sometime in the not-so-distant future for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, with the Sony studio electing to not release it with the main game in 2020. But now there's a tickle of a tempting titbit of supposedly leaked information, that suggests single-player DLC is also in the works, for the records-breaking, multi-award-winning game.

Before we go any further with this, another reminder that leaks like this should always be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. GameByte's report on this DLC cites a 4Chan leaker by the handle of uZyl... although it's worth noting that Naughty Dog themselves have said, a few times now, no single-player DLC is planned for The Last of Us Part II. Still, plans can always change, right?

So let's humour ourselves for a second, and consider the possibility of single-player DLC for The Last of Us Part II, shall we? Cos, NGL, that'd be warmly welcomed by a lot of players. And this DLC, so the supposed leak says, will focus not on the series' main protagonist Ellie, but her co-star/nemesis in the sequel, Abby. More Abby, anyone? Sure that'll go down a treat with the character's haters.

Of course, single-player DLC would be nothing new for this series. The Last of Us: Left Behind was one of the most exceptional slices of post-release DLC that gaming had ever seen, when it came out on Valentine's Day, 2014. Bringing substantial narrative context to the events of the original, 2013-released game, it told of protagonist Ellie's relationship with the doomed Riley, whose fate really acts as a catalyst for how Ellie behaves in The Last of Us.

Just thinking about the DLC now, I'm struck by just how well Naughty Dog used the two- to three-hour run time to make Left Behind not just a welcome expansion to the story of The Last of Us, but totally indispensable. No Left Behind, no complete The Last of Us experience. The game just doesn't work without it. Which, you might say, means it should have been part of the base game. But with it bundled in the Remastered edition anyway, such a discussion is moot.

Okay, back to this DLC, though, and the 'leak' (as posted on Reddit) says that an all-new, Abby-focused, single-player "chapter" will release alongside The Last of Us Part II's multiplayer mode. This bundle will be called The Last of Us Part II - Dark Sides, and will also include a battle royale mode which is chronologically set during the events of the second game's story, before its ending.

So um, what do you reckon? So smoke without fire, so they say - but it is ever so easy, these days, to make a stink about stuff that simply doesn't exist. I wouldn't hold your breath for solo DLC for The Last of Us Part II - as much as I'm part of that substantial crowd who'd like to see such a release.

Topics: The Last of Us Part 2, Naughty Dog