The Last of Us Part II has been given rating by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board), and to no surprise, the upcoming Playstation game has received an “M” for “Mature” via Dualshockers.
Given the 2013’s The Last of Us (which contained violence, swearing, and gore,) this rating comes to a surprise to no one, but when the actual reasoning behind the rating is revealed it shows to be much different than its predecessor. According to the new information on The Last of Us Part II’s website, the game received its rating for “Blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, sexual content, strong language, and use of drugs.”
The addition of “sexual content” and “nudity” is a first in Naughty Dog’s resume, but does keep in line with their promise to make their games more realistic in telling adult stories.
As Gamespot defines, the ESRB defines nudity as “graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity”, while “sexual content” (which is close to the “sexual themes” listed for The Last of Us) defined as “non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity”. There is no way to pinpoint exactly what these claims mean for the upcoming game, but it can be assumed that from Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann that it will “make fans proud with the story it tells”.
The addition of “drug use” also serves a new claim, but audiences saw this coming when the first trailer showed Ellie and possible partner Dinah sharing a joint together.
The Last of Us Part II is still months away from its release date in May after being pushed back by the creators, so it is possible this rating might change as time goes on.
The Last of Us Part II is scheduled for release on May 29th, 2020 on Playstation 4, while another rumor also surfaces that Naughty Dog is looking for graphics programmer with a background in PC Programming.