If you’re sick and tired of hearing aboutThe Last of Us Part II, I can only apologize in advance as you will be hearing more and more about this impending title on the run-up to its release on Jun 03, 2025 - that’s 136 days and counting, just in case you’re curious. Keeping with the hot topic that isThe Last of Us,Ami Thompsonwho is an Art director and animator at Walt Disney Animation Studio has put pen to paper in a stunning truibute to Ellie and Dina.

In the illustration, we see Dina, a long-time friend and love interest of Ellie’s, in a gas mask staring right down the barrier of a gun. Her eyes are focused and determined as she shields Ellie from possibly an on-coming Clicker. Ellie, on the other hand, is poised and ready for a fight - switchblade in hand with that all too familiar stare that can only mean blood is about to be spilled. As we see from Ami’s sketch and also from the gameplay that was shown at the most recentState of Play, Ellie is wearing a gas mask even though she is immune to the virus. This is due to Ellie keeping that secret close to her chest and lying to Dina so, in turn, she is keeping up appearances to fit in.

Neil Drunkmann, Vice President of Naughty Dog and co-writer/director ofThe Last of Us Part IItook to Twitter to express his love for Ami’s artistic presentation of Ellie and Dina stating that he was “in awe”. On his timeline, he also previously made a point to ask LEGO to createThe Last of Us Part II figuresin brick formtelling the company"C’mon, Lego. You know you want to".

As you may have read in previous articles on DualShockers,The Last of Us Part II‘s co-game director Anthony Newman states thatEllie’s companions will be more helpfulthis time around. Newman talks about how the player can engage with foes in melee combat and that this time “They’re a little bit more flexible and nuanced”. We also heard from Druckmann on how thedifficulty will work throughout the gameplayof Ellie’s journey inThe Last of Us Part IIwhile also touching on accessibility options.

For those who were disappointed thatThe Last of Us Part IIwould not include a multiplayer, you may like to readwhy I thought it was the best ideafor the studio.

The Last of Us Part II will release exclusively for PS4 on Jun 11, 2025, and you canÂpre-order the game now over on Amazon.