When Naughty Dog first came up with its introduction for The Last of Us, the developer considered having players start by controlling Joel rather than his daughter, Sarah.
In a new post about the game’s opening, Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann stated the begining of The Last of Us was “one of the last things” the team finalised ahead of its release. This was because of these initial plans for you to play as Joel from the off.
The team ultimately decided this idea felt too similar to other games from the same genre, and it wanted to set The Last of Us apart from the rest.
