The music for the 2020 action-adventure survival horror video game The Last of Us Part II , developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, was composed by musician Gustavo Santaolalla, with additional music composed by Mac Quayle. The original score album was released digitally alongside the game in June 2020, featuring the work of Santaolalla and Quayle. An additional extended play, Covers and Rarities, was released in September 2021, featuring five cover songs from the game and its marketing performed by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who portrayed Joel and Ellie, respectively. The game also received two single releases as vinyl records: one in June 2018 featuring music from the trailers, and one in the Ellie Edition of the game in June 2020.
Santaolalla had previously composed the music for The Last of Us (2013). He created music based on the story pitch by creative director Neil Druckmann, and his work often inspired Druckmann to write new scenes. Santaolalla used his signature instrument, the ronroco, to represent Ellie, and the banjo for Abby. The game is themed around the banjo and an electric guitar. While Santaolalla was tasked with creating the emotional, character-based tracks, Quayle composed the combat music. He was hired in 2018 due to his work on the television series Mr. Robot , and aimed to create a suspenseful sound to keep the action moving and reflect the anxiety-inducing gameplay.
The development team received permission to create cover versions of several songs from artists such as Pearl Jam, Shawn James, and A-ha. The covers became a significant part of the characters and their development; Ellie's guitar allows her to access memories and emotions, and Pearl Jam's song "Future Days" acts as a theme between her and Joel throughout the game. Critical reception to the music was positive, as reviewers felt that it connected appropriately with the narrative and added tension to the gameplay. It was nominated for numerous awards.
Gustavo Santaolalla returned to compose and perform the score for The Last of Us Part II , as he had done with the first game. [1] Naughty Dog tasked him to create emotional, character-based tracks, and he worked on the game for two to three years. [2] He created music based on the story pitch by creative director Neil Druckmann and they fit the music into the scenes later, occasionally requiring minor rewrites. [3] Santaolalla delivered small parts over time, often inspiring Druckmann to write new scenes. With the game still in development, Santaolalla worked with the story, characters, and artwork to craft the score, though he was familiar with "the visual language" after the first game. [2] He wanted to maintain and extend the first game's motifs while introducing new elements. [2] He felt his approach in composing had not changed as the themes of love (continued from the first game) and hate (new to Part II) were linked: the latter a deformation of the former. [4]
Santaolalla continued using the ronroco, his signature instrument used in the first game's theme, as he felt it enhanced Ellie's qualities through feminine sounds, [4] while he introduced a banjo for Abby's theme. He composed Part II's score around the banjo and an electric guitar, feeling the increased characters and complexities demanded more timbre. [5] The developers encouraged him to use the banjo despite his initial hesitance; he felt it reflected the game's American setting and origin [4] and his spontaneous use imparted a "searching, reflective, pensive" feeling. [5] Santaolalla wanted Joel's themes rendered acoustically in Part II, replacing the first game's Fender VI bass guitar with esoteric Argentine strings called "Magma", which maintained the Fender's darkness but emitted a more virile sound. [4] For the orchestral parts, Santaolalla favored the bass clarinet for its five octave range and warm quality, akin to a flute. [4] The music during Joel's death scene intended to build dread but feel inevitable, as opposed to the surprise and sadness invoked during Sarah's death in the first game. [6] Druckmann wanted the music to convey narrative elements: after Abby collects the medicine to save Yara, the music symbolizes her redemption; when she later protects Lev, it represents their relationship. [3]
Mac Quayle was hired in early 2018 to create the combat music. [7] [8] The developers were familiar with his work on the television series Mr. Robot . Quayle bought a PlayStation 4 and The Last of Us to familiarize himself with the series. [8] He began writing ideas in May 2018 and delivered final music in January 2020; he found the deadlines more relaxed than film and television. Though they discussed potentially sharing stems and sessions, Santaolalla and Quayle's collaborations were minimal; they performed a three-day recording session in PlayStation's offices in October 2018, experimenting to create "grooves and textures". [8] Quayle attributed their similarities to the developers "really knowing what they wanted". [8] Quayle's music aimed to represent the gameplay's "relentless tension", consistently moving the action forward and heightening suspense and anxiety. [8] Quayle was provided with videos of early gameplay for inspiration. He used Logic Pro to manipulate the live acoustic instruments, of which his favorite were the bass guitar and cello; he brought in a professional cellist for the latter. [8]
Music from The Last of Us Part II | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by | |
Released | June 12, 2018 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 5:30 |
Label | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
Singles from Music from The Last of Us Part II | |
|
Music from The Last of Us Part II is a single consisting of two songs from the game: "Little Sadie" performed by Crooked Still, and "The Last of Us (Cycles)" by Santaolalla. [9] The vinyl record, mastered by James Plotkin, [10] was released in June 2018 following the game's presentation at E3, which featured the song "Little Sadie". It was available to purchase in blue from Mondo, and in red at the PlayStation Gear Store at E3. [9] "The Last of Us (Cycles)" was released digitally as an individual single on September 27, 2018. [11]
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Little Sadie" | Crooked Still | 2:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
2. | "The Last of Us (Cycles)" | Gustavo Santaolalla | 2:55 |
Total length: | 5:30 |
Ellie Edition | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by | |
Released | June 19, 2020 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 4:06 |
Label | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
A single featuring two songs from the game was released as a seven-inch vinyl record with the Ellie Edition of The Last of Us Part II on June 19, 2020. The songs, composed and performed by Santaolalla, were later released in the Original Soundtrack under different titles. The Ellie Edition was exclusive for sale in the United States. [12] [13]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Purpose in Loss" | Gustavo Santaolalla | 1:42 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
2. | "Desolation Road" | Santaolalla | 2:24 |
Total length: | 4:06 |
The Last of Us Part II (Original Soundtrack) | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by | |
Released | June 19, 2020 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 76:56 |
Label | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
Producer |
|
The Last of Us Part II (Original Soundtrack) comprises songs from the game, composed and produced by Santaolalla. The soundtrack spans 28 tracks, covering a duration of 77 minutes. Sony Interactive Entertainment first published the album digitally on June 19, 2020. [14] It was produced by Santaolalla, Aníbal Kerpel, and Scott Hanau, and mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering by Patricia Sullivan. [14] Vinyl record versions were released by Mondo on 5 February 2021 and by Milan Records on 26 February. [15] The Mondo version cover was designed by Tula Lotay. [14] [16]
In the context of the game, the music received praise. IGN 's Jonathon Dornbush lauded Santaolalla's "moving" score, [17] and Andy McNamara of Game Informer found that the music added tension. [18] Kevin Dunsmore of Hardcore Gamer wrote that the "haunting and subtle melodies blend into the world seamlessly". [19] Eurogamer 's Oli Welsh praised the score for its combination of banjo and electronics. [20] The soundtrack was nominated for Best Physical Soundtrack Release at the 18th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards in April 2021. [21]
The album ranked on the charts twice in Europe: August to September 2020, when it ranked 85 in Spain [15] and 170 in Belgium and France; [22] [23] and February to March 2021, when it ranked 11 in the United Kingdom, [24] 62 in Belgium, [22] 96 in Spain, [15] and 193 in France. [23]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Last of Us Part II" | Gustavo Santaolalla | 2:52 |
2. | "Unbound" | Santaolalla | 1:57 |
3. | "Longing" | Santaolalla | 1:45 |
4. | "Eye for an Eye" | Mac Quayle | 2:37 |
5. | "It Can't Last" | Santaolalla | 2:19 |
6. | "The Cycle of Violence" | Quayle | 5:04 |
7. | "Reclaimed Memories" | Santaolalla | 1:42 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
8. | "Cordyceps" | Quayle | 2:40 |
9. | "Longing (Redemptions)" | Santaolalla | 1:42 |
10. | "Restless Spirits" | Santaolalla | 2:12 |
11. | "Chasing a Rumor" | Santaolalla | 2:54 |
12. | "They're Still Out There" | Quayle | 3:32 |
13. | "Unbroken" | Santaolalla | 4:38 |
14. | "The Rattlers" | Quayle | 3:41 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
15. | "The Obsession" | Santaolalla | 1:21 |
16. | "Soft Descent" | Santaolalla | 1:50 |
17. | "The WLF" | Quayle | 3:39 |
18. | "A Wolf's Ghost" | Santaolalla | 2:24 |
19. | "Masks On" | Quayle | 2:02 |
20. | "It Can't Last (Home)" | Santaolalla | 4:29 |
21. | "Inextinguishable Flames" | Santaolalla | 0:59 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
22. | "Allowed to be Happy" | Santaolalla | 2:48 |
23. | "Collateral" | Santaolalla | 2:22 |
24. | "The Cycle Continues" | Quayle | 3:28 |
25. | "All Gone (The Promise)" | Santaolalla | 3:03 |
26. | "Grieving" | Santaolalla | 2:19 |
27. | "The Island" | Quayle | 4:13 |
28. | "Beyond Desolation" | Santaolalla | 2:24 |
Total length: | 76:56 |
The Last of Us Part II: Covers and Rarities | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Chris Rondinella | |
Released | September 27, 2021 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 19:24 |
Label | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
Producer |
The Last of Us Part II: Covers and Rarities comprises five cover songs from the game and its marketing, produced by Santaolalla and Quayle. [25] The covers are performed by actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who portrayed Joel and Ellie respectively, as well as guitarist Chris Rondinella. [25] Sony published the album digitally on September 27, 2021, as part of The Last of Us Day. A vinyl record version was made available for preorder simultaneously, [26] [27] with art designed by Dani Pendergast and liner notes written by Druckmann. [25] Johnson and Baker's cover of "Wayfaring Stranger" plays over the game's credits; completing the game on the "Grounded" difficulty setting will play Baker's cover of "Future Days", while completing on permadeath plays Johnson's cover of "Through the Valley". [28]
The in-game covers became a significant part of the characters and their development, namely Ellie with her guitar. Druckmann found that Ellie's guitar-playing allowed her access to memories and emotions; when she loses her fingers in the game's conclusion, it serves to sever ties to her memories and relationships. [3] The song "Future Days" by Pearl Jam acts as a theme between Ellie and Joel throughout the game. The song was previously featured as part of One Night Live in an unbroadcast epilogue wherein Joel plays the song to Ellie. [29] According to Druckmann, Sony was doubtful that Naughty Dog would receive permission to use the song; the band's manager agreed after hearing the story pitch, receiving a PlayStation 4 and a copy of the original game, and an advanced screening of a trailer. [7] Although the song's album Lightning Bolt was released two weeks after the onset of the in-game outbreak in September 2013, Druckmann recalled seeing a live performance of the song several months earlier in July, and felt that its inclusion was realistic. [3]
An acoustic cover of "True Faith", a song originally by New Order, was used in an animated commercial for the game. [30] The cover is specifically inspired by a version of the song by Lotte Kestner, though she was not credited at the time; when Kestner reached out to Naughty Dog, Druckmann issued an apology and ensured proper credit. [31] Shawn James was contacted by Sony in mid-2014 for permission to create a cover of his song "Through the Valley" for an upcoming game; James was unaware of how it would be used until he watched the game's first trailer at the PlayStation Experience in December 2016. Druckmann had specifically enjoyed the song and felt that it aligned with the game's darkness and emotion. [32] The song went viral after the trailer's release, charting atop the Spotify viral charts in the United Kingdom. [33] For the game's launch, Tash Sultana covered James's song for PlayStation Australia. [34] Naughty Dog was able to secure permission to use "Take On Me" by A-ha in one of the game's scenes due to co-writer Halley Gross's friendship with Lauren Savoy, the wife of A-ha guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. Druckmann found that the song's lyrics addressed the game's themes in a lighthearted manner. [3] He felt that the scene featuring the song being optional made it feel more important to the player, though the team considered making it unmissable instead. [35] After Johnson worked with vocal coach Melissa Reese, the team felt that her singing was too refined, and asked her to consciously sing worse. [3] Johnson and Baker performed "Wayfaring Stranger" in-character in the opening of a PlayStation Experience panel for the game in December 2017. [36]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Future Days" | Eddie Vedder | Troy Baker | 3:40 |
2. | "True Faith (Inspired by Lotte Kestner's Cover)" | Bernard Sumner, Gillian Lesley Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Hague, Stephen Paul David Morris | Ashley Johnson, Chris Rondinella | 4:19 |
3. | "Through the Valley" | Shawn James Mavrides | Johnson, Rondinella | 3:13 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
4. | "Take On Me" | Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, Pal Waaktaar | Johnson, Rondinella | 3:51 |
5. | "Wayfaring Stranger" | Johnson, Baker | 4:21 | |
Total length: | 19:24 |
Santaolalla and Quayle's work on the game was nominated for at British Academy Games Awards, [37] Game Audio Network Guild Awards, [21] The Game Awards, [38] Hollywood Music in Media Awards, [39] New York Game Awards, [40] and Webby Awards; it won the award for People's Voice at the Webby Awards. [41] Scott Hanau, Rob Goodson, and Scott Shoemaker were also nominated for Outstanding Music Supervision at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. [39]
Naughty Dog, LLC is an American first-party video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1984, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001. Gavin and Rubin produced a sequence of progressively more successful games, including Rings of Power and Way of the Warrior in the early 1990s. The latter game prompted Universal Interactive Studios to sign the duo to a three-title contract and fund the expansion of the company.
Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine composer and musician. Known for his minimalist approach to composing, he rose to fame for creating the scores for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006), for which he received two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in consecutive years. Santaolalla also gained recognition for his work on The Last of Us game series, composing the 2013 title and its 2020 sequel. He returned to reprise his themes and co-compose the score for the 2023 television adaptation.
The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last of Us is played from a third-person perspective. Players use firearms and improvised weapons and can use stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated fungus. In the online multiplayer mode, up to eight players engage in cooperative and competitive gameplay.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is a 2016 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the fourth main entry in the Uncharted series. Set several years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, players control Nathan Drake, a former treasure hunter coaxed out of retirement by his presumed-dead brother Samuel. With Nathan's longtime partner, Victor Sullivan, they search for clues to the location of Henry Avery's long-lost treasure. A Thief's End is played from a third-person perspective, and incorporates platformer elements. Players solve puzzles and use firearms, melee combat, and stealth to combat enemies. In the online multiplayer mode, up to ten players engage in co-operative and competitive modes.
Neil Druckmann is an Israeli-American writer, creative director, designer, and programmer. He is the studio head and head of creative of the video game developer Naughty Dog, and is best known for his work on the game franchises Uncharted and The Last of Us, having co-created the latter.
Bruce Straley is an American game director, artist, designer, and studio director. He previously worked for the video game developer Naughty Dog, known for his work on the video games The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Straley's first video game work was as an artist at Western Technologies Inc, where he worked on the Menacer six-game cartridge (1992) and X-Men (1993). Following this, he formed a company, Pacific Softscape, where he worked as a designer on Generations Lost (1994). After the company disbanded, Straley was eventually hired at Crystal Dynamics, where he worked as a designer on Gex: Enter the Gecko (1998) and was initially game director for Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (1999); he left the company partway through development of the latter.
The Last of Us: Left Behind is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is an expansion pack to the 2013 game The Last of Us. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the game switches between two stories: the first, set three weeks before the events of The Last of Us, follows Ellie as she spends time with her best friend Riley in an abandoned mall in Boston; the second takes place between two chapters of The Last of Us and focuses on Ellie's attempts to scour an abandoned mall in Colorado for medical supplies to heal Joel while dealing with enemies.
The development of The Last of Us, an action-adventure game, began after Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' release in October 2009. Sony Computer Entertainment published The Last of Us for PlayStation 3 on June 14, 2013. The three-year development, led by studio Naughty Dog, was kept secret for the majority of development. In the game, players assume control of Joel, a middle-aged smuggler tasked with escorting a 14-year-old girl named Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States in an attempt to create a potential cure against the world-ending infection to which Ellie is immune. Creative director Neil Druckmann was inspired to include the Infected as a main enemy in the game after discovering the Cordyceps fungi. Set 20 years after the outbreak has destroyed much of civilization, the game explores the possibility of the fungi infecting humans.
The music for the 2013 action-adventure survival horror video game The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, was composed by Argentine musician Gustavo Santaolalla. Supplementary music for the game's downloadable content The Last of Us: Left Behind was composed by Santaolalla, Andrew Buresh, Anthony Caruso and Jonathan Mayer. Both soundtracks were produced by Santaolalla, Mayer, and Aníbal Kerpel, with separate segments recorded in both Los Angeles and Nashville.
The Last of Us, a 2013 action-adventure survival horror video game developed by Naughty Dog, deals with the relationship between smuggler Joel, and Ellie. Joel is tasked with escorting Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States in an attempt to create a potential cure against an infection to which Ellie is immune. The relationship between the two characters became the basis of the game's development.
Ellie is a character in the video game series The Last of Us by Naughty Dog. She is portrayed by Ashley Johnson through motion capture and voice acting; in the television adaptation, she is portrayed by Bella Ramsey. In the first game, The Last of Us (2013), Joel Miller is tasked with escorting a 14-year-old Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States in an attempt to create a cure for an infection to which Ellie is immune. While players briefly assume control of Ellie, the artificial intelligence primarily controls her actions. Ellie reappeared as the playable character in the downloadable content prequel The Last of Us: Left Behind, in which she spends time with her friend Riley. In The Last of Us Part II (2020), players control a 19-year-old Ellie as she seeks revenge on Abby.
The Last of Us Part II is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Set four years after The Last of Us (2013), the game focuses on two playable characters in a post-apocalyptic United States whose lives intertwine: Ellie, who sets out in revenge for a murder, and Abby, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict between her militia and a religious cult. The game uses a third-person perspective; the player must fight human enemies and zombie-like creatures with firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth.
Joel Miller is a character in the video game series The Last of Us by Naughty Dog. In the games, he is portrayed by Troy Baker through motion capture and voice acting; in the television adaptation, he is portrayed by Pedro Pascal. In the first game, The Last of Us (2013), Joel serves as the main protagonist and is tasked with escorting the young Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States in an attempt to create a potential cure for an infection to which Ellie is immune. He also appears briefly in the downloadable content campaign The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014). Joel is killed in The Last of Us Part II (2020) by a woman named Abby, whose father he had killed in the first game, prompting Ellie to seek revenge.
The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. Based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and causes the collapse of society. The first season, based on the 2013 game, follows Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting the immune teenager Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States. The second season, expected to partly adapt the 2020 sequel, is set five years later and introduces Abby.
Abigail "Abby" Anderson is a character in the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020) by Naughty Dog. She is portrayed by Laura Bailey through motion capture and voice acting in the game, and Kaitlyn Dever in the second season of the television adaptation. A soldier of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), Abby seeks to avenge her father's death by killing Joel Miller. Her alliances later become unsettled when she befriends two ex-members of the Seraphites, a religious cult with which the WLF is locked in a war. Abby is one of two main playable characters in the game, alongside Ellie.
Approximately 2,100 people developed The Last of Us Part II over more than five years, led by the 350-person team at Naughty Dog. Sony Interactive Entertainment published the action-adventure game in June 2020 for the PlayStation 4; a remastered version was released in January 2024 for the PlayStation 5. A sequel to the 2013 game The Last of Us, Part II's core development began after the 2014 release of The Last of Us Remastered. Neil Druckmann returned as creative director, co-writing the story with Halley Gross, while Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau were selected to be co-game directors. Matthew Gallant was Remastered's game director.
The Last of Us Part II, a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, focuses on two lead characters: Ellie, who sets out for revenge after suffering a great tragedy, and Abby Anderson, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict between her militia and a cult. The switch between the playable characters was a major point of the game's development, based on a similar switch in the original game, 2013's The Last of Us.
The Last of Us is an action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic United States ravaged by cannibalistic humans infected by a mutated fungus in the genus Cordyceps. It follows several survivors, including Joel, a smuggler who lost his daughter during the outbreak; Ellie, a young girl who is immune to the infection; and Abby, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict between her militia and a religious cult. The games use a third-person perspective in which the player fights against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures with firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth.
Frederick MacDonald "Mac" Quayle, Jr. is an American composer for film, television, and video games. He has worked as the score composer for several TV series, including American Horror Story, Mr. Robot, Scream Queens, American Crime Story, Feud, Pose, 9-1-1 and its spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star, and The Politician. Quayle has also scored additional music for films and video games, and has mixed and produced scores led by other composers.
The music for the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming. Santaolalla composed the music for the video game franchise on which the series is based, including The Last of Us (2013) and The Last of Us Part II (2020). Several of Santaolalla's tracks from the video games were reused throughout the series; his work on the series focused on recrafting his previous work, while Fleming created original music inspired by real-world sounds within a decayed civilization.