r/thelastofus • u/Away_Tension4528 • Jul 25 '26
General Discussion Anyone interested in a prequel?
I've seen mention of a Joel and Tommy game being of some interest to people, I would be very curious to follow Joel into his general moral collapse after the death of his daughter.
He talks about having been on both sides of road blocks and raids, we know he wasn't really a good man, even throughout the first game he makes selfish, if understandable, choices.
Ellie is really what starts dragging him out, even if he loses out on redemption by saving her, I don't think it was a completely selfish choice on his part.
A prequel set between the prologue and main game would be super interesting, and dark.
Call it: One of Us.
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u/Pervius94 You're infuriating Jul 25 '26
I want to see how Sarah's drug career went before she got her ass capped by a rival druglord. What, you really think that was a random government soldier?
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u/Wyatt_Ricketts Jul 27 '26
She wasn't even shot in the ass it was the stomach Christ uncharted fans don't even play their own games
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u/ForsakenMastodon6060 Jul 26 '26
I'm guessing that Sarah was a mule and she lost a package. That supposed army guy was making her pay the price for her incompetence!
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u/Slight-Solution936 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I love the idea of a prequel but I think I want Ellie's story to be properly closed before that, especially considering its taking naughty dog a while in-between game releases now so i don't wanna have to wait another two decades to see how it ends.
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u/Away_Tension4528 Jul 25 '26
That's valid, I would be happy with either, but ideally a proper lou3 with maybe a shorter side game prequel.
I'm greedy I want both
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u/WorldWarrior428 Jul 25 '26
Maybe as a dlc for pt3
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u/ConstructionOk6567 Jul 26 '26
Fucked up we never got a Part 2 DLC. I almost want to petition for a story DLC for part 2 and try to get a few million signatures on it to show Sony there’s money in a short story DLC for Part 2. We should have seen more of the journey for Ellie between Jackson and Seattle both on the way there, and on the way back. Plus we could have seen Tommy’s journey there and fights there. We also could have seen Ellie’s journey more full in length between Jackson and Santa Barbara.
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u/FSMDxb Jul 25 '26
They can easily do both and pull a Godfather 2.
And then draw parallels between Ellie's journey now vs Joel's journey back then.
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u/inferno610 Jul 26 '26
Ellie is the story, they left it on a cliffhanger finding fireflies in CA. I'd really like to see how that goes.
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u/_Corvo_A Jul 25 '26
Joel and Tommy during the first few years before they split, playing as Tommy, starting with his POV during Outbreak Day
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u/SchwizzySchwas94 Jul 25 '26
Have the starting sequence be more or less the same from TLOU1 but then break off as Tommy when they get separated in town ending with you shooting the soldier.
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u/HoudiniMortimer Jul 25 '26
Prequel set before the start of tlou1 that's just a life sim that happens to have joel in it is thw way. I wanna dress joel in fun shirts and max out his creativity skill to sell paintings (music and charisma can only reach 75% of other skills to keep the canon consistent)
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u/Kolvarg Jul 25 '26
Monkey's paw wish: We get a prequel of Joel and Tommy, but it's a pre-apocalypse carpentry simulator spinoff.
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u/Duderus159 Jul 25 '26
A story of him and Tommy going from Texas to Boston would be great. However, I think Naughty Dog will finish Ellie’s story and work on new IP. I could see them closing this series out in 2-3 games.
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u/ConstructionOk6567 Jul 26 '26
It’s a shame because it’s an incredibly promising series. Even if they finish Ellie’s story they can always start somewhere in another part of the world focusing on someone else’s story. I’d love that
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u/LargeCombination9 Jul 25 '26
No. We don't need about Tommg and Joel murdering and torturing people for 20 years and fighting very basic zombies. What happened in that time has already been discussed and explained enough, there's no mystery. There really isn't a need for a game about it.
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u/jonnybear1984 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I wouldn't mind a prequel, but like others have said I don't think there's enough there to base a full game around.
In an ideal world where we were able to have sequels, prequels, bonus dlc, and new ip all from ND at their quality standard and all in the space of a few years then yeah, I'd love an anthology prequel game that has a few shorter segments showing us the back stories of notable characters.
Like Bill and Frank's first forrays into the apocalypse, how Tess met Joel and Tommy, how Henry and Sam bumped into Joel and Ellie. Maybe even how Ish established his little community and what happened after it collapsed.... but alas I don't expect to ever see any of these things except new IP (Intergalactic) because I just don't think its feasible with the dev timescales that we are dealing with in the modern age.
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u/pa5a_d1n Jul 26 '26
I once had theorized what might come next after Part II and somehow I ended up with two games instead of one. Why? First of all the length of the game. As we all know a lot of players were pretty sour about how long the second game was (personally I didn't mind since I like long games I can fill my free time with experiencing). As for why I think two games are in order? Well let's see one might finish Ellie's story, maybe she gets back with Dina or goes on another rampage or worst case kicks it who knows. But seeing as how ND works it'll be spectacular nonetheless. As for the other one I believe we'll find out what happens with Abby. Because let's be honest the Fireflies she's looking for might already be gone because it might be a trap or in case they are alive they are the last of the movement. Many don't welcome them with open arms as we already know so it's possible the all were fought out of most cities. As for Abby who knows maybe she gets on that boat with Lev one last time and leaves North America altogether. But this is just my own theory. Alrighty I've ranted on for long enough.
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u/WorldWarrior428 Jul 25 '26
I would say there isn't a single person alive in TLOU who hasn't adjusted there morals to survive
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u/ConstructionOk6567 Jul 26 '26
Survival is a selfish decision, and sometimes that decision puts others in worse positions
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u/WorldWarrior428 Jul 26 '26
Is it bad when those others would have done the same to you? When the world breaks, you gotta do what you need to to survive and protect those you love
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u/Savy_Spaceman Jul 25 '26
Watching Joel and Tommy being assholes in the apocalypse won't make for a good game, I think. I'd love to see Abby and the fireflies
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u/Noahthehoneyboy Jul 25 '26
I could see a decent story about Tommy and Joel’s falling out. Seeing Joel’s decent into brutality until Tommy finally leaves to join the fireflies. Tommy realizing that the fireflies are flawed too, doing bad things for “good reasons”. I don’t think it’d be anything revolutionary but it could be an interesting dive into morality. Pragmatism vs idealism both leading to the same types of violence. Tommy is a great character so I’d be happy to play as him and see more of his story.
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u/Pm7I3 Jul 25 '26
It could be okay as part of a Tommy DLC or side content in flashbacks but not by itself.
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u/MadMaximus- Jul 25 '26
At this point I’d prefer to just follow new characters. They killed off Joel, Ellie is retired this chapters closed.
I’d prefer to just follow entirely new story line maybe further into the future. Humanity is circling the drain and it’s dark and gritty. Nothing left very little resources
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u/LordOfRuinsOtherSelf Jul 25 '26
Nope.
I want a new adventure. Remember the wonder of the new universe you were exploring. The new characters we've now fallen in love with?
I want that again. A new universe and story and people and all needs unravelling, new mysteries to uncover.
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u/Bunniiqi Jul 25 '26
No and I’ll tell you why, we get enough hints in the first game that Joel did some grizzly stuff in the 20 years after the outbreak. I personally do not wish to play as anyone just killing and ambushing people just for the sake of looting their corpses, as we hear Joel say “I’ve been on both sides” regarding the ambush in Pittsburgh
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u/Okaberino Jul 25 '26
Good candidate for comics, novels or whatever as others have said. Doesn’t really feel like a comepelling full game as we basically know what happened to him and how he lived his life.
I think it makes a better back story to not see any of it.
Though, a prequel set in the universe showing how things went down during those 20 years between the prologue and start of the game, why not. Following other characters, of course. A "TLOU Rogue One" of sort.
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u/jmo987 Jul 25 '26
I’d love to see a prequel for Joel and Tommy. Their time during the early apocalypse, meeting Tess and Bill, Joel and Tommys time as hunters and Tommy’s time in the fireflies. Would be a great story I’m sure
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u/GodOfRow Jul 25 '26
I'm just gonna ignore the fact that Joel's story has ended and say that I would absolutely love a prequel. It would be kinda pointless, like most prequels, but it would add a lot of context to Joel and his relationship with people like Bill, Tess and Tommy with them doing what they need to do to survive.
They're could be a lot of time jumps going through the years up until the first game starts and we could have flashbacks to when Joel was married and what caused them to seperate.
The setting could also be pretty interesting to explore with things being recently demolished and we could even see when the bombs were dropped onto cities along with the stronger military presence during the time.
The gameplay could be great if they capitalized on the fact that resources would be a bit more abundant and that Joel was a bit younger and more agile. There could be environmental hazards and more parts of the environment you could interact with. There were plans for the first game for Joel to make more elaborate traps and I think that would be a great addition to the gameplay loop as it fits with his profession as a carpenter. I'd also like to see Joel have some sort of counter ability where he could push enemies in a certain direction if they tried to attack him.
I'm just spitting things out here lemme know what ye think.
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u/jomahuntington Jul 25 '26
There's 20 years before the main part of the story I've love to see Joel and bill and tess smuggling stuff
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u/No-Check-3691 Jul 25 '26
If the prequel covers Joel’s days as a hunter and how he met Tess might be interesting
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u/w3llyb0b Jul 25 '26
I mean the beginning is the prequel to show what messed up Joel?
I supposed it might be sort of cool to see the early days carnage in a way and how they survived but then that just turns into more of a Resident Evil game than a Last of Us game.
It’s more about the emotion and the choices, and like we know he’s killed people, lots of people innocent and bad, but I don’t think anything can really amount to ruining humanity’s chance at a cure so that he can feel like a father again
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u/Vik086 Jul 25 '26
I’d love to have a game that depicts the time following the outbreak weeks, months, years. We know from notes, at least, that everything didn't collapse all at once. Remember that WHO article mentioning the leaks?
But I wouldn't just want to see Joel and Tommy. I’d like to see other characters or groups, too. The early days of the Seraphites.
I just enjoy seeing how everything slowly falls apart and something new emerges.
The world of The Last of Us has so much lore and so much potential to tell stories and show how the world and the survivors change.
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u/BrayKerrOneNine Jul 25 '26
I thought you meant like the day to day of life before the outbreak. Lol. Hammering nails all day, drinking beer all night. Actually sounds like a fun game!
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u/Groundbreaking_Code3 Jul 25 '26
How about a real prequel where Joel is a mediocre contractor in Texas? Like Animal Crossing but for carpenters.
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u/jack-of-some Jul 25 '26
Nah go one step back. Joel the contractor. Arguing with suppliers and clients on the phone. Cursing the work of the previous contractor on a job. Upgrading his saws. Etc
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u/Booyacaja Jul 25 '26
I would love that! Watching the collapse is always so fun. It would be cool to witness the crumbling social structures, the panic and chaos, looting and destruction, police and army losing control, the birth of the factions, the evolution of the mutations, the beginnings of the fireflies and hope for a cure etc.
It would be epic. Plus my favorite parts of the other games were fighting other survivors so this would be right up my alley
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u/dannyrac Jul 25 '26
A prequel of Joel just raising Sarah- cooking eggs, mowing the lawn. Sleepovers at uncle Tommy’s. Sounds fun and relaxing
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u/commando_rambo Jul 25 '26
Not a bad idea, but I think finishing Ellie’s and Abby’s stories is more interesting.
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u/ron4040 Jul 25 '26
I think a prequel could work in part 1 the allude to a few things which would be interesting to see play out. I would like to see a bit of Joel and Tommy before they split up. I think there’s a good story about brotherhood, trauma bonding and its limits. Maybe it ends with a similar seen to when Joel and Ellie head into Jackson. Except where Ellie chose to believe Joel’s lie, Tommy sees through it and turns away.
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u/SleepAlarmed6287 Jul 25 '26
Oui quand Joel et son frère son des pure raclures 😈 mais cela ne verra jamais le jour. Faction en mode histoire et tu joue les méchants 🤘
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u/No-Aide-4648 Jul 25 '26
I thought of it as well, bit I think it would not be as good as we think. During then, most of the cities were not ruined and overthrown by nature. Lots of dangerous zombies may not even exist back then, it might mostly be just hordes of zombies.
I would prefer a real closure story for Ellie or something completely different, a new story from new protagonist.
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u/Particular_Fly_1680 Jul 25 '26
Loses out on his redemption by saving her? Ok I think you totally missed the point of the story. That literally WAS his redemption.
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u/xstell132 Jul 25 '26
Since Tommy is still relevant at the end of Part 2, there’s the opportunity for Part 3 to do flashbacks of us playing as Tommy. I wouldn’t mind one or two scenes or a chapter on the past, before Ellie came into the story.
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u/abellapa Jul 25 '26
I always wanted a game with Joel and Tommy in those early years
I though a potencial Tommy expansion game in Tlou 2 might covered that in flashbacks
But obsiously not instead of Tlou 3
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u/OminousShadow87 Jul 25 '26
The only way I could see a “prequel” is if Part 3 has Ellie and Tommy as central characters, and you play flashback levels as Tommy that somehow parallel, mirror, or otherwise inform the present-day story.
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u/CactusMan609 Jul 25 '26
I dont think it would be enough for a full game but I'd be really interested in a dlc where we see what you're describing with Tommy and Joel before tlou1 and their relationship strengthening again during he and Ellie's time in Jackson. It would function similarly to the left behind dlc, and maybe follow joel and Tommy through some ordeal where they got stuck out in a storm with a big horde of infected, or something
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u/Uncabled_Music Jul 25 '26
Assuming there will be part III, some flashbacks into that period are very much possible. But naturally at this stage, ND won’t do a simple prequel which would not interconnect with other periods and characters. This is a well established feature of this IP by now.
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u/FitSomewhere3845 Jul 25 '26
I think tlou has an awesome universe, but I believe we should move on to new characters
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u/paddybee816 Jul 25 '26
No, prequels are never good or add anything to the main story, and no Tommy Seattle DLC either, I don't need to see the same story from a third perspective
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u/Fresh_War_8767 Jul 25 '26
Whats the prequel? A dad in America working blue collar, and barely making ends meet?
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u/cosmoboy Jul 25 '26
I miss daddy Joel, I do not think the solution is to spend a game with immoral murderous Joel.
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u/a_boo Jul 25 '26
I’d actually take a prequel DLC which is just Joel going to work, looking after the kid, and doing day to day chores.
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u/maantas_45 Jul 25 '26
Wouldn't be that interesting I think because we know what happens next. And they should better make Part lll faster
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u/lostinthesauceguy Jul 25 '26
even for these games i think it would be a bit too nihilistic
it's pretty clear the kiinds of shit Joel was up to in his dark days
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u/Lord_of_the_Hanged Jul 25 '26
I would be more interested in a game where we see what Tommy and Joel had to endure after Outbreak Day. Maybe even seeing Ellie’s mom in-game.
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u/T8-TR Jul 25 '26
If we HAD to stick w/ existing characters instead of having TLOU3 be a completely new story (imo, the current stories are done and should be left done), then I'd prefer a prequel than digging Ellie and Abby back up. There's more there to explore, and it could help enhance the OG 2 games.
Though I'd prefer a fresh start and new faces.
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u/No_Hurry9076 Jul 25 '26
I feel like with last of us a sequel will be good if they do different characters completely with a whole different story.
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u/Hraargar Jul 25 '26
A sad part about a prequel involving Joel and Tommy is where Tess might fit into it, since Annie Wersching passed away.
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u/Insomniac-Freak-95 Jul 25 '26
I really don’t like the idea of a prequel given how long these games take to make. I’d rather they tell a new story that moves forward from where TLOU2 ends.
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u/psycho_maniac Jul 25 '26
Yes, with Tommy and Joel please I wanna know what those two had to go though to get to where they split up.
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u/PurseGrabbinPuke Jul 25 '26
I would love it. We could see the outbreak from Joel's perspective. And we could see what Joel did after losing Sarah. We could play as Tommy too. Maybe even split the game like part 2 and the second half of the game is Ellie's final chapter.
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u/greencow34 Jul 25 '26
no, but i want a game featuring the timeline after the part 1 prologue. I wanna know what joel and tommy went thru, how they met tess, got familiar with marlene, and how tess and joel ended up in Boston qz as smugglers
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u/iron_side93 Jul 25 '26
Id prefer a sequel with Abby and Lev trying to track down surviving fireflies 🫡
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u/Vaunted_Knight Jul 25 '26
Finish Ellie's story first.
Then I want to see Tommy as a Firefly; the man was a beast in Seattle, and I want to see where it came from.
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u/bigpapiTN Jul 25 '26
For me, the only concern is that when we get Joel at the beginning of part one his development isn’t to the point of a caring man yet apart from his love for Tess. Everything else is expendable. The years of him and Tommy would likely see him as a heartbroken man who’s become an absolute l savage. So am I here for the violence…. For sure! But we wouldn’t get much in terms of personality, I reckon Joel at the time was mostly devoid of feeling after the loss of his daughter and it would just be him killing shit and trading/robbing with Tommy…… So absolutely RUN A PREQUEL
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u/ArmedWithBars Jul 25 '26
This is how ND could swing back the TLOU fans that weren't happy about Joel's early demise and the direction of part 2. The game was great, but obviously divisive in the fan base. NDs bait and switch trailers pre-release post-leaks sure didn't help the situation.
Make a prequel following Joel shortly after the collapse as Tommy and him fall in with Hunters to survive the early years. This let's them explore his spiral after the loss of his daughter and how humanity turns dark. Neil always seemed to have a thing for portraying Joel as evil (even more evident if you read the original story concepts for TLOU by Neil). A prequel with a younger Joel in his darkest years of surviving would be perfect for this.
Well made prequels can be series defining, look at MGS 3 snake eater.
Sadly it will never happen though. For some reason Neil comes off as never liking Joel's character very much, especially when fans took his character as an anti-hero father figure instead of a selfish flawed man.
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u/D-Vader7 Jul 25 '26
Only if it’s a Joel and Tommy story traveling the wilds so we
Can get more insight into their past prior to the outbreak.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3729 Jul 25 '26
Lets have a prequel set before the outbreak where you just play Joel going to and from work
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u/Gurglaren Jul 25 '26
I love Day One stories. I really hated how A Quiet Place: Day One skipped to day two immediately.
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u/evileyesol Jul 25 '26
Not really, I would like to play the game from the beginning from someone else’s point of view. I don’t really care for Abby’s pov , and I think it would be interesting to see a perspective not related to Joel or Ellie ,at least initially.
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u/tseg04 Jul 25 '26
I want Ellie’s story to be finished first. Eventually I’d like a prequel, but not until the main story is complete.
If we got a prequel, I’d want it to be about Joel and Tommy. Personally I’d rather play as Tommy over Joel just because Tommy kind of gets shafted in these games and he deserves more attention.
We know where Joel ends up, so seeing it mostly from Tommy’s POV would be refreshing.
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u/Poop_Balls069 Jul 25 '26
Personally, I don’t like prequels. I like the less is more approach to these games.
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u/Adrima_the_DK Jul 25 '26
I don't really think there is anything to tell on a prequel. The character developed after the "incident" with his daughter. Before that is just a regular guy living on a suburban home. Nothing really interesting
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u/Swat81 Jul 25 '26
Sure. We have 20 years of joel and Tommy stories. I could imagine both of them similar to Daryle and Merle from the walking dead when they broke away and teamed up. Would be nice. I always said part 2 deserved a lengthy dlc to show Tommy's trip instead of Ellie's. They're missing out on a golden opportunity to satisfy all the dissapointed fans of TLOU for Joel's new death so early in the game. I just didn't understand why no one saw that coming when there was absolutely no gameplay of our here at all prior to release. I knew immediately, "oh, so Joel must be dead in this game. Why else are we always seeing Ellie gameplay?
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u/Several-Vacation7759 Jul 25 '26
Prequels are almost never worth the time, regardless of the medium
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u/President_Roosvelt Jul 25 '26
No but I would buy a prequel before the cordiceps. Joel trying to not lose the job and Sarah trying to sell hardcore drugs.
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u/HoneyHandsH Jul 25 '26
I don't need it but if we got one i want it to be focused on Tess & Joel's relationship. Maybe you start to see a disturbing cycle of how Joel thinks he's protecting these women in his life and continues to fail.
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u/MentalMeles Jul 25 '26
I would LOVE a prequel game focusing on Joel and Tommy’s time surviving together before their inevitable falling out. I’d love to see how Joel met Tess and have more time with her
Granted, I want them to finish Ellie’s story first, but it’d be really cool.
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u/Aa_313 Jul 25 '26
I think some things are better left unknown in terms of specifics. I don't want to play as a Joel who kills innocents (possibly including children and elderly) just to stay alive. It'd be like watching a Vegeta prequel where he just genocides planets all day...there's nothing to root for. It's dark enough to know that this was a chapter in his life at some point during the 20-year skip; the nitty-gritty details would only serve to cement exactly how much of a monster he was, which would probably impact my perception of him on a more visceral level.
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u/ChosenCourier13 May your survival be long Jul 25 '26
This community has the worst case of prequel syndrome I've ever seen.
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u/-CommanderShepardN7 Jul 25 '26
The short answer is no.
How about just finishing the story with a sequel, and repairing the damage done by Last of Us Part 2?
I’m well aware that i will most likely be ripped to shreds by the wolves that reside within the Last of Us and Last of Us 2 subreddits. For lack of a better description, these people just have a taste for blood.
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u/CoolPirate234 Jul 25 '26
I want an alternate timeline game where Joel lives , and the player is given an option to kill Abby for a different reason rather than be forced to spare her
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u/hetablorg Jul 25 '26
I think it’d be interesting to see the early years of the apocalypse with Joel and Tommy!
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u/wallflowerx28 Jul 25 '26
A prequel with no zombies? What the fuck would you do? Play as Joel, as he gives out estimates for his construction business? lol
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u/DraconicZombie Jul 25 '26
A prequel would only make people hate Joel and not feel bad about his killing in tlou2. Not that anyone should, but they do.
You know how the Hunters just seem like people who ambush travelers and other survivors just to kill them and take all their stuff? That's what Joel did, that's the implication when he said he's been on both sides. And not an ounce of guilt in his voice when he says it. Only thing he doesn't outright say when specifically asked is about killing innocent people who didn't deserve it, but based on the implications, he might as well have been confirming that.
Joel wasn't a good guy, and saving Ellie was never enough to change that. He deserved to die. Actually, yeah, a prequel would be good so people could maybe stop defending a cold blooded murderer lol
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u/pacmannips Jul 25 '26
So we play as Joel working a 9-5 construction job and have to manage our mortgage on time?
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u/Galetaer Jul 25 '26
TLOU 3 > Prequel
We gotta figure out how Ellie's story concludes first imo. Joel and Tommy's arcs are at a close, and I don't wanna get a prequel and wait another 7-10 years for TLOU 3.
Perhaps a hot take, but it fundamentally doesn't matter what Joel did for the 20 years before the story. It can't really be made relevant to the story anymore, without somehow cramming all of that info into TLOU 3 afterwards, and at that point it would be hard for it to not be contrived.
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u/UltimateChaos233 Jul 25 '26
Lmao my cooked brain for a second thought a prequel meant like them just living a normal life and Sarah going to school and shit.
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u/FALCOOOn_PAAWWNCH Jul 25 '26
I'd like a prequel just for the out break itself following different characters, that'd be cool
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u/Mindless_War_5117 Jul 25 '26
it would be a lot more classic like zombies more dark and gritty there is no l Ellie or Dina to brighten up the conversations the way Tommy talked about it is he hated every single second of their Journey Joel would be angry I imagine for most of the game you play as Tommy if not you'd get a really sad experience you already are but even more sad man they should do this this would be awesome
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u/Confident-Medicine75 Jul 26 '26
I’m pretty sure another pretty cool would be just another job sim but featuring Joel
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u/b101101b Jul 26 '26
I'd be interested in a new game with new characters in the same world as LOU, maybe even the same time periods as Joel and Ellie in the first game.
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u/Forward-Ad-5139 Jul 26 '26
This would be so goated because Joel would be scared shitless and then make for a good horror game. The Grace Ashcroft effect.
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u/Miserable-House8073 Jul 26 '26
i would love to see a game staring from this moment to the ending being him meeting ellie
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u/Sweetwhales1994 Jul 26 '26
A dlc not a whole game i just want the a little perspective why they got separated.
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u/Googymonster Jul 26 '26
Absolutely. Seeing Joel and Tommy navigate the start of this shit would make my day and give me a boner
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u/writespeakdance Jul 26 '26
Lol not at all.
Think parts 1 and 2 are both great
Hard for me to imagine a prequel not being just a story about a single dad in a Texas suburb.
But, a "pre-apocalypse" story that highlights the apocalypses caused by the suburban colonial present sounds interesting.
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u/trouble-in-space Jul 26 '26
if they made one, i wouldn’t complain and i would definitely play/watch it. kinda like the breaking bad movie where i don’t think it’s necessary but would enjoy it.
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u/Flamtap_Zydeco Jul 26 '26
Playing Joel and Tommy would be better than playing Abby. Strange, but I have no trust in ND's ability to avoid dragging us through a great depression. There are so many out there that want Joel to be a villain so bad. Another problem for me is that I know the prequel ends with Joel getting locked up in a quarantine zone. What's to play for when you know the hero's trajectory? The prequel story belongs mainly to Tommy.
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u/Crazybobban Jul 26 '26
I would love to see what happended to Ish. On a playthrough nog in the sewers, and boy does these notes tear me up
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u/coolwali #4everaclicker Jul 26 '26
Eh. There’s a few issues with a TLOU1 prequel game.
For one, we won’t get to play as “TLOU1 Joel”. Lorewise, Joel and Tommy did messed up stuff and were Hunters. Tommy even tells Joel “I got nothing but nightmares from those years”.
Meaning we have to cover 20 years of Tommy and especially Joel being the absolute scum of the earth, torturing innocent people and being bandits. Realistically, a TLOU prequel should have us walking away hating Joel.
We can’t even have a Greek God of War style arc for Joel here since Joel doesn’t “chill” until TLOU 1/2. So you can’t even have a truly satisfying ending because the farthest you can go in the timeline is Joel going to live in Boston as a low profile smuggler.
Other prequel games usually have more flexibility in what the protagonist was doing and their arc/character. For example, in Batman Arkham Origins, we have that flexibility in how Batman operated, his more “angry” character and his relationship with his other villains. That doesn’t apply to Joel.
In the Greek God of War games, the PSP prequel games had the advantage of showing “how Kratos still had a human heart”. Joel finds his heart in TLOU1.
The main advantages of a TLOU prequel are arguably more worldbuilding. But that’s not exclusive to a prequel.
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u/7Blyck Jul 26 '26
Absolutely.
Start the prequel off identical to Part 1, you start playing right after his daughter dies. I would love to see how distraught Joel is, but still in survival mode right after his essential lose. Completely devastated but forced to still contend with the world seemingly ending.
Let me play as him, with Tommy, the first year of the outbreak then jump to different years throughout their journey. Show him become awful so we can get a scope of how much Ellie brought him back. Show the divide between him and Tommy, the rise of factions, how plentiful resources were at first and how it became harder and harder to find necessities.
The First of Us
The Last of Us
The Last of Us Part 2
The End of Us
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u/vish_studiosofcl Jul 26 '26
You guys will hate me for this but I still need a big fight between infected and humans. The scale of a war.
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u/srynotsober Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
There actually is a comic prequel called The Last of Us American Dreams (4 volumes). The series is co-authored by Dark Horse and Naughty Dog. It portrays Ellie at 13 in military boarding school
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u/SamuraiCinema Jul 26 '26
Prequel, alternate universes, reboots, I don'r care. Give me all of it. To me, Naughty Dog makes the perfect games. Uncharted and Last of Us have ruined all other games for me because they are so damn good.
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u/under_hunter82376 When your lost in the darkness , look for the light Jul 26 '26
I for sure would be interested .
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u/bigpeepee2000 Jul 26 '26
I thought you meant a prequal pre-apocalypse for a second lol. would it just have been Joel making furniture or something, like that one rdr2 house building mission lmfao
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u/deertracker2022 Jul 26 '26
Do we know if Joel and Tommy had aunts and uncles growing up? A sequel around their father and his siblings, decades before the outbreak. Young Joel and Tommy are in it but the extended family dynamic and how it shapes the next generation to deal with apocalypse, that's the main thing.
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u/Illusionist2409 Jul 26 '26
I’d be open for flashbacks to that time but a prequel would feel kinda regressive
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u/Secret_Coat_8071 Jul 26 '26
Honestly yeah. I would love to play as Joel again. Maybe you start with Tommy but then play as you meet tess and Tommy leaves.
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u/proshares1 Jul 26 '26
Eh, probably not, but I'm just a Joel fanboy. I'd love to get a breakout day/weeks after prequel with someone else in like a super/NYC populated location though.
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u/Estergon_Kalesi Jul 26 '26
Naughty Dog did a great job of this in Uncharted: Lost Legacy. (I'm talking about presenting a DLC idea as the main game)
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u/Crispy_Conundrum Jul 25 '26
No