If you're sick and tired of hearing about The 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 February 21, 2020 - that's 136 days and counting, just in case you're curious. Keeping with the hot topic that is The Last of Us, Ami Thompson who 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 recent State 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 of The Last of Us Part II took 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 create The Last of Us Part II figures in brick form telling 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 that Ellie’s companions will be more helpful this 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 the difficulty will work throughout the gameplay of Ellie’s journey in The Last of Us Part II while also touching on accessibility options.

For those who were disappointed that The Last of Us Part II would not include a multiplayer, you may like to read why I thought it was the best idea for the studio.

The Last of Us Part II will release exclusively for PS4 on February 21, 2020, and you can pre-order the game now over on Amazon.