page_title: The Last of Us: Left Behind
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: The Last of Us: Left Behind / Development
caption_attribution_description: English: Neil Druckmann speaking at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con International, for "The Last of Us", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.
context_page_description: The Last of Us: Left Behind is an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3 on February 14, 2014, as a downloadable expansion pack to The Last of Us. It was later bundled with The Last of Us Remastered, an updated version of the game released for the PlayStation 4 on July 29, 2014, and released as a standalone expansion pack for both consoles on May 12, 2015. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, players control Ellie, a teenage girl who spends time with her best friend Riley.
  The Last of Us: Left Behind is played from a third-person perspective; players use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to defend against hostile humans and zombie-like creatures infected by a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus. Players can use "Listen Mode" to locate enemies through a heightened sense of hearing and spatial awareness. The game also features a crafting system, allowing players to customize weapons through the upgrades.
  The Last of Us: Left Behind was highly anticipated due to the critical success of The Last of Us.
context_section_description: Naughty Dog began developing The Last of Us: Left Behind following the release of The Last of Us in June 2013, with a team about half the size. Following the decision to create single-player downloadable content for the game, the development team immediately decided that the story would focus on the character of Ellie; they found that players of The Last of Us were interested to learn about events in Ellie's life prior to the events of the main game, particularly the events involving Riley Abel, whom Ellie mentioned in The Last of Us. In addition, they found that some players were interested in the events that occurred between the Fall and Winter segments of the main game, in which Ellie cares for an injured Joel. This led to the team deciding to contrast these two events against each other, feeling it would help the story's pacing. Game director Bruce Straley said that the team felt the story justified the development of Left Behind.
  Left Behind was written to focus on the relationship between Ellie and Riley, and to recount the events that defined their later personalities. Riley was chronologically introduced to Ellie in The Last of Us: American Dreams, a comic book written by creative director Neil Druckmann and artist Faith Erin Hicks. The team used the comic as a reference point when developing the relationship between Ellie and Riley, becoming particularly interested in having the chance to see more of their relationship; Druckmann felt that they would not have developed Left Behind if American Dreams hadn't been written. Druckmann felt that the story of Joel and Ellie's relationship in The Last of Us dealt with survival, loyalty and love, and that Ellie and Riley's relationship in Left Behind deals with similar themes. Straley felt that the themes involve love, loss and devotion, pondering the extent that one goes to protect those one cares about. Ashley Johnson portrayed Ellie in Left Behind, reprising her role from The Last of Us. To portray Riley, the team cast Yaani King; Johnson has noted that it was interesting to act against someone different, and that King fit the role immediately. King felt intimidated to become part of a large project, and was worried about "fit[ting] in". The team found it interesting to tell the story of Riley, as players of The Last of Us were already aware of the effect that she had on Ellie; Left Behind sees Riley's behavior change Ellie, resulting in the latter's focus to fight in order to save those close to her. The team were also interested in Ellie's behavior around Riley; she is perceived as being more playful. In Left Behind, Ellie and Riley share a kiss; the team explored omitting the kiss from the game, but felt that it was imperative to the story, and that it strengthened the relationship. Though initially he only felt that Ellie viewed Riley as an influence, Druckmann later considered her romantic appeal, and decided to explore the concept.
  While writing The Last of Us, Druckmann had a general idea of the events that would shape Ellie's identity; when conceiving the story direction for Left Behind, he found that these events were suitable. Druckmann felt that omitting the nature of the argument between Ellie and Riley, which took place prior to the events of the game, allowed players to draw their own conclusions. The team found various sections of the game interesting, such as the references to Facebook and Halloween, as the characters are unaware of their meaning.
  The smaller time frame of development for Left Behind gave the team an opportunity to trial mechanics and ideas that they were unable to test on the main game. With the game's combat, an added feature was to allow players to focus the attention of the Infected towards human enemies, allowing an easier escape. The gameplay was also more focused on the characters, as opposed to the combat, to allow players to relate to them more. The gameplay sequences were designed to contrast with other moments of Ellie's life; for example, the water gun fight with Riley is contrasted to the gunfights with enemies. The team f
caption: Neil Druckmann worked as the creative director on The Last of Us: Left Behind, writing the game's story.
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