Each Character In The Last Of Us 2 Has A Heartbeat

Clickers and raiders may be the enemies in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, but everyone has a heart. According to the game's co-director, TLOU2 has some new tech that makes heartbeats a vital part of combat and stealth situations.

Co-director Anthony Newman sat down with Polygon to explain how the tech works. "Just [about] every facet of the game [has been] updated [to] some new level," he said. "One of them is the audio where, I'm not sure if you noticed it, but as Ellie sprints around and then she settles, she'll kind of catch her breath." Doing any sort of activity, like sprinting or engaging in combat or even being near enemies, will cause Ellie's heart rate to shoot up. There isn't a stamina meter or a mandated heartbeat, but the elevated heart rates do alter how you approach many of the game's tense situations.

"What's happening behind the scenes is [Ellie] has a heart rate that is oscillating up and down,” Newman explained. "And that modulates the bucket of breathing sounds that she's able to use." Ellie isn't the only character in TLOU2 who has a heartbeat. Every character, from other humans to the infected Clickers, has a heart powered by this tech.

Newman said he was able play a more sophisticated cat and mouse with Clickers because he could "kind of understand them by the noises they’re making." He also said the same goes for humans who will experience a similar sort of "breathing and sprinting and stuff." This likely means you will be able to sneak around with greater efficiency as enemies emit audible sounds that disclose their relative position.

TLOU2 made a huge splash during PlayStation's September State of Play. Alongside uncovering a few details, including its length and how many discs its on, we learned the game will finally launch on February 21, 2020 exclusively for PS4.