Celebrating September 28th as The Last of Us Day, developer Naughty Dog has kicked off celebrations by releasing a brand-new PS5 theme that celebrates the two titles in the franchise. This also marks the first time a theme for The Last of Us has ever been added to the PlayStation Welcome Hub.
“For the first time ever, a The Last of Us-themed background is being added to the PlayStation Welcome Hub. Log in to your PlayStation account and download it to see how our team has brought dynamic elements to this iconic key art.”
PS5 users can find the theme in the Change Background menu in the console’s Welcome Hub, where it is listed as The Last of Us in the Games tab. The theme itself features Ellie as she appeared in The Last of Us Part 1 and its sequel, both standing opposed to each other. While the younger Ellie has Joel on her shoulder, the older Ellie features The Last of Us Part 2 deuteragonist Abby.
Naughty Dog has also confirmed that more details about how it plans to celebrate The Last of Us Day will be revealed through a livestream on its official Twitch channel. The livestream will also be part of the studio’s efforts to contribute to the No Return charity. As for the celebrations, they will seemingly involve “a partnership announcement, a very cool collaboration, digital surprises, and more.”
The Last of Us was originally released for PS3 on June 14th, 2013, with a remastered PS4 version arriving a year later on June 29th, 2014. Almost immediately on its release, it was hailed as one of the greatest games of all time due to its emphasis on the relationship between Joel and Ellie, as well as how it pushed the PS3’s aging hardware to its absolute limits thanks to its beautiful depiction of a post-apocalyptic USA where nature has begun to reclaim civilization.
The main story revolves around bitter and amoral smuggler Joel being tasked with escorting a young girl – Ellie – across the country a few years after a massive outbreak that turns infected humans into mindless monsters. Ellie seems to be immune to this outbreak, however, and the success of this escort mission could prove to be a great boon to humanity as a whole, with the potential discovery of a cure.
It was followed up with a sequel – The Last of Us Part 2 – in 2020, with the story picking up four years after the events of the first game. Joel and Ellie, having settled down in Jackson City, Wyoming, find their relationship strained, with Ellie suffering from trust issues due to Joel’s actions in the previous games. However, an encounter with a group of other survivors disrupts both of their lives, and ultimately sends Ellie on a cross-country mission of revenge.
Both The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered are available on PC and PS5. For more details, check out our reviews of both of their PC releases.
