The Last of Us - violence fits in with the game's narrative, says Naughty Dog

Violence in The Last of Us has once again been discussed by Naughty Dog, which has said it's part if the general narrative of the game.

Speaking with Gamespot, Naughty Dog community strategist Arne Meyer said in certain zones of the game, it's "every man for himself" where humans are being "pushed to the limit."

“It’s really important to understand that this is twenty years after a pandemic has destroyed civilization," he said. "Outside of [government-controlled quarantine areas] it’s pretty much every man for himself. And that’s what we want to explore in the narrative and the gameplay for The Last of Us.

"What will humans be like when they are pushed to the limit? Are they going to take a route of cooperation and rebuild society? Or is it really going to be every man for themselves and they have no morality left; no ethics left to what they do? So that’s the part that violence plays into it."

Meyer said some characters in the game have lost their sense of compassion, and will "stop at nothing in order to survive." However, players can avoid engaging the more violent prone inhabitants in some areas of the game.

"When you look at the violence, that’s the context," said Meyer. "There are going to be people who are pushed to that limit. [However] there is liberty in the narrative so that you don’t have to kill someone or encounter someone.

"We do have the opportunity for you to go around, and not even do any combat. There are going to be areas where you can completely avoid combat if you want."

The Last of Us is expected sometime next year on PS3.