At the heart of Ellie and Joel’s journey across America in The Last of Us is the way in which the pair grow from apprehensive strangers unexpectedly thrown together to a surrogate family for one another. Players can experience for themselves the ways in which that parent-child bond grows through The Last of Us Part I, while viewers have also been watching a new version of that pair take form on The Last of Us on HBO. But no matter the medium, that central relationship is at the bedrock of this first chapter in the story of  The Last of Us.

With the HBO series having just completed its first season, and with The Last of Us Part I now available for the PlayStation 5 console and for pre-purchase on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store (available March 28, 2023), our behind-the-scenes series Building The Last of Us next takes a look at the way Joel and Ellie’s relationship grows over the course of both game and show.

Watch the video below to hear from Neil Druckmann, Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, who originally starred as Ellie and Joel, respectively, and Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, who star as the pair in the HBO series, and read on for more from the creatives. And be sure to check out our full Building The Last of Us series for a dive into The Last of Us’ unforgettable opening, how TLOU’s Clickers continue to scare us, and how the cruel world of The Last of Us is brought to life.

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Early in The Last of Us Part I’s story, and its TV adaptation, Joel is put in charge of Ellie to get her out of the Boston QZ and to safety, but the setup isn’t ideal for either party.

“These two characters collide with each other and are forced to be together, and you can tell neither one of them wants it,” Naughty Dog co-president and The Last of Us on HBO executive producer Neil Druckmann said. “It’s more explicit in the show than it was even in the game because, with the game, we were finding it as we’re making it.”

The two characters come from different outlooks on the world, different relationships with this pos

Hi everyone, we are Deck13’s Sven Hammer, Principal Technical Designer, and Lila Grimaldi, Narrative Designer. We’re bringing you Atlas Fallen on May 16, an epic and explosive action-RPG where you’ll play as a hero who rises against the reign of a tyrannical god. You’ll explore a semi-open, sand-covered world called Atlas and battle mythical creatures. Your heroic abilities come from a magical artifact, and we’re here to tell you about its lore and mechanics!

The Essence of Atlas

In the world of Atlas, Essence is at the core of everything. All organic things and each particle of its sand-covered surface are made of it. An ancient form of magic built its powers on Essence, but its knowledge has been long lost. One day, our hero stumbles upon the remains of this magic in the form of a centuries-old artifact: the Gauntlet.

The Gauntlet gives its wearer control over the Essence present in their surroundings. Thus, they can manipulate Essence grains found in objects, structures, elements, and change their structural integrity, reassemble or destroy them. Our hero will use it to shape the sand around them into various weapons during combat. The gauntlet’s ability to manipulate its surroundings allows players to propel themselves into the air for epic vertical movements and fast traversal by sliding over the sands of Atlas. The Gauntlet is a very versatile tool!

Reforging the Gauntlet

Unfortunately for our hero, they find a malfunction in the Gauntlet. Forged by a mysterious being, it was dismantled soon after its creation to prevent anyone from wielding its magic again. Two vital components are required: the Catalyzer and the Shards.

The more Essence comes into play, the harder it is to control. The role of the Catalyzer is to gather Essence and channel it into itself, increasing its raw power tenfold. This component has been broken into three fragments called “Catalyst Pieces”, which you’ll have to find and put back together. Collecting a new Catalyst Piece allows you to reforge a part of the Gauntlet, unlocking a new powerful ability in the process. Each Catalyst Piece must be completed with specific Essence-infused objects called “Shards”, which enhance the hero’s control over Essence.

Throughout your journey in the world of Atlas, you will come across those Catalyst Pieces and Shards, and get to gradually augment the capabilities of your Gauntlet and progress further into the game.

The shape-shifting weapon

Once you have the power to manipulate Essence, you can shape the sand around you into various weapons. In order to do so, you must find the corresponding Weapon Remembrance. Three weapons can be found throughout your journey: the Dunecleaver, the Sandwhip and the Knuckledust. They all grow more massive and powerful as you amass Essence during combat, this process is called gaining Momentum.

The Dunecleaver is a heavy weapon that does wonders when it comes to dealing very impactful area-of-effect damage to your foes. Depending on the attacks you are performing, it will take one of two different shapes. One of them is an axe—ideal to perform large sweeps which deal a good amount of damage while destabilizing your target; the other is a hammer—specialized in crowd control, it creates large damage areas when slammed into the ground.

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