The Last of Us Part 2‘s multiplayer spin-off may have been canceled by Sony, but an indie team is coming together to make their own game inspired directly by The Last of Us‘ Factions mode. Gamers who have been wanting a multiplayer that boasts The Last of Us Part 2‘s gritty realness may want to keep an eye out for this in-development indie project.
The first Last of Us game’s Factions mode resonated with a lot of players when it first came out. While the player count dipped over time, there were hopes that The Last of Us Part 2 would get its own version. After Naughty Dog announced that the hoped-for multiplayer mode would actually be The Last of Us Online, a standalone live-service title set in the same universe, many dubbed it “Factions 2.” The project never made it across the finish line, though. In December 2023, Naughty Dog confirmed that The Last of Us Online was canceled.
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Indie Devs Make Their Own Gritty Multiplayer Game in Response to The Last of Us Online’s Cancellation
The game in question is called Terminal War, and it’s currently available to Wish List on Steam. Developed by indie studio Albatross Interactive, Terminal War is designed as a grounded and brutal competitive multiplayer game that is directly inspired by The Last of Us Factions. Instead of a Cordyceps outbreak, though, Terminal War takes place in an alternate version of America in the 1990s where World War 3 has already happened. The country has been divided into warring factions, and players get to choose which side they will represent in this bleak reimagining of history.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)
Right now, Albatross Interactive has yet to reveal a release date for the game. The game’s Steam page confirms that the developers are eyeing an early access period sometime in the future, though. There are a lot of solid co-op shooters on Steam, but Terminal War‘s realistic take on the genre could really make it stand out. Just from the footage that has been shared so far, Terminal War‘s grounded combat already looks incredibly reminiscent of The Last of Us franchise.
A Brief Look at Terminal War’s Confirmed Features
- Melee-focused combat
- Third-person
- The freedom to be stealthy or aggressive
- Scarce resource management
- Minimal loadouts
- Three factions to join: The Federal Faction, The Free States Faction, and The Rebellion Faction
- 4v4 matches
The Last of Us Part 2 may have been divisive, but the game’s combat is seen by many as its shining feature. Many were eager to see how The Last of Us Part 2‘s combat felt in a multiplayer setting, but they never got the chance to experience it. Terminal War could finally make that a reality. It will be quite hard to fully replicate Naughty Dog’s strong combat mechanics, but the indie project hopefully surprises players when it’s finally released in early access. Even six years later, The Last of Us Part 2 still finds itself on lists of games with the best combat, so Terminal War has some high expectations to meet.
Only time will tell if Terminal War is able to sooth the sting of Sony canceling The Last of Us Online. There have been a lot of live-service games canceled by Sony over the past few years. What made The Last of Us Online so exciting is that Part 1‘s Factions was a small piece of proof that this formula could work. A brutal, realistic online experience that takes place in The Last of Us universe had a lot of potential to be really compelling. The Last of Us Online may have never become reality, but Terminal War could be the next best thing.
- Released
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June 19, 2020
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
