The Last of Us 2 Director Responds to Self-Insert Accusations

The Last of Us Part 2 game director Neil Druckmann responds to accusations that the game's new character Manny is a self-insert.

[RazzerRedux]

lol...it seems anything/everything regarding TLOU 2 is newsworthy.

[Godmars290]

Why wouldn't the self insertion of a creator into their own work be note much less news worthy? Hitchcock did small "blink and you miss it" cameos all the time. Shyamalan copied that to annoying degree by making his appearances pivotal to the plot. Then there was DMC: dMc which would have had Dante looking like the lead dev if not for instant complaints. The game reviewer who got put into ME3 and had sex with Shepard.

That he had this new character then "insert" themselves into another new character if true is only more the apparent ego driven issue.

[RazzerRedux]

Were there headlines characterizing those instances with "accusations" as if they had done something wrong? I'm guessing not.

"That he had this new character then "insert" themselves into another new character if true is only more the apparent ego driven issue."

lol....what?

[RomanPSX]

Who cares?!? how does that affects a game? Nothing wrong with the creator to insert them self's into the game.

[Gaming101]

Has no one heard of Quentin Tarantino? He was in several of his own movies.

People are so mentally challenged and looking to be outraged over absolutely nothing.

Get a life!

[FITSniper]

"The game reviewer who got put into ME3 and had sex with Shepard."

???

[neutralgamer1992]

kojima was in MGS peace walker and MGS 5

[RazzerRedux]

lol....did Kojima have to answer to "accusations" that he inserted himself into his own game?

[outsider1624]

It really is sad isn't it, seeing gamers come this low. Accusing Neil of everything. Downplaying NDs game in everything. Paying reviewers, lgbt agenda, insert one self, the list goes on.

[DrDeath]

I made the comparison the second i seen Manny. I laugheed it off but it was a little conceeded. I

[Godmars290]

"Were there headlines characterizing those instances as "accusations" as if they had done something wrong?"

As I said, though the Shyamalan instances prove example of the man's ego, they're little more than footnote worthy.

If its true that Druckmann's supposed game stand-in had a sex scene with a major character, then that's degrees worse. More than reason enough to deny and distance himself from what was an "in own bubble" moment.

[Godmars290]

Is it or is it not true that the "Druckmann" character has sex with another character in the game? Cause that sounds like a step well beyond mere self insertion.

The new Power Puff Girl show had something about its animator inserting himself as a character who dates a PPG and THAT became an issue.

[RazzerRedux]

Druckmann already said that character isn't him and linked to the guy it is based on so.....what is there to talk about? It isn't him at all.

[warriorcase]

Dude the character in question was played by Mexican actor Alejandro Edda. Even this article itself says that. People thought it was self insertion because the actor and Neil both have long hair and a beard. At this point your just yelling at clouds. This isn't a thing.

[Godmars290]

That he can and has been confused for the character after the leaks which included the sex scenes, which were regarded to be embarrassing, is exactly why he'd likely deny it after the fact. Why anyone would even touch upon the possible "cameo".

At the very least, given that he and the actor apparently share similar physical characteristics, been a bit more "diverse" in his casting choices...

[RazzerRedux]

lol....ok....go with that. It is just like I said.....anything is newsworthy on this game. Just silly.

[IRetrouk]

If this annoys ya, you know, with the fact that it's not even him, the story in approvals is gonna get you red hot!! He really did put himself in the game!! How dare he!!!

[rainslacker]

Wait...are you now suggesting that drukkman isnt diverse enough?

Sometimes people just look similar. Even the characters modeled after real people dont look exactly the same, so just because others saw a resemblance, he needs to distance himself from anyone that happens to look like him?

Sorry. I usually dont have a problem with your comments or logic, but you really seem to be stretching it here.

[Godmars290]

@rainslacker:

Sarcasm is a dead art...

Then again, as a lead dev how hard would it be to hire someone who looks like you in order to deflect your egotism off of?

[outsider1624]

Lol..why are you worked over this? It sounds like you wanted to be part of tlou2 cameo but Neil rejected you so you're here with all your conspiracy theories.

[leoms]

The AngryJoe incident is being attributed to the game even though it has not remotely close to do with it. People who did not play the game need something in their lives.

[gigzamillion]

Seems anything and everything is "controversial".

[zsquaresoff]

Wtf is wrong with these people? Maybe this pandemic is starting to affect people's brain cells instead of the lungs.

[Spicyram]

Agreed, this is a new low i mean come one people, just let everyone enjoy good things my God

[TheKingKratos]

"Maybe this pandemic is starting to affect people's brain cells instead of the lungs."

Should start to worry when we hear a click sound

[SamTheGamer]

It's hatred and nothing else.

[anonymousfan]

You mean revenge lmao? ...they learnt that grand philosophy lesson from playing TLoU II :P

[SamPao]

@BanditKing What kind of agenda are you talking about???? That Ellie and her Loveintrest share intimate moments in an adultgame? WOOOOWWW how dare they SHOVE THAT DOWN MY THROAT!!! AGENDA AGENDA...
you realise how ridiculous that is?

[Stopac]

Yeah I don’t get why people are trying to drag down this game so much. From what I’ve seen so far yeah it’s not as great as the first in some ways but holy crap people calm the eff down it ain’t that bad sheesh.

[sin7279]

Haha lol!

[frostypants]

Lockdowns = people spending all day on social media and turning into hyper critical nutjobs. People are going to feel embarassed when all this is over and they look back on what they became.

[Necr0philiac]

That's n4G without lockdown. A lot of the regulars have no real social interactions

[outsider1624]

I know right? It's like they want to find every single fault on anything The Last of Us2

[TheSaint]

Implying people were smart before covid.

[GaboonViper]

Another myth busted, wonder if Griffin Gamer will do a video on this???

[jukins]

Its sad world when. "Gamers" are literally this sad to hate a game so much that the only way they can even try to put any hate on the game is to take some extreme political stance and apply it to this game as if some LGBT parade stops gameplay and makes you agree to be gay before proceeding its really sad.

[-Foxtrot]

Oh another "people hate it because it features LGBT stuff"

Funny because the first game did well and featured Bill and Left Behind had Ellie kiss Riley revealing she was gay.

Nobody gave a shit.

[yoshatabi]

What are you on about? There was controversy even with left behind.

[-Foxtrot]

@yoshatabi

*checks metacritic*

Huh...doesn't seem to have a low review score to me...critic or user wise

[Spicyram]

Changed your tune on the game?

[TheKingKratos]

But You give to much shit ... calm the F down ready
Your consist nagging is getting tiresome .. I can't get into a single article without seeing you complain about something

[ForwardDude]

@rdhneoz3 WTF was that hate dropping coming from?
Edit:Reported as innapropriate

[VerminSC]

The only reason it’s being bombed on metacritic is because the leaks painted it in a poor light and people decided they hated it before even trying it. Do you honestly believe even 1/3rd of those 0/10 scores have even played the game?

I’ve personally caught people online lying, calling the game trash, and after looking through their post history finding out they don’t even own a PS4! People love to hate, it’s human nature. If you decide to not play this game based on the very vocal minority you’ll be robbing yourself out of one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had.

[jukins]

Lol plenty of people give a shit. The fact that you even bring up "oh another" proves that people had problems with it. First game didn't have any controversy. 7 years later basically the same game but now its getting review bombed purely because if he man women hating sad ass dudes. Prove me wrong

[TheHateTheyGive]

The hate comes from it being a PlayStation exclusive, plain and simple. ghost of tsushima will get hate from the usual bunch.

[IRetrouk]

This game has really got people twisted, I love it!

[IRetrouk]

I cant take anything you say about the game seriously, your one of the ones I'm talking about😂

[IRetrouk]

Ok dr phill, whatever you say😂

Side note, if you are talking about the run up to the joel thing then we are done here, but feel free to give examples, I'm sure to enjoy picking them apart.

[jukins]

@Khalina newsflash. . Youre playing a video game with infected enemies and an apocalypse. . . So you're ok with all that fiction but a minor lapse in judgement after escaping death totally kills everything se for you lol. Man just go play farming simulator if you want total realism

[Elda]

The game is big on everybody's mind may it be on a positive or a negative note. GOTY!!!

[Ristul]

Best LGBT game of the year 👍

[mania568]

its not a LGBT game, the only thing you can take is the L

[Elda]

Whatever you feel the need to call it the game is fabulous!!

[outsider1624]

Well call what you like if that's your personal thing 😉.

[AnnaDea]

I thought this too.

"Wtf is Druckmann doing in the game as a cameo?" lol

[DrDeath]

Ya

[Ristul]

His ego is as big as Kojima's, but the difference is that Kojima is a likable guy.

[fatleon5]

I can't afford this yet sadly but I just want to know if its as bad as some people are saying. I couldnt give a crap about any LGBT stuff, doesnt bother me in the slightest. My wife actually watched me play Left Behind and named our daughter after one of the characters. But i hear people wish they had never played it because it ruins the story and the ending is terrible etc etc. I loved the first one, one of my favourite games. I'll give this one a try regardless anyway. I'm just confused by all the uproar

[DrDeath]

Its a great game. I do feel like some things are purposely thrown out or at the viewer but its small things. No big deal.

[Furesis]

There's a reason for the uproar but it is blown way out of proportion(like anything on the internet). I'll just say this. Don't expect this to be like the first one but with better graphics. The direction they went with is very different. Though my gripes lay elsewhere, but for me it was an 8/10. First one is better in MY opinion

[rainslacker]

It's a really good game, and the lgbt stuff is nowhere close to a focus of the game. It's being greatly overblown, and while the story beats are a far departure from the first, it is still strong and better than most game stories...albeit maybe a bit slow in story pacing.

[CrimsonWing69]

Wait, is Self-Insertion a bad thing? I think it'd be awesome if I was making a game and put myself into it.

[IRetrouk]

Just another thing to slight the game about, kojima does it all the time and nothings said🤷‍♂️

[CrimsonWing69]

right, what the hell is going on with people now? I think everyone just needs to lighten up.

I can't stand SJW sh*t and I'm enjoying the hell out of this game right now. Outrage culture is the worst.

[IRetrouk]

Cant dissagree with you there bud, 100% on the money.

[dumahim]

Eh, they kind of do, but it doesn't amount to anything.

[dumahim]

It's funny, because all of the other examples provided, they've all inserted themselves. People are so hellbent on using any perceived slight to rally against the game, but If Neil wanted to be in the game, I'm sure he'd do it himself and not hire an actor who was born in Mexico to do it. (Neil was born in Israel)

[gigzamillion]

Its a "bad thing" when its a critically acclaimed Sony exclusive. They're just grasping at straws for reasons to hate and complain.

[AnotherGamer]

Yeah, this is getting out of hand.

[myfathersbastard]

This is a non issue. Skip.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

I thought Manny seemed like Neil Druckman. Similar hair and facial features.

[MWH]

that's not a thing worthy of focus.

[kevinsheeks]

Lol when you hate your creation so much you insert yourself into the virtual world so you can spit on them.

[roboteye]

So do you have reading problem or can't read what this article is about that you're posting on?

[kevinsheeks]

Lmao cute have you fixed that skin problem yet? I suggest you grow up and stop letting opinions outside of yours take an emotional toll on you, you sound insecure.

Now if you want to have a conversation restate your question with a little less sassy tone unless you are a woman at which point what's your psn?

[roboteye]

@kevinsheeks

What skin problem? I'm confused.
This article debunks the self-insertion accusation. Can you not read?

[gigzamillion]

Its not him in the game so you can calm down now.

[NVMGaiden]

Acting like you know enough about Neil Druckman personally to compare him to his own character, the grandeur of it all.

[FullmetalRoyale]

Neil is in the game. As the evil mastermind Doctor Uckmann!

[antikbaka]

Kojima did it... why should I care

[NovusTerminus]

As it turns out Druckmann and the mocap artist share some similarities, though the actor has a rounder face and such the character in game does as well. This is just a coincidence.

Still not big on the games story so far but I don't see this as an issue. Because even if he did... So what? Tarantino does it all the time.

[yeahokwhatever]

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is STILL the best video game of the past 10 years. Don't believe me? Freaking play it.

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

I'm playing it right now, and I might actually agree. I agree with some reviews that were saying this revolutionized platformers for VR in the same sense Super Mario 64 did for 3D platformers.

[yeahokwhatever]

if the exact same game had a Nintendo sticker on it, it would be GOTY and there would be 30 clones already.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Why wouldn't he havethe right to do that? Movie directors do it all the time.

[yomfweeee]

We're up to 56k user reviews for this game. This game must have crushed all sales records of all time.

Here's the count of # user reviews for the top 10 games this generation:
Super Mario Odyssey - 5043
BOTW - 14667
Persona 5 Royal - 1524
TLOU2 - 56883
TLOU Remaster - 9965
God of War - 13116
Uncharted 4 - 10884
Super Smash Ultimate - 2524
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 17889
Journey - 1973
Forza Horizon 4 - 1119
Bloodborne - 9568
Bayonetta 2 - 400

Nothing unusual here folks. TLOU2 review count totally legit.

[rainslacker]

LOL. But yeah, no bots involved

[Gatsu]

These bunch of morons.... They should get a life.

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

The hate/toxicity around TLOu is sad and pathetic, I love gaming the gaming community is immature and toxic,.

[HyperMoused]

Simply woke culture crap, tlou1 was an amazing game, it didnt have to have any woke crap in it, and it was a masterpiece, there was just an influx of woke culture a while ago everythig had to be gay or transgender include women and people who identify sexually as a house plant. and it was forced down gamers throats, eg. didnt they come out with heaps of gay charactres in overwatch???, seriously, why its a fps shooter with no story really and yet we have to squeeze some woke shit in for no reason. its that, that people dislike.

[rainslacker]

You know bill from the first game was gay right?

[HyperMoused]

No and i could care less

[rainslacker]

You may not care, but you said the first didn't have any "woke" stuff in it, which isn't true. You didn't notice because it was subtle and not related to the plot. TLOU2 is less subtle, but it's still not related to the plot. It's just there, which to me, means less "woke", and just what it is.

[neomahi]

There's other characters that look like him, guess it's that man-bun he's trying to pull off, and his ego Naughty Dog's allowed him to have, which isn't good

[AK91]

Yeah this isn’t really surprising thought it’s a good thing he didn’t really have a big role in the story.

[Games1st]

Looks like the voice actor that Neil hired?

[DFresh]

I do admit the ads were very misleading about The Last of Us 2.
From the trailers I thought Dina was the one that made Ellie get her revenge which is what I would of preferred over Joel.
My only complaints about the game is the following.
•Hand to hand combat could be better improved.
•Would of preferred 60 frames per second over 30 frames per second.
•Assisted character A.I needs work.
•The game was too dark shadow wise even when you use the flash light.
•Could use a patch on the fire rate gun mod.
(Reduce the recoil.)
•Tone down the SJW Political Correctness.
(I get enough of it on TV. Don’t want it when gaming.)

I understand the direction Naughty Dog wanted to do but it did backfire with the fanbase including myself.
(Killing off a main character.)

Hopefully Naughty Dog learns from this lesson moving forward when creating games.

The highest grade I could give this game right now is an 8.5/10 compared to a 9.5/10 for the first game.

[Dfooster]

The world needs to knock off this bitching about everything. Its extremely tiring right now.

[gigzamillion]

Its not him but who gives and snit if it was, why does everything have to be controversies and accusation with this game? Never mind I know why.

[Pakje89]

The more these people pile on the - at this point - outrageous accusations, the less serious the crusade against the game is starting to appear. Subjectively, you can argue that the game is poorly written, but with the repeated personal attacks on Druckmann your arguments are starting to fall a little flat.

Here is a tip for the critics of the game. If you want to be taken seriously with your opinions (which I honestly think you should, because critique of the media helps move it forward) voice your opinion about what you do not like about the gameplay, story or graphics, debate it or whatever and then quiet down afterwards and let people who like the game enjoy it. Don't spoil it, just voice your opinion and be on your way like a sane person would do. Everything else makes you look like an overgrown spoiled child. It is more than okay not to like the game's agenda, message or any other element. It is not okay to increasingly ramp up the accusations like so:

1. I don't like what this game is doing (a valid point)
2. Druckmann must be in league with different political persons trying to force an opinion down my throat. Ellie and Dina is in a relationship, yes, but Ellie's sexual preference cannot come as a surprise if you are a fan of the first game. Sure Druckmann is making a statement but it is not that different than with Bill in the first game.
3. Druckmann mocapped himself into the game - get a load of this guy's ego (so the fuck what? If he did, he ain't the first and he won't be the last game director to do so. This is the first time I've heard someone complain about it) He is on one of the superhero cards though, which is cool. Are you forgetting that this is his project (along with a couple of other directors)
4. Naughty Dog paid for great reviews - "yeah ofc, they do so with all their games". There can't possibly be that talented a group of people. Well yes. A lot of developers, including Naughty Dog are so experienced with making video games at this point, that it is mindblowing really. That goes for developers on all video game platforms.
5. I even heard people spread rumours about Druckmann sleeping with Laura Bailey (playing Abby). Whether or not it's true doesn't even matter, because it is disrespectful to imply that it has anything to do with the game. This is a prime example of the depths people lower themselves to.

If you love the game, enjoy it and debate the shit out of it with people who didn't enjoy it. This is healthy, because we all like different things. Do not, however, spoil the game for other people because you don't like how it plays out. If you do, you can't possibly be mature enough to play a video games with the type of violence that is on display. Video games are still an art form where the team behind and its director can do whatever the fuck they want. If you do not like it, do not support their product. There is nothing wrong with that.

Sorry about the wall of text, but the amount of senseless shit orbiting this game is out of control...

[FyBy]

I wonder, if there is so much hate if there is no TLOU1.

[Brutus83]

Personal politics and political correctness has no place in video games.... unless it increases the hype and gives the devs of awesome games like this more money to make even more awesome games.

It has an 18 certificate, it states what type of content is in it before you buy the game. If that type of thing offends you, jog on.

[CoNn3rB]

To be honest, during my playthrough I only really came across 2 instances of political correctness and even then they're throwaway lines. "Bigot sandwiches" was hilarious in ways that I'm pretty sure weren't intentional and the whole Jewish survivor thing came out of nowhere but these instances are so small and have no real bearing on anything I'm finding it hard to understand how anyone could think this is "propaganda".
This game treats sexuality and social politics the same way the Witcher 3 approaches these sort of things, it tells you it's there but it lets you form your own opinion. It never once points to something and says "This is bad and if you do this you are a bad person." There's not preaching and no forced agenda, just human characters being human.

[Vipre77]

Even if he did, who cares? Only the biggest a-holes in the world, that's who. And why should we care what those people think? They're a-holes.

[chiefJohn117]

Just throw the whole game away

[SIdepocket]

More drama surrounding this game...can’t wait to read ALL about it 🙄