The Last of Us Part II has finally dropped and Naughty Dog seems to have another big hit on their hands. Just like the previous game, a lot of hard work and soul went into the making of this game. However, the company has been notoriously getting flak for their unfair treatment of having employees working tons of overtime to finish making the game just in time for release. Within The Last of Us Part II, there are some Easter eggs that reference this very crunch culture.
In the game, players can collect trading cards based on fictional superheroes and villains. These collectibles have descriptions of the character and their history, which references many of the big names at Naughty Dog in a joking manner. Some of these cards even go as far as to reference Naughty Dog's work environment.
One example is Doctor Uckmann, an obvious nod to the game’s director Neil Druckmann. The description on the card says that this character was shunned from his community for his “questionable experiments in the realm of pushing human limits,” which clearly refers to Druckmann pushing his employees and the general reaction to crunch culture. Another one can be found with Randy Styles, which nods to former Naughty dog employee Bruce Stanley. The card describes him as a research associate of Uckmann who worked “late nights to develop all manner of technology for the betterment of mankind, until one day, he just vanished!" This could just be referring to the late-night hours at the company.
Whether the stories of crunch are true or not, the easter eggs found in the game could just be poking innocent fun at the people of Naughty Dog. However, it is hard to ignore the signs being shown here with the cards and their descriptions paralleling what’s going on within the company’s walls. Perhaps it’s a way to spread awareness of this issue within the game. Crunch culture is a serious topic in the gaming community, so it’s a little weird that it’s being brought up in such a light-hearted way in The Last of Us Part II.
Until the company addresses this controversy and commits to change, it doesn’t seem like the conversation will end anytime soon. For now, players can at least enjoy The Last of Us Part II due to (or in spite of ) these fun and cheesy collectibles.