Last of Us’ David: No Return Mode’s Darkest Secret?

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The roguelike mode in The Last of Us Part 2, titled No Return, beautifully replicates the experiences and gameplay from the main story campaign of the original game. With characters like Bill and Marlene now included in No Return, along with an Ellie skin modeled after Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, it appears that this mode has no intention of slowing down its content updates, which is a good thing given the vast amount of untapped content from both The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us Part 2. Continuous random generation of seeds and encounters ensures that there’s always fresh content to explore.

There are currently 12 playable characters in The Last of Us Part 2’s No Return:

  • Ellie
  • Dina
  • Jesse
  • Tommy
  • Joel
  • Abby
  • Lev
  • Yara
  • Mel
  • Manny
  • Marlene
  • Bill

Marlene and Bill are the most fascinating characters in No Return, as their gameplay styles heavily rely on unique tricks: Marlene requires playing gambits, while Bill benefits from Dead Drops (if they appear). This effectively uses two key features of No Return that might otherwise be overlooked, and any future characters will need to be equally distinctive to match up. However, among the Last of Us characters, David from Part 1 might struggle to fit into No Return, as his character dynamics could seem incongruous.

How David’s Gameplay Could Look in The Last of Us Part 2’s No Return

It’s not unreasonable to imagine that David from “The Last of Us” could potentially be included in the game No Return. From a gameplay perspective, his character could be designed to accumulate more medical supplies after each encounter on the board, given that his group had access to penicillin and other resources. Additionally, David is known to use a revolver, hunting rifle, and machete, which could add a variety of combat strategies to the game. For instance, he could be portrayed as a formidable opponent with stealthy attacks or a character who can provide temporary healing items in exchange for resources.

In simpler terms, The gear combinations outlined would serve as a good foundation for gameplay without requiring extra purchases or Dead Drop deposits. Given David’s stealthy and swift nature during his boss fight in “The Last of Us Part 1”, he could excel at being stealthy, with the Vigilance and Unstoppable upgrade branches enhancing his Momentum and Listen Mode skills.

It’s highly improbable that the cannibalistic tendencies displayed by David in “The Last of Us” will undergo any form of alteration.

Ellie and Abby’s Groups in No Return Would Be No Place for a Sinister Cannibal

Furthermore, it’s worth discussing the matter of who they stand for. So far, the game No Return has effectively separated its playable characters, Ellie and Abby, by designing their unique move sets in animations and aligning them with different story loyalties.

In simpler terms, Marlene has been introduced as the ‘Queen Firefly,’ similar to Abby, but she shares Ellie’s fighting style (which might seem odd considering Abby would typically match her moveset). Moreover, Marlene can have NPC allies who behave like Ellie during gameplay. On the other hand, Yara and Lev naturally align with Abby, while Dina and Joel clearly side with Ellie in the game.

David seems unlikely to be included in either alliance, significantly reducing the possibility of him becoming a playable character in “No Return.” This is particularly true if Naughty Dog chooses to stick with the tradition of featuring characters like Tess, Henry, Sam, Maria, or Owen. In other words, it appears that David is not high on Naughty Dog’s list of potential playable characters for “No Return.

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2025-05-05 14:01