The Last of Us 2 Creative Director Neil Druckmann has poked fun at critics of Abby, the sequel’s deuteragonist. The Naughty Dog Vice President responded to a Twitter thread asking for controversial video game opinions, with him referring to the controversy surrounding Abby
Abby was portrayed by Laura Bailey in the game, though CrossFit athlete Colleen Fotsch acted as the character’s body double. Although her physical appearance is based on a real person, a section of The Last of Us 2‘s critics claimed that her design was “unrealistic,” suggesting that a female character couldn’t achieve Abby’s level of muscularity.
Druckmann jabs at TLoU2 protagonist Abby’s critics
Druckmann has now poked fun at these suggestions, responding to a viral tweet requesting unpopular video game opinions. “That female characters can be muscular?” Druckmann replied, alongside a GIF of The Last of Us 2‘s Joel putting his head in his hands.
That female characters can be muscular? https://t.co/7OGjRLyQjQ pic.twitter.com/fv5uNeLKzo
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) September 27, 2020
Druckmann’s tweet prompted a sizable response with replies once again claiming that Abby’s design wasn’t realistic, despite The Last of Us 2 establishing that she occupied a base which housed a gym, and that she was also one of the Wolves’ frontline soldiers who had been training for the majority of her life.
“No one said they couldn’t. You just went to the extreme,” one reply reads. “Oh my got [sic] druckmann. How desperate ccould [sic] you possibly get trying to play the victim card? No one ever said they can’t, It’s just UNREALISTIC to have that kind of physique in an apocalypse, not just for a female but for a male as well for that matter,” another replied.
However, others reiterated that Abby’s appearance was based on a real athlete, while also noting that the subject of “realism” isn’t necessarily applicable in a game which features plenty of other scenarios which require a suspension of belief.
“50% [of] the people commenting on negatively on this don’t work out and 100% of them haven’t lived through an apocalypse,” another reply reads. “That means they don’t know how physically fit people exist at the world’s end,” one reply read.
Druckmann’s comments came after The Last of Us Day, Naughty Dog’s annual community event which saw the release of a special The Last of Us 2 vinyl soundtrack, limited edition posters, and the announcement of an upcoming board game set in The Last of Us‘ universe. Meanwhile, The Last of Us 2 players are still awaiting the game’s next big update, following the addition of its Grounded and Permadeath modes back in August.
