The Last of Us Part 2 might be known as a heavy game full of brutal moments, but theres some lightheartedness in there, too. You can, for instance, collect a variety of trading cards that flesh out a world of heroes and villains, including one that may seem familiar to anyone who knows the people who actually worked on the game.
Pictured above, weve got Doctor Uckmann, a stern-looking, bearded fellow who seems to be a ringer for Neil Druckmann, creative director on The Last of Us Part 2. When you turn the card over and read further, the characters backstory comes into focus:
Image: Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Once a well-respected researcher, Doctor Uckmanns questionable experiments in the realm of pushing human limits saw him ostracized from the scientific community. Even the morally-compromised Laurent Foucault of SPARK Laboratories found his work dubious. Undeterred, Uckmann continued his work in secret, creating super-AI to do his bidding and protect his research while he and The New Dogs stage high-tech heists to fund it all. Constantly moving his lab location so no one can find him, he longs for the day where his subjects will be treated as equals.
Its obviously a gag, and one of many at that. The Last of Us Part 2 also features cameos from old, dusty PlayStation 3s and a PlayStation Vita, and at one point the survival horror game even name drops an in-universe porn film named after Crash Bandicoot.
All of this to say, youre not meant to take the trading card completely seriously. At the same time, if you know the development story behind The Last of Us Part 2, the card takes on a slightly different meaning. As reported by Kotaku in early 2020, Naughty Dog apparently pulled long hours to complete the game, reportedly burning out staff members and racking up a high turnover rate. The game is full of small, technical details that were, according to the report, only possible because the studio built a culture of perfectionism, where games have to be great, no matter the human cost.
With that context in mind, the card and its mention of Uckmanns penchant for pushing human limits takes on a different tone. Youll note, however, that the characters morality bar isnt fully docked to the left so, hes not fully evil. That might explain why Uckmann longs for people to give his subjects some respect; its not all selfish!
Possibly, were reading too much into the Easter egg. But still, curious that it exists, no?
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