The Last of Us 2 animator shows off intricate reload animations you may have missed

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

The level of detail in The Last of Us 2 is mind-boggling, but it's hard to fully appreciate all those little animations that punctuate combat when you're trying not to die.

Let Troy Slough, the head of player animation on The Last of Us 2, help you out with that. Slough says in an ArtStation post that he handled animation for movement sets like wading, sprinting and aiming, as well as improving the weapon handling system that he initially helped design for Uncharted 4 - but his favorite part was working on weapon reloads.

"Working for days with seasoned stunt women and men to capture data at the mocap stage and then making it work in game with the correct timing and style was so much fun it should be illegal," Slough explains. "Here's a few of them that I'd like to share."

The animations in Slough's highlight reel show a textureless Ellie model, looking like an ancient Greek statue in jeans and a frayed button-down, as she loads and fires several of her weapons. The personal flourishes and efficiency of the revolver reload animation definitely make it the star of the show.

Look at how Ellie holds the frame and cylinder in place with one hand as she slots in bullets with the other. It's the kind of thing you'd barely notice with the camera over her shoulder and your attention fixed on enemy movement, but it's there.

You can see even more impressive intricacies - including Ellie actually squinting when you zoom in - with our round-up of The Last of Us 2 details.