The Last of Us 2 screenshots: Here's a fresh batch to help make up for the delay

With a fresh The Last of Us 2 delay just announced today, Sony and Naughty Dog have taken some of the edge off by revealing a new set of screenshots for the game.

One of the biggest mysteries about The Last of Us 2 is Joel's role in it. Actor Troy Baker recently teased that fans should keep an open mind when they're approaching the story, and these screens also add an intriguing new wrinkle to our understanding of the plot with a few new looks at Joel. One seems to be the older, more weather-beaten, and longer-haired Joel we met in the trailers. The other seems to be the younger (though not young) Joel we played as for the bulk of the first game - he's strumming a guitar, wearing his usual green button-up shirt.

It's a little harder to tell since she's slightly out of focus, but Ellie also seems to be younger in the screenshot of her sitting with Joel's brother Tommy.

Everything else we've seen of The Last of Us 2 so far has taken place five years after the first game. These screenshots indicate we'll also get some scenes on the other side of the time gap, though there's no indication of whether they'll occur up front or happen later in flashback scenes.

The other screenshots show Ellie exploring the world, meeting new people, and trying not to get stabbed by them. There's also a sweet shot of her cuddling with Dina before things go very wrong, further proving that Ellie's just got the worst luck.

Check out our big guide to video game release dates to see what else is on the way.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.