Sony has debuted a live, interactive experience inspired by The Last of Us at CES 2025, with show attendees invited to explore a virtual exhibit placing them directly into the post-apocalypse. This “immersive” work begins in the tunnels of Seattle, which feature in The Last of Us Part 2.
Based on a report from Engadget, groups of four players go into the experience, with two given shotguns, and two given flashlights. All must work together as they enter a space created using LED panels and props to give the illusion of being part of the game. Sensors on the flashlights interact with the LED panels, so that light delivered in the “real world” is reflected in the game.
With a clicker approaching from behind, the group is tasked with surviving by “firing” the virtual, physical shotguns – again, with these interactions being mapped and accounted for, on-screen. Per Engadget, the “coolest effect” of the game was that the floor of the exhibit was mapped for haptic feedback, with in-game rumbles and collapses able to be felt by players, to amp up the realism.
The experience also reportedly included cameos from Ellie and Dina, with their appearance leading into a “big battle” against a swarm of Clickers which ended with the player group being overrun, and the screens going black.
Read: How Abby in The Last of Us Part 2 challenged players to think differently
According to Sony, this exhibit is part of wider plans to create new “immersive” entertainment, seemingly with a VR-like location-based sensibility. The Last of Us Part 2‘s experience is being described as a ‘proof of concept’ and while attendees have stated it’s fairly rough for now, there’s certainly room for Sony to forge ahead.
In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of immersive experiences aided by physical tools, with companies like Zero Latency developing similar experiences using VR. While using screen technology alone is a novel idea, it certainly has potential – and based on reports, there are plenty of cool ideas even in this early prototype.
There’s plenty of tweaking and improving to do before an experience like this can really break out, but it does seem like Sony is toying with the idea of a brighter future, particularly to expand the worlds of popular games and immerse players in new stories. Keep an eye on how these ideas develop.
