Ellie’s not going to have a good time in The Last of Us Part II, as has been made apparent by the narrative lead and co-writer of the coming Naughty Dog title.

The Last of Us Part II is going to be a brutal game, perhaps even more so than the first. Hitting in early 2020, Part II of 2013’s PS3 hit is going to be emotionally grueling, according to the head of narrative lead Halley Gross.

In an interview with PlayStation Magazine, Gross had the following to say about Ellie’s coming journey.

“What we’re really trying to do is challenge Ellie to see who she can become when she grows up in such a hostile environment. And part of writing is, very unfortunately, torturing your characters, putting them in hard situations, and testing their values and testing their drive.”

While we may only know about the very start of Ellie’s latest journey, we do know that she will be driven by both rage and revenge in Part II. What exactly is the event that’s going to bring Ellie across the country? And how does Joel come back into the story’s events?

While those questions have yet to be answered, the writing team is working off of a passion for their protagonist, continues Gross: “So, while we love Ellie, and we’re really excited to see her grow up, we’re certainly not going to coddle her.”

Gross’ passion for the project comes across as she describes how she and the whole production team are “all working toward a vision about how do you make the most complex, nuanced character” in a video game presentation.

The Last of Us Part II recently gave the press an opportunity to play a demo from the opening act of the game, and from the sounds of it, Part II will also be a much tougher game than the first. The next chapter in Ellie’s tale releases exclusively on the PS4 on February 21, 2020.