There Is No Sugarcoating Survival Within The Last of Us – Which Is Exactly Why It’s Great
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COURTESY OF SONY
Twenty years after an outbreak of infection caused the mass destruction of the populace, it’s no surprise that people do dirty work to survive. The main character of Sony’s video game developer Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is one of those people. Torture, smuggling, murder, thievery – everything is a possibility within the world of The Last of Us so long as it brings a means of survival.
Joel Miller is a man who lives by the idea that survival is his utmost priority, even if that means doing morally questionable things. The game is not afraid to directly tell or imply to you that Joel is that type of person, and yet you are shown that there is more to Joel’s character that isn’t just his way of survival. Survival is a brutal but necessary thing in The Last of Us, which is precisely what makes the game so realistic with several layers to the narrative.
Situations Will Happen That You Can Do Nothing but Move on From
The Last of Us does not shy from making things happen within the narrative that you cannot go back from. Death is not treated lightly and is one of the character motivators for both main characters of the narrative. Characters will die, but you and the characters within the narrative will have to move past those situations before it can be properly processed.
There is hardly any time to grieve when there are people and infected people all around and trying to kill you. After all, survival is a harsh reality that beckons you to move on past tragedies, something that The Last of Us makes sure to remind you consistently throughout your playthrough.
courtesy of sony
Sometimes The Best Thing to Do Is to Adapt and Move On.
Both main characters of The Last of Us deal with their grief of passed loved ones, shaping them into people that do anything to survive. The world of The Last of Us is relentless and ruthless and the threat of death is around every corner.
With Joel Miller, he is shown to be a broody man who has who has suffered and is forced to change to survive. Although he is not proud of his past actions, he doesn’t try and deny that he did them either. He actively does horrendous things through the player’s actions, adding onto the type of man that he is; a man driven by the need to adapt and push forward.
In the other protagonist’s (Ellie Williams) case, being born during the pandemic, she has grown up with the constant need to adapt to change. Throughout the narrative, you will see as Ellie continues to adapt to the change that is brought upon her, whether that be through dialogue, cutscenes, or even timely interactions. As a character, Eliie is the embodiment of “adapt and move on” which is a theme that follows the narrative strongly throughout the game.
Non-Playable Characters Are Just as Driven for Survival as You
In The Last of Us, the player travels across the country as Joel Miller to complete the ultimate goal he has. Throughout the journey, you will come across countless non-playable characters (NPCS) and side characters that are trying to survive. Whether those characters are scavengers, cannibals, slavers – there is always one thing they all share, the need to survive. You will make friends or enemies with these characters, but the fact that everyone is driven to survive remains all the same.
It is one of the many reasons The Last of Us is an incredible narrative, as focusing on the survival aspect of the game is just a fraction of the greatness that is The Last of Us. If you want to experience a rich narrative full of third-person gameplay and realistic characters that shape the story, give The Last of Us a chance.
Kate Mulligan
Kate Mulligan is one of our authors who will be responsible for the world building section within IGN. Born in Edmonton Alberta, Kate has lived their entire life within Canada. Having been raised in a household that loves video games, Kate has taken just as much of a liking, especially towards story driven games. For IGN, Kate will be focusing on the importance of world building and how exactly it effects the continuity of story based video games. Catch their first blog post titled “3 Reasons Red Dead Redemption II Will Captivate You Like No Other Game.”