01 BEST GAME
The Last of Us was first released on July 14, 2013 but remade on September 2, 2022 It follows the story of Joel tasked with taking Ellie across the US and Ellie a little girl who is immune to the cordyceps fungus
“It’sthreeweeksold,Iswear.”
-Ellie
In The Last of Us the cordyceps fungus or Ophiocordyceps is a fungus that takes over the human body’s motor functions through a bite or a cut. Becoming Infected takes between 2 hours or 2 days. However when Ellie got bit she didn’t turn at all. In the first game Ellie is introduced as cargo to transport out of the government issued “quarantine zone” by a revolutionary group called the fireflies. As the game progresses we learn that Ellie is immune because of a fungus growing on her brain and that a hospital run by the fireflies wants to use it to make a cure. Ellie is a complex and amazing character that evolves from a young and vulnerable girl into a resilient and determined survivor. Her journey is filled with emotional challenges, losses, and growth as she navigates the post-apocalyptic world. Her character is defined by her loyalty, courage, and unwavering spirit, making her a central figure in the story.
In the games the relationship between Joel and Ellie is beautiful but also rocky. In the beginning of the game we see that Joel had lost his daughter on outbreak day so he is distant and cold, and Ellie, who had lost everyone she had loved and hoping her life could have meaning by making a cure, was sarcastic and bright. Throughout the game Joel and Ellie start to warm up to each other and form a type of father-daughter bond, completing each other.
Sadly in the beginning of the second game
Joel is killed by members of a group called the Washington Liberation Front or WLF later known as Abby and her friends. In the second game Ellie makes it her mission to track down the people who murdered Joel and get revenge.
Abbyisinitiallyintroduced asasoldierseeking revenge,butasthestory unfolds,weseeherstruggle withherpast,herbeliefs, andherrelationships.
Abby’sjourneychallenges playerstoquestiontheir perceptionsandjudgments, addingdepthtothegame’s narrative.Hercharacter developmentisakey elementintheemotional impactofthegame.She bringsadifferent perspectivetothestory, showcasingherinternal conflicts,struggles,and growththroughoutthe game.Abby’sjourney challengesplayersto empathizewithher,even whenheractionsmayseem controversial.Her characteraddslayersof complexitytothegame’s narrative,makingplayers reflectonthemesof mortality,redemption,and forgiveness.
When Ellie finally finds Abby she is beaten beyond recognition by a random group in Santa Barbra, still Ellie and Abby fight in the water. Both of them are weak and bloody trying to stay alive before ellie holds abby underwater and starts drowning her. When she does this everything that has happened flashes before her eyes, the opeople that have died, the people that she has lost, what she has become and suddenly its all too much for her. She lets go of Abby and tells her to leave while she sobs into the ocean. She watches Abby drive away on a boat. She returns back to her home and finds it empty, except for her drawings and guitars that reminded her of joel. She opens the case and begins to play the song that Joel had sung for her ever since they had met, in the fight with abby she had bit off her fingers on her left hand so when she tried to play she couldn’t play all the notes. She silently played the broken song and rested her head on the guitar. She looked out into the woods living her greatest fear, being alone.
Thank you for reading
