The Last of Us - This is not a review |
Jon Evans
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Warning - Spoilers Ahead
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Unless you live under a rock, you should be very aware of The Last of Us. This is a game you need to play. In years to come it will be viewed as one of the last games on the PS3 that people will still remember with fondness and awe. An example of what is possible with a combination of great writing and a love of making games rather than selling units. This article aims to show what effect the game has had on me, as a gamer and also as a father.
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The Last of Us is a relentless barrage of emotional gameplay from the outset. Joel, the male protagonist, is a single parent living with his teenage daughter and struggling with juggling his inadequacy as the emotional crutch for his daughter in her mother’s absence with his gruff and standoffish persona. In the first ten minutes my heart sank predicting pretty much what was going to happen to Sarah, but I wasn’t prepared for the method of her death. Throughout this game it is clearly emphasized how awful humans really are. By the final act I was much more scared of the humans I would encounter in Joel and Ellie’s world than any of the more predictable infected. It is this central theme which pervades Naughty Dog’s masterpiece. What would happen when the world comes to an end? How would we treat each other?
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As the story progresses, you become more and more skeptical of the people you meet in your journey with Ellie. This is the message Naughty Dog was trying to get across; the disaster is not that humanity has been decimated, but that humanity has become lethal. When Joel first meets Ellie, she, quite rightly, does not trust him or his partner, Tessa. Ellie is a child of the Apocalypse, she has no knowledge of the world before The Spores and has grown up learning not to trust anyone. This, along with the gameplay, is what provides the catharsis. You, as the player, become more untrusting and this builds up a sympathy for the main characters to the point that you utterly believe them as real individuals. You feel what they feel. Add to that the wonderful interactions you have with Ellie, the casual inquiries she makes to you about the world before, promote that feeling of ‘fatherliness’ as you impart the information, or in some cases gloss over the horrors of the world you now wander through, making this more believable.
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Playing this game as a father I found the developing relationship between Ellie and Joel fascinating. I have also read the series of Dark Horse Comics, American Dream, showing Ellie’s life prior to meeting Joel. It is great to see references to that in the game. In the comic Ellie finds an abandoned Video Games Arcade and remembers a particular game she always wanted to play. If you explore enough of the environment (it is definitely worth doing this to get the most out of the game) you come across another arcade with this particular machine inside. Ellie makes mention of the time she visited the arcade in the comic and it is a beautiful moment of recollection for both her and me. It is a great nod to the fans of the IP, but also adds depth to Ellie’s character and the world around you.
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These quiet moments between Joel and Ellie, whether they are deep and meaningful, or just Ellie humming a tune, or trying to whistle are amongst my favourite in the game. The scene where you arrive at the hospital, Ellie spots a wild giraffe wandering the grounds and they both stop talking, rest against a balcony looking over the overgrown grounds as the herd of Giraffes saunter playfully pass. This is utterly wonderful. The fact that Naughty Dog let you stand there, silent for as long as you want, just watching and thinking, shows a genius level of understanding of their game and is a massive compliment to the gamer’s desires and wishes. In one moment I felt a deep sense of protectiveness for Ellie, not just because she is so important to humanity, but also as a surrogate daughter and also I understood that, no matter what, life still would go on without the human race. It was a humbling and moving experience.
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Counter this with the more violent scenes in the game where Ellie has been kidnapped, Naughty Dog never holds back. The menace of rape or death pervading the cellar where Ellie is being held, followed by the harrowing chase level in the burning hotel build and build, and the challenge of the gameplay in that scene, the scarcity of weapons at Ellie’s disposal all contribute to a massive finale in what is essentially a boss level. When the gory end to David occurs, you don’t feel it is unnecessary, even as it is dealt with sensitively. As Joel and Ellie are reunited, I cried. In relief as a father would finding his lost daughter, but also in utter disgust at how inevitabile social breakdown really is in this scenario. It paints a desperate picture for our race should the worst ever happen.
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My last thoughts of this game always return to the end. Ellie is immune to the spore that is infecting humanity and she is the cure that has to be found. Joel and Ellie’s journey is ultimately taking her to the Fireflies who, it is hoped, can use her as a way of ending this nightmare. When it becomes evident of the sacrifice Ellie has to make to save the world, Joel cannot bear to lose his adopted daughter. I ask myself, what would I do? Would I behave in the same way as Joel? He is a broken man who, having lost everything and everyone he cares for, who has had a second chance, has that gift wrenched away from him? I would do the same, without question. in that final scene, Ellie, who would have gladly sacrificed herself to save her species, asks Joel if he was truthful when he explained she was not the only one who was immune. The point of view pans between their eyes, hope, concern and fear reflecting in Ellie’s irises and Joel makes one of the most important lies in humanity’s history. A powerful and affecting ending that asks the player to examine their own nature in a way no other game has.
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Images courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
