By Charlie Kendellen
With HBO’s The Last of Us season two coming this summer, there is no better time to replay the controversial (and wildly misunderstood) original game. Upon its initial release in 2020, The Last of Us 2 was met with mixed reviews from both critics and fans alike, which all come down to a few obvious reasons. The brutal death of the beloved protagonist Joel was received with outrage by fans, even resulting in actress Laura Bailey, who plays Abby, receiving death threats and hate mail for playing the character who causes his death. Alongside this, some fans felt that the revenge plot was a cop-out after the original game had a heartfelt and emotional core, some justifiably feel the revenge genre is overdone and tiresome.
While these are perfectly valid reasons to like or dislike this sequel, I am a firm believer that The Last of Us 2 is a near flawless game with complex characters, addictive combat and a beautiful story about the lengths we will go to avenge our loved ones. If you are still torn on whether or not season 2 of the HBO series is worth watching, maybe I can change your mind.
The revenge narrative made Ellie’s character arc all the more engaging. In the first game, we are introduced to Ellie as a sardonic yet lovable fourteen year old that sticks to Joel like glue. Despite the sequel taking place only 5 years after the first game, Ellie quickly becomes as ruthless and badass as Joel once was. Even taking on his vicious methods to find people’s whereabouts, Ellie truly knows no bounds and risks it all to avenge Joel, despite losing her friends and partner in the process. The bond between Ellie and Joel proves that blood isn’t always thicker than water.
The decision for NaughtyDog to enable players to play as Joel’s killer, Abby, in the second half of the game is arguably a stroke of genius. This choice truly humanised her. They provided her motive for killing Joel — avenging her father, all the while utilising flashbacks to show the bond between Abby and her own father. Throughout the course of Abby’s character arc, she builds a moving relationship with a young seraphite, Lev. Despite these alliances — Seraphites and Wolves — being in a deep rooted feud with one another (and anyone who crosses their path), Abby and Lev build a bond just as lovable as Joel and Ellie. Their relationship mirrors Ellie’s story in a way that forces players to empathise, humanise and ultimately opt out of violent revenge, although obviously not effective for some players back in 2020!
If the brutal death of Joel still dissuades you, at least don’t dismiss the entire game for it. This game has colossally addictive gameplay and modes of combat that suit all levels of players, adjusting your difficulty level to suit your needs is a must, but on top of this, once you complete the main story once, you are given various gameplay modifiers such as; bullet speed mode — which reduces game speed to 25% when aiming, infinite ammo, touch of death, one shot, and many more options to keep combat endlessly fresh and entertaining, for even the most seasoned of players.
There are a myriad of reasons to replay this game now, just in time for the HBO series’ second season. While I could ramble on endlessly about my love for this game, I believe everyone should play it at least once (or five times).