10 Background Video Game Characters That Change EVERYTHING

8. Ish - The Last Of Us

Street Fighter 2
Naughty Dog

A subtle inclusion this, but one that forced a hefty-chunk of players to recontextualize the world this game was set it. The Last of Us, from the very beginning sequences all the way through to The Suburbs chapter, is filled to bursting point with the monstrous.

Literal monsters roaming the streets, and the monsters in society this shattered world has created as a result. There is no good for Ellie and Joel to find anywhere, save for what they can find in each other.

However, some incredibly small discoveries across the level entirely reshape the world in which the game is set, and how you perceive it through both of your protagonists. A series of notes left by several children reveals that a man named Ish was successful, however briefly, in protecting a number of families by founding a thriving community in the sewers.

While never seen in the game (aside from a drawing left by one of the children) the hope he brought to those around him changes the entire tone of the game from dog-eat-dog survival, to the perseverance of the human spirit. With an assist from very big guns.

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