At times it can feel like Naughty Dog are going out of their way to remind the player of just how unforgiving the world in The Last of Us truly is. Tess stands out as an early star character in the game, being one of the few people that Joel appears to have formed some sort of real emotional connection with since the events of the prologue. The pair clearly have a history, though it is never fully elaborated on, and Tess dog eat dog mentality is tempered by a softer side that Joel initially appears to lack. From the moment the duo hunt down a gang leader who has stolen their weapons cache, Tess is set up as an important character in Joels life. Once the duo receive Ellie they fight their way through a number of dangerous areas in an effort to her to the Fireflies. Unfortunately, while Tess pleads with Joel to get Ellie to the Fireflies in an effort to save humanity, Ellie notices that Tess has been bitten. Knowing that death and eventual transformation is upon her Tess sacrifices herself to help the duo escape a group of Hunters, severing the one real bond that Joel has to humanity while also providing the setup for the developing relationship he has with Ellie.
Lee Price is a writer for 411mania.com and Starburst Magazine, which is published in the UK. He is currently working as a freelance writer. He hopes to one day fund his addiction to video games by writing about video games, and he maintains a sporadically updated blog at leesrandombulls*it.wordpress.com
