10 Saddest Heroic Sacrifices In Video Games
9. The Last Of Us - Tess
The Last Of Us has been acclaimed by critics and gamers alike for its incredible story and the relationships between the characters on screen. Of course the most important and most elaborately dynamic relationship is between Joel and Ellie, but early on we're given a brief glimpse into another relationship.
It's established early on that Joel and Tess are partners in crime when it comes to smuggling, and heavily implied that the two have something of a casual romance (if not loving) connection too.
And it's when Tess reveals that she was bitten that we see the first glimpse of vulnerability in Joel for a long time. While Tess remains stoic and accepting of her fate in this sequence, it's Joel whose reactions we emulate.
He doesn't know how to react; the realization that someone he feels affections for will die soon is cutting enough, but Tess redeems the scene brilliantly when she swears to buy Joel and Ellie time to escape the impending army chasing them.
Joel's stubbornness to stay and fight with Tess sinks the knife, and we don't buy for a second how cold he appears when really he's tearing apart inside.