17 Most Violent Video Game Moments Of The Decade (So Far)

3. Joel's Increasingly Desperate Animations - The Last Of Us

Here's a fun fact for you - the more you get through The Last of Us' campaign, the more increasingly violent Joel's animations become. It's all in service of his growing bond with Ellie, and the need to obliterate any competition that dares oppose him and his new daughter figure.

As a result, the quick random check the game does when deciding which finishing animation to give you, is far less likely to result in something so egregiously primal and visceral near the start of the game.

Slamming heads into desks, burying your boot on dudes' faces, slamming foes directly down on sharp outcrops of the environment, this inbuilt survival instinct slowly overtakes Joel, giving The Last of Us' violence a relatable edge that I wouldn't say is present in any other game, eventually culminating in his actions against the scientists in that phenomenal final level.