18 Greatest Last Levels In Gaming History

4. The Firefly Lab - The Last Of Us

In its attempt to constantly subvert player expectations, The Last of Us has you spending the entire game trying to reach a rebel outpost, where its said a cure for the zombie-like infection that's ravaged the globe can be found. Once you get there though, you quickly realise it's not quite the salvation you were hoping for, as the only way to create a cure would be to sacrifice Ellie, a young girl who's been your companion through the entire game so far.

The level is so brilliant because of how morally grey everything is. Suddenly you find yourself brutally murdering the same people you've been told are the good guys throughout the entire title, more or less single-handedly wiping them out in the process. At this point you aren't just bashing in the heads of thieving cannibals, but a group of people who ultimately have a noble goal at heart.

The scenario creates a completely conflicting mentality with the player, as they want to rescue the companion they've bonded with over the entire game, but don't want to be killing potentially the only chance for salvation in this post-apocalyptic landscape.

In this post: 
GoldenEye
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.