9 Times Gaming Was Too Real

3. The Last Of Us' Final Question

There are many themes and comments made across The Last of Us' hefty runtime, ranging from consumerism and commercialism to various breakdowns of what you would do when faced with the apocalypse.

My personal favourite is the most overt one in the game, and what hangs at the centre of Joel's decision to "save" Ellie from the Fireflies. Primarily:

Is the life of one person you love, worth more than millions you don't?

Ask a room of people and they'll be split down the middle. My own wife answered "no" when I said yes, which was a great way for our evening to play out.

A genius decision on Naughty Dog's part was to not let you have any control over Joel in the scene itself. Instead he takes a scalpel to the neck of one surgeon, so even if you don't then follow up by killing the remaining two, his role in the exchange comes with a bit of claret.

This had the knock-on effect of grounding the ramifications of saving one life over another. There would be bloodshed and violent reactions - things you'd have to factor in, no matter which side you come down on.