9 Video Game Ideas We’re GLAD Got Cancelled

4. Ellie Kills Abby - The Last Of Us Part II

Bold, risky as hell but ultimately a necessary piece of art precisely because of it, The Last of Us 2 being a bleak revenge tale houses a message that's eventually extremely pro-life, and extremely encouraging of letting go of any longterm grudges.

It gets there over a 30 hour runtime that explores every facet of how hate can be constructed, reinforced and passed on, coming through the lens of militarised factions vying for dominance, religious doctrines or just personal vendettas.

By the close of the game, you're actively begging Ellie to just let Abby go, like she has earlier, and to settle down with partner Dina and their young child.

Thankfully Ellie relinquishes Abby's throat and the game ends on an optimistic(ish) note, though it wasn't always this way.

Revealed to IndieWire, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann stated that "for more than 50 percent of the production, Ellie used to kill Abby at the end", giving in to the same cycles of violence as everyone around her, and further dooming human nature to a constant race to the bottom.

Druckmann notes the team eventually realised this "wasn’t honest to Ellie’s character" as "deep down inside, there is goodness there. Hopefully, she can go forward and build her life”.

Phew.