The Last Of Us Explained: What Does The Ending Really Mean?
Was Joel a monster, or are his actions justifiable?
The Last of Us took video game storytelling to a whole new level. It combined a classic survival game with one of the most touching, tear-jerking plots in video game history, serving as a - then still too rare - proof that an entertaining game and a beautiful, greatly written story don't have to be at odds with one another.
Joel and Ellie's journey through disease-infected America was praised by gamers and critics. This was reflected in the game's popularity, which made The Last of Us the third best-selling PS3 game of all time.
With the trailer available online for some time now and the game making the top of our list of the most anticipated titles of the year, it might be worthwhile to revisit the original and reminisce about the incredible experience that was The Last of Us.
The high expectations regarding the sequel are justified, as proven by many other lists regarding the sheer quality of Naughty Dog's magnum opus. This one takes a long, hard look at the ending, dissecting the lessons, observations and emotions with which it left us four years ago.
6. It's Easier To Survive When You're Cute
There are two justifications of this opinion in The Last of Us, one from the animal realm and one from human. While you can probably guess that the latter applies to Ellie, the former is concerned with... giraffes.
With food being scarce, it should be understandable that people kill these tall-necked mammals. Thanks to their main feature they are easy to spot, which makes them also easy to kill.
Yet, here they are in Salt Lake City, coming close to Ellie and Joel - something animals that are game never do. This stands as proof that they're never hunted, otherwise they would run when seeing the two.
Ellie likes to cuss. She likes to show the finger as well. She steals, she runs away, she causes problems, and yet, she's always forgiven. Joel's heart melts each time he looks into her big eyes. Even David, whose men Ellie and Joel killed at Eastern Colorado University, forgives the girl and wants to make her his pet. If she wasn't so cute, she'd definitely be dead, long before the ending.