Why The Last Of Us 2 Is The Most Important Video Game Of This Generation

Progression Isn't Performative, It's People's Lives

This is a game with an openly lesbian protagonist that revels in her loving, blossoming relationship with another woman, and explores the struggles of a trans boy coming to terms with his gender. Neil Druckmann and Naughty Dog shouldn't have to be praised for including these aspects of Ellie and Lev, but here we are anyway. It's been a long time coming in gaming and a battle that's still hard fought when the majority are used to straight white men as the focus of their stories, so this is a refreshing, bold step in the direction we should all be further ahead in by now. People of all backgrounds deserve representation - but it also needs to be done right.

Whilst the characters have received a fair amount of praise, there are vocal condemnations of TLOU2's choice to use Lev's transition story as his defining arc, especially when it comes at the cost of deadnaming the character (referring to his birth name that he no longer identifies with).

There's those that would argue the trauma Lev undergoes is a sensationalist dramatisation of a sensitive topic, and that bringing a trans character to the fore - especially when we really don't get many - shouldn't come with the caveat of seeing him go through abuse that happens readily in the real world as well.

It all boils down to a point that works both ways: politics aren't for performance. Naughty Dog's intention to shine light on underrepresented minorities is valiant, but learning how to do this the right way should be paramount going forward.

The conversation has been started, however, and we're again faced with an important, defining moment in gaming history that will see change continue through to the future.