I have a lot of unforgettable gaming memories- watching my sister dominate at Super Mario Bros, laughing way too hard at a little PS1 title called ‘Hogs of War’, having my mind blown when I could rewind time in ‘Sands of Time’. A lot of fun memories. Some rage quit memories. Some emotional benders. But nothing hit me as hard as the beginning of The Last of Us. I remember hitting pause, putting the controller down as gently as I could, and walking away.
Now…I’ll admit it. I am a soft touch. I love a good story. I will root for the characters, cheer them on and tear up when they struggle. I am the crazy lady laughing on the train as I read. Hell, I will even cry to a song. So having an emotional reaction to a video game is not a stretch.
But the intensity of my reaction was what caught me by surprise, especially since the opening credits hadn’t even rolled yet. Only 10 minutes had passed, but it was enough. I was attached to Sarah, to her fear. To Joel and his gruffness. And gosh darn I was mad! I was upset and angry, and I felt betrayed. 10 minutes and I had already bought into the game. I finished my walk around the block and then returned to play the rest of the game in one sitting.
Mechanically, the game was solid. Nothing to really write home about. Smooth combat, decent support NPCs, fun combat arenas, and level design that required you to think and strategize. Where it got good was with the enemy types. Again, nothing exceptionally new, until you run into the stalkers or bloaters. Where it crossed the line into excellence was with the story, the world, and its characters.
The Last of Us experience
Neil Druckmann and team along with Naughty Dog were able to create a legacy that not only endured but thrived over the past decade. The game spawned an incredibly successful sequel where fans got- sometimes too -vocal about the characters and the story decisions. Along the way, it was remastered for the PS4, then remade for current Gen consoles and PC, and made into a successful TV show. A whole new platform where everyone could meet the characters and fall in love with the story. Is there any clearer proof that the success of this game is because of its story?
For the last decade, gamers and critics have talked about how this story was excellent at unravelling the best and worst in humankind. They have talked about how the mechanics and NPC behavior built relationships. All of these points are absolutely true.
The game had universal themes of chosen families, love, and community. For instance, hearing Joel finally call Ellie ‘Baby girl’ for the first time just felt right. As a result, I raged to save my family and persisted even when sleep called to me. It was everything gaming is to me. A sense of community, family, friends, support, power and triumph. It was an escape. It was coming home.
The game also added so much personality, you couldn’t help but smile. The first thing that comes to mind is Ellie fangirling over the comic books she finds. But there were also the subtler touches like Joel protecting Tess or Ellie while in cover. We all go back to the game and the story for the banter, the relationships, the little details of the world, the people just trying to survive in a Pandemic. (Not that we have a clue about that. At least our pandemic had fewer manipulative mushrooms)
The depth that won me over
Within all this debate, I would like to pose a hypothesis about why this game really, really works. I believe that while all of these wonderful things did draw us in where these wonderfully flawed characters were mirrors for us, the game endured for a very specific reason.
The Last of Us made it okay for us to be selfish. Or rather, it allowed us to be selfish as long as we were willing to accept the consequences.
Throughout the game, the characters make selfish decisions. Their wants and needs drive the story and are in fact the key catalyst for the Ellie escort mission. The kinds of decisions that society normally shames us for are the ones the game frames as necessary for survival. Through Joel we get to do the things we want to do, we even feel compelled to do them.
Just hear me out.
You see, the average hero is selfish, or else they wouldn’t be human. But at the moment of reckoning, they make a selfless sacrifice. Those are the lessons we are given- that we have to grow, and we have to stop being selfish. Be an Aragorn, not a Boromir. Leave aside the treasure to save the world. Compromise. Sacrifice.
But our lives aren’t structured by an author, one who will give our actions or even mistakes meaning. We all live in a flawed and selfish world but the expectation is that we behave selflessly no matter how bad our circumstances.
Being selfish with Joel
Joel lost his reason to be selfless in the first 10 minutes of the game, giving us a unique freedom. The freedom to curse any deity we may follow and embrace every selfish desire to ensure he gets what he wants. What’s more, most of the people around him don’t judge him for it, sometimes, they even encourage it. They are all doing what they must to live in the craziness of their world.
The goal is simple. Do what I need to, what I want to, to keep me and mine safe. The rest of the world can burn.
It’s refreshing. It’s glorious. It’s the panacea to the societal and familial expectations we feel forced to meet. So, after I had fallen in love with Joel and all the things he loves, I made the same choices he makes. Gladly. Unabashedly. I picked up my rifle and stormed the gates. My act of love, like his, was selfish.
I have replayed this game a lot. To feel that freedom and catharsis. But when I did so during the Pandemic, I walked away with a strange thought – that maybe I need to apply some of that to my life, to live for me. I emerged from the lockdown a different person, with a different appreciation for this game. One that gave me the permission I didn’t know I needed, to be selfish.
That, I believe, is why this game will continue to stand the test of time. Because Joel and Ellie allowed us to be selfish despite the consequences. We understood Joel and accepted and supported him. And this is why I believe that this game is a better story about love than any other out there. Because it reminds us that we need to be selfish sometimes to survive and even thrive. To love ourselves in order to love our family, blood or our chosen.
In the end, I hope you take some time to be selfish. Take care of yourself. And yes, make some time to play this game.
