Close Menu
GamesHorizonGamesHorizon
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Platforms
    • PC
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series S
    • Nintendo
    • PS4
    • Xbox One
  • Anime
  • Game Hubs

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get the latest gaming news, guides and reviews from GamesHorizon to your INBOX!

WHAT'S HOT
CS2

Unlocking the Thrill: Hidden Gems among the Best CS2 Case Opening Websites

May 28, 2025
Onimusha 2 Remastered feature image

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny Remastered: All File Locations

May 24, 2025
all-mother shrine feature image

Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: Offering To The All-Mother’s Shrine

May 23, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • XDefiant
  • Wuthering Waves
  • Destiny 2
GamesHorizonGamesHorizon
  • News
    Xbox Series X and Series S placed together on a table.

    FTC Challenges Xbox Game Pass Subscription Changes

    July 19, 2024
    Star Wars Outlaws Forgoes Traditional Leveling System in Favor of Exploration and Reputation - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon

    Star Wars Outlaws Forgoes Traditional Leveling System in Favor of Exploration and Reputation

    July 18, 2024
    Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to be Free for Select Kickstarter Backers - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon

    Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to be Free for Select Kickstarter Backers

    July 17, 2024
    Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 Developer Responds To Leak - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon

    Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 Developer Responds To Leak

    July 16, 2024
    Video Game Leak Investigation Explained By Former Pokemon & Bungie Developer - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon

    Video Game Leak Investigation Explained By Former Pokemon & Bungie Developer

    July 12, 2024
  • Guides
    Onimusha 2 Remastered feature image

    Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny Remastered: All File Locations

    May 24, 2025
    all-mother shrine feature image

    Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: Offering To The All-Mother’s Shrine

    May 23, 2025
    pain relief quest feature image

    Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: How To Save Keeper Lanzo From Toothache

    May 23, 2025
    sea of stairs rail forest feature image

    Sea of Stars Throes of the Watchmaker: Rail Forest Puzzle Solution

    May 22, 2025
    deliver at all costs feature image

    Deliver At All Costs: How To Solve The Port Belle Shipping Crates Puzzle

    May 22, 2025
  • Reviews
  • Features
    Why Clair Obscur Is Shaping Up To Be A Highly Anticipated Release - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon

    Why Clair Obscur Is Shaping Up To Be A Highly Anticipated Release

    April 9, 2025
    Clair Obscur Expedition 33: All Voice Cast Details - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon

    Clair Obscur Expedition 33: All Voice Cast Details

    April 8, 2025
    Promo for Clair Obscur

    Clair Obscur Expedition 33: Release Date, Platforms, System Requirements

    April 5, 2025
    Top 10 Games 2025

    Top 10 Games Of 2025 So Far

    April 3, 2025
    Naoe in action in Assassin's Creed Shadows

    AC Shadows vs. Ghost of Tsushima: Which Title Handles Ancient Japan Better?

    April 2, 2025
  • Platforms
    • PC
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series S
    • Nintendo
    • PS4
    • Xbox One
  • Anime
    All About Baruka In Solo Leveling

    All About Baruka In Solo Leveling

    March 21, 2024
    9 Strongest Mashle Characters, Ranked

    9 Strongest Mashle Characters, Ranked

    March 21, 2024
    Mashle Season 2 Episode 11 Release Date Details

    Mashle Season 2 Episode 11 Release Date, Time, And Where To Watch

    March 20, 2024
    Solo Leveling Episode 11 Expectations

    Solo Leveling Episode 11: Release Date, Time, And Where To Watch

    March 20, 2024
    Solo Leveling Episode 10 Release Date Details

    Solo Leveling Episode 10 Release Date, Time, And Where To Watch

    March 16, 2024
  • Game Hubs
GamesHorizonGamesHorizon
Home»GH Picks
The Last of Us
The Last of Us (Image via Sony Computer Entertainment)

My Love Letter to The Last of Us

Jaymie VazBy Jaymie VazUpdated:August 12, 20237 Mins Read GH Picks May 2, 2023
SHARE
Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp Telegram Tumblr

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. 

My Love Letter to The Last of Us - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon
Image courtesy of IGDB

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)

My Love Letter to The Last of Us - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon
Image courtesy of IGDB

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.

My Love Letter to The Last of Us - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon
Image courtesy of Christopher Cruz for Rollingstone

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.

Retrospective The Last of Us
Share. Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp
Jaymie Vaz
  • LinkedIn

Jaymie Vaz is a Video Games Journalist for GamesHorizon. She has a degree in Game Design from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, and has spent the past few years making game-driven educational programs to teach skills. She spends way too much time playing Action-Adventure games, RPGs, Platformers, and honestly anything else that seems interesting.

LATEST POSTS

CS2

Unlocking the Thrill: Hidden Gems among the Best CS2 Case Opening Websites

Onimusha 2 Remastered feature image

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny Remastered: All File Locations

all-mother shrine feature image

Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: Offering To The All-Mother’s Shrine

pain relief quest feature image

Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: How To Save Keeper Lanzo From Toothache

sea of stairs rail forest feature image

Sea of Stars Throes of the Watchmaker: Rail Forest Puzzle Solution

deliver at all costs feature image

Deliver At All Costs: How To Solve The Port Belle Shipping Crates Puzzle

featured image sea of stars DLCS

Sea Of Stars: How To Access The Throes of the Watchmaker DLC

artifacts and relics palia feature image

Complete Guide To Artifacts & Relics In Palia

infected essence elderwood feature image

How To Get Infected Essence In Palia

sacred flowers feature image

Palia: Where To find Sacred Flowers

FOLLOW US
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get the latest gaming news, guides and reviews from GamesHorizon to your INBOX!

MOST READ
15 Best Game Trilogies Of All Time, Ranked - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon
15 Best Game Trilogies Of All Time, Ranked
RPG genre
The Best RPGs Of All Time – Updated For 2025
30 Best PS5 Games To Play In 2025 - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon
30 Best PS5 Games To Play In 2025
40 Best PS4 Games You Shouldn't Miss (Ranked) - - News | The Last of Us | GamesHorizon
40 Best PS4 Games You Shouldn’t Miss (Ranked)
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2023 GamesHorizon.
  • About Us
  • Editorial Standards
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

GamesHorizon
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!