The Last Of Us 2: Emotional Apocalypse
I’ve been following this company since the days of Nathan Drake in the Uncharted Series and the spinoff, The Lost Legacy and every time this company creates a video game, they keep messing with me. They keep finding ways to create storylines that host phenomenal characters, break down cultural barriers, alter perspectives and place you in a comprising position that makes you want to stop playing the game for a day or two to reflect on your decisions before you actually complete it.
The Last of Us 2 (TLOU2), the latest installment from NaughtyDog follows the above discussed and could be the next step in storyline evolution in the history of video games.
As with any zombie-apocalypse-styled game, you have the zombie-like characters, the human conflict, and, of course, the ongoing struggle to not become the target in a world full of fanatical factions and while this is TLOU2’s encompassing theme, there’s also something more in existence here. They modified the ‘classical’ zombie experience by focusing on a storyline that takes on a new ‘reality’ unheard of in any other games that I’ve played.
Now, for some of us we’ve seen and played the female protagonist in various games such as Samus Aran in Metroid, Cereza as Bayonetta, Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 3, Laura Croft in Tomb Raider, Senua in Hellblade, and Faith Conners in Mirror’s Edge to name a few; but to see a game that has brought on a relationship between two women and have it in the forefront of gaming is forward thinking, risky and will possibly lead to an opening of authentic storylines in gaming….and I, for one, am open to it.
At first, the game’s ‘all female’ romance between Dina and Ellie had me take a breath for a moment. Not because of the relationship per se, but because it happened so quickly in the game. No back story, nothing; I wanted details. That build up didn’t come till the end of the game and by the time that happened, it didn’t matter to me anymore how they met. I was torn emotionally as Ellie was going through her personal conflicts as she traveled through Seattle and post-travel Seattle. It got to a point that I said…‘Okay, cool; I’ll go along with it’.
TLOU2 - From Left to RIght: ‘JJ’, Dina and Ellie
But then, the aspect of the game that touched my soul involved the final battle between Ellie and Abby. Now with most games, simply beating the last villain with a health bar that goes down would be enough, but nooooo, NaughtyDog wants to make this hard for you, so they decided that just as you play as Ellie, you should then play as Abby, then, fight Ellie, then play as Ellie again just to finally fight Abby for the win; all the while experiencing Abby’s emotional backstory….
The SNEAK ATTACK you didn’t see coming
Ellie (L) VS Abby (R)
….and it was here that I hesitated to finish the game. My hands started shaking and I couldn’t bring myself to do this final fight. I started to get emotional and as I played Ellie, I tried to do everything I could not to fight Abby. I’m thinking, ‘there must be a trick here somewhere’? There was no way around it. I didn’t know what to do, so I placed my controller down and decided to sit that fight out for a day or two (Don’t judge me) and reflect.
For NaughtyDog, they didn’t just create a game, they created a work of art that made the player take on the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and the additional words NaughtyDog provided for our gaming and viewing pleasure was through the lens of Abby and for a few hours, we were able to understand why Abby was tortured by the selfishness of Ellie’s adopted father Joel, her emotional ‘entanglement’ with her friend Owen, and her realization that finding peace hovered on the border of loyalty and rebellion.
Joel
This brief glimpse into Abby’s world revealed the world of a traumatized child, who, trained her mind and body 24/7 to seek revenge for the one person responsible for extending the ‘fungal-apocalypse’ and when that final fight did come, I just couldn’t pick up the controller to play. I discovered her pain, as I’m sure many others did too. We also discovered why she did that horrific act in the beginning of the game to Joel as well. In some ways, some of us probably turned against Joel and said under our breaths, ‘he got what he deserved’ to the game. We were just expecting his demise a little bit later and it’s here that this game became my ‘emotional apocalypse’.
After a day or two, I finally decided to pick up the controller and continue my journey. I couldn’t just turn away after all. I grew up with Ellie and as she was more familiar out of the two ‘revenge-seekers’, I needed to see what type of ‘revenge’ against ‘Joel-killing’ Abby, NaughtyDog would allow me to enact.
Ellie: Moment of Truth
While I won’t ruin the ending for who won the final fight, NaughtDog definitely made sure you had to complete the standoff for the 2020 video game fight of the year (my opinion). They also allowed me to see a darker side of both characters and had me examine those ‘darker’ qualities about myself as well.
This examination made me look at the concept of ‘revenge’; is the act necessary; warranted; justifiable? What also waned was my continued support for Ellie as well. Sure, we all have a revenge switch in our subconscious, but as I played the game, I started to change my support from Ellie to Abby, even though I wanted both to succeed. Those were the emotional nails NaughtyDog placed in my heart: Revenge or Peace?, Abby or Ellie?, Death or Life? A never-ending spiral of emotional turmoil to do the right thing in the age of factions, zombies and survival.
Voice Actress: Laura Bailey
This emotional apocalypse could also be the reason why, the voice actor for Abby, Laura Bailey, received so many death threats. Because of the intricate relationship the gamers had with the character, Joel, their emotional attachment for him was cemented and to see him die broke some gamers’ hearts and while threatening another’s life isn’t acceptable by any means; This could be one of the reasons NaughtyDog’s creations are epic; a gift and a curse. They created an emotional gamut that ‘atomic bombed’ some and brought peace to others..
Still, threatening someone’s life over a video game is NOT ACCEPTABLE EVER!!!
2020 failed us on so many levels, but gaming hasn’t and TLOU2 proved that great storytelling doesn’t have to be a one-sided endeavor. As Neil Druckman and Halley Gross (seen left) created a storyline that propelled TLOU2 and the future of gaming to new heights, this exclusive Sony title broke barriers, transcended boundaries, and as they received ‘heat’ from various reviewers, the gamers said in their own way, ‘shut up’ to the reviewers and gave their money to NaughtyDog to make it one of the fastest selling games ever and as we played this phenomenal game, we now understand why NaughtyDog cemented their status as one of the best video game creators in the industry; they know our hearts, the intensity of our emotions and how to create an authentic experience that transcends boundaries in gaming.
