The Last of Us | A Masterclass in Storytelling

[@HelloFutureMe]

The creators took way too much pleasure in making me watch that poor rabbit die twitter.com/TimHickson1 follow me I'm funny I swear ~ Tim

[@geniusiq.]

Are you ever gonna do more httyd theories There are still a lot more pls

[@lotus1896]

Would love it if you made a podcast Tim!

[@JeffRebornNow]

I know you're funny. I like your Tolkien videos, though, and your intellectual analysis. Also, why don't you tackle traditional works of literature -- or, rather, those works traditionally revered? OK, so the majority of your 643,000 subscribers might not be interested; then again, maybe they would. I think everyone who subscribes to you reads.

[@lupamartins8830]

YOU NOW HAVE TO DO THE LAST OF US PART 2 WHEN YOUR DONE(and left behind the dlc)

[@puffersaur6422]

Is time bending possible?

[@anastasiagirl1342]

I’m simply impressed that you managed to not get the game spoiled for 7 years....

[@htoodoh5770]

Indeed

[@marsaurelius]

Same here, I played the last of us last week for the first time I’m quit impressed by myself for not being spoiled for 7 years.

[@perdasche]

I got spoiled ://

[@DavidRivera-qb1un]

Same

[@epicsauce664]

I wasn't spoiled for that long either XD, now I'm obsessed with the game nearly beyond compare.

[@Moshuun]

I figured the 2 brothers proved that Ellie could be right. But the guys who captured Ellie proved that Joel could be right, as well.

[@christopherbrouse8707]

I saw their dueling world views as: it's the only way to stay alive, but it's no way to live.

[@dillionbarton8383]

I think this game is an important reminder in storytelling that not everything gets tied up with a neat little bow. Joel may never come to terms with his grief. So many people in real life take those feelings to their graves. Joel did set in motion the events that might help Ellie deal with her own grief though. Sometimes being a role model/mentor/parental figure isn't about fixing your own mistakes, but trying to help someone fix theirs, or maybe even to help them not make those same mistakes they had. Even this can be a hit and miss process though, as evidenced by Joel's varying degrees of success. To me, it was those parts of the story that made the experience as a whole much more real.

[@marinary1326]

Yeah... Joel and Ellie change over the course of the story, but that change isn't to "how they were before all the trauma". The trauma never leaves, it's incorporated into who they are going forward. The change is in how they deal with it (putting it extremely simply and probably only part of the picture), and of course, that's not a perfectly straight line. There is change, and growth, and resolution, but of course it's not perfectly neat. Some threads are tied off, while others still hang loose. Yet even though not everything is perfectly resolved, the end still feels satisfying, at least to me. The story went places, these characters went places, and they've ended in a different spot from where they began. The characters have grown, and so have we as the audience. This game asks a lot of questions, and it might not give certain answers but it gives you plenty of material to come to your own conclusions with. I don't think I can ask for much more from a story.

[@MulberryDays]

Eh, "in storytelling" is up to the storyteller and the kind of story you want to tell. If you want to set up a conflict and not resolve it, you're welcome to think that makes it more "real." (As though "realism" is the most relevant factor in your fiction.) But a part of the point here is that the creators chose to tell a story where the protagonists we are intended to identify with, both come to favor repression over communication. They don't talk about their traumas, and if you've met any doomsday preppers and would-be rugged survivalists in the real world, then you know that's a trait they share. They think it's a strength. It's also tied up in a bunch of toxic masculinity horseshit, which is clearly a solid portion of this game's intended audience. Learning to communicate doesn't magically solve your problems, and dealing with trauma won't make it go away - so neither of those constitute a "neat little bow," really, do they? All that would show is healthier characters who maybe learned something from the story. And *in storytelling,* you can encourage your readers to grow as humans or you can not.

[@TheTariqibnziyad]

That's a damn good analysis of TLOU2, which I consider to be the perfect sequel.

[@moonie9000]

Best comment. The fact that it avoided the cliched Hollywood conclusion, and went instead for grit made the story more powerful to me.

[@moonie9000]

@@MulberryDays It's more about the realism of the character Joel than about the realism of the story. He doesn't need to talk about it, because of the subtext. It's beautiful because he's faithful to who he is, but shares with her in actions and not words.

[@thenosieyartist6924]

I also like to mention that the more emotional joel is, hes texan accent gets deeper. And thats what really really makes that "i sure as hell aint your dad" so so much more hard hitting. The accent was just gone. Yes it might be the voice acting but here is the thing troy Baker is a very skilled VA. I think its more of joel just turning off his emotions and comparimentalizing just saying something to end the conversation asap. And that is terrifying

[@epicsauce664]

Small spoilers for TLOU Yeah, IRL you notice it too, it's very interesting. Also, I agree I think it was on purpose. At the same time, however, when in distress, or when he kind of turns his emotions on, in contrast to when he's being more emotionless, his accent gets thicker, and it slurs more, like when he yells up to her from the elevator shaft or talks about "pickin' away" at his " six-string". XD

[@ShinoSarna]

Videogames often have much more than 3 acts, simply because they're a very long medium. This is especially apparent in long RPGs.

[@Nerthym]

I would go as far as to say that 'three act structure' generalization does more harm than good.

[@sanfransiscon]

It's not really possible to have more than 3 acts in the sense of them representing "establish, raise, resolve". But long JRPGs do tend to introduce a new conflict *after* the overarching story seems resolved, usually escalating the external threat but feeling less connected to the rest of the story and characters. Persona 5's original final boss compared to the previous arc.

[@love2learn-itsastorynotasu40]

I like Abbie emmons (novel writing KZbinr) view on story telling. It's about character development through plot, not plot punches around character

[@ducky36F]

stockart whiteman I feel like quite often whether an rpg is good or not is made or broken in the 2nd act. My personal favourites tend to break it up into 2 or 3 sections rather than giving a bloated single 2nd act that feels like it drags. ie the old BioWare/Obsidian formula which BioWare ironically forgot in Mass Effect Andromeda.

[@edwardvandermeer7455]

I feel like bringing up xenoblade chronicles

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

I really enjoyed this analysis. I actually think the question of Joel's and Ellie's character development, as it relates to loss _is_ answered. Joel is only capable of coming as far as he does. That's the tragedy of his character. The pain of this world successfully wounded him so deeply, that even his relationship with Ellie can't fully heal him. I think we're meant to feel a certain sadness about this. This development is contrasted with Ellie, who _is_ able to continue the healing process, but she will have to do it by growing beyond what Joel is capable of. First I have to mention a scene you didn't didn't discuss; when Ellie and Joel encounter a pod of giraffes, just before finding the fireflies. I felt that this moment was _the_ contextualizing moment for Ellie's encounter with and reaction to the cannibals. Her encounter with David brought her to her lowest point. As the player, during the sequence when control kept switching between Joel and Ellie, I felt like I was racing not to save her life, but save her innocence...and I failed. Seeing Ellie's emotional trauma play out in the next scenes left me heartbroken. It required an act of will to keep playing, to keep hoping that this wasn't the end for her. Then we found the giraffes. In one beautiful moment she responds with the childlike joy and exuberance that I had feared lost forever. I was afraid that Ellie had become just like Joel; jaded and broken and unable to heal. But, she hadn't. She was still there. She _had_ survived her trauma in a way Joel could not. This moment brought me to full body sobbing. It took me almost an hour to pull my self together, it affected me so deeply. It's important that this moment comes just before the sequence with the Fireflies. Like you, I also found the mirroring with the opening sequence quite powerful. In fact, my heart was racing and I was fighting back tears through the whole thing. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to get her out, or that she would die at the last moment, just like Sarah. Like in the opening sequence, Joel is desperately racing to protect a daughter. But, it isn't an act of possessive protection. It's one of preservation. I am a parent, and I feel my goal is to not to mold my daughter into the person _I_ want her to be, but to protect and empower the person she is and becomes. In the game, I think that Joel's pain makes him afraid to embrace this responsibility with Ellie. He is stuck in his trauma, but his love for his lost daughter survives in him enough, to allow him to take the chance. He is ultimately only able to heal enough that he can embrace his memories of Sarah, but he is not able to go further. He _is_ able to give Ellie the chance, implore her in fact, to go farther than him. The end of the game feels perfect to me. It portrays the imperfect success of a parent in a disintegrating world, to empower his daughter to be better than him, while being grateful for everything _she_ has given him, just by existing.

[@aribafaheem7847]

This is a beautiful read of the story. Thank you for sharing!

[@luckywithpaint7773]

Yes. The trailer of the next episode has left me terrified. It seems that they will be confronted again with the world and your choise in perspective. Apart from that i believe that joel at the end when they talk subtely mentions fighting for something and finding something to fight for as a way to suggest that he found something. her. It also shows he is trying to be more vulnerable and talk more about these things, but he cant past this point. She is also at that age where she just discovering her identity properly and her place in the world. The possibility of her dying terrifies me more now than if she was younger. I also believe the way the story is structured shows how hard it is for adults to shift the way they see things. How subtle it is when they do. Ellie explores more, changes faster, tests if she should change and what she should keep to stay alive. I also like how the ending made you think. Often in games when you have to sacrifice the few to take care of the many and that option is given to you, most players logically opt for the sacrifice the few. This game made you despirate for the few, because you know them and made the objective desition harder. And impossible for joel. If it was some other character with a different story a different trauma, that choise would have been more confusing and the fireflies might have gotten through to them, but not joel. Joel survival depends on Ellie. He wants to see a daughter grow up. He needs to and he would die for her many times over if he can. The hope of teaching her to swim and play guitar is as much part of his core as ellie has become. Ingraned as a permanent family member in his being. Dispite him trying not to do so.

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

@@luckywithpaint7773 The subversion of the 'good of the many vs the good of few' aspect never occurred to me before. I know exactly what you're talking about though. My best friend and I were talking about how internalized the journey of the game can become, and how you can sometimes be surprised at yourself while your playing. He discovered on his second play-through that you can spare the nurses in the operating room. The doctor attacks you, but the nurses will just stand their while you take Ellie out of the room. You don't have to kill them, but the game doesn't tell you that. Finding that out shook me, because I'm the type of gamer that enjoys stealth and non lethal options, in games. Normally I would definitely have spared those nurses, but I didn't in even pause. I had to face the fact that in the desperate emotional rush to face Ellie, I felt like all these people were monsters. I assumed they all had to die, to save her. By the end of the game, part of me felt very much that "the many" in this world were rotten. That their good _did not_ outweigh Ellie's good. It seems so very clear now too, because the structure of the situation is totally the classic "If you could cure cancer by killing a single child, would you?" question. I've always answered no. The fireflies answered yes.

[@raelynteaguewrites]

I've got to agree with a lot of this. I don't think Joel's arc is incomplete, I think it's a "failed" arc, or, in other words, The Last of Us is a tragedy. Compared to other tragedies, The Last of Us gives it more nuance and subtlety, just as it handles dialogue, etc with more nuance and subtlety, but I think this is a big reason the ending of the game feels so bittersweet. I remember a quote from Neil Druckmann that went somewhere along the lines of "I've never had a parent tell me Joel made the wrong decision." I feel like the players are meant to have this feeling as well, even though it means that Joel, and the gamer, fail to do what they "should" do. The ending of the game, from the use of the music to the tension between Ellie and Joel, doesn't feel like a triumph, because it's not. But it feels "right." What I also found interesting was Ellie's quest to save humanity. Throughout the game we keep seeing example after example that forces us to ask if humanity is even worth saving. Even the "good" guys do horrible things to survive.

[@efoxkitsune9493]

What a beatiful comment. I wish I could like more than once.

[@6ixlxrd]

The thing that I loved most about Joel is that he's human. He isn't the caped crusader Gotham needs. He isn't the Man of Steel, or the leader of the Avengers, or your friendly neighborhood Spiderman; he's just a man, one endowed with pain and grief and flaws. The world gave him no reason to save it. Ellie gave him *every* reason to save her. So he did what any father would do, and made the human decision.

[@co7769]

Holy crap. I’ve loved this game for years, played both and never realized that another factor as to why Joel chose to save Ellie was because she gave him a dozen reasons to do so, while the world gave him every reason not to save it. He definitely wouldn’t have been remembered as the man who travelled across the country delivering the cure. The only ones hailed as heroes would have been the firefly’s even though without Joel they would have nothing to do in the first place. I think if the fireflies dickheads would have let Joel and Ellie talk it out, maybe they would have gotten the cure because Ellie would have convinced Joel that that is what she wanted. Off course Joel would be devastated but what do you do now? I don’t think he would have done the same thing he did.

[@benjaminstiles]

Hundreds of dead hunters and infected would beg to differ.

[@6ixlxrd]

@@benjaminstiles Hundreds of men who’ve done far worse than Joel. Remember Bill and his group of cannibals? There are no good people in this world. Every single person that’s alive has bloodied their hands and taken lives, even Ellie.

[@Shdhdhdhd]

This guy talking about the scene in Jackson as the darkest hour of the game and having no idea whats coming up felt so innocent.

[@Deadlyish]

You'd need to do an entire let's play in order to reflect on every scene, but I'd like to bring up one you didn't cover: The bit at the end of the university has to be one of the most harrowing gaming experiences I've ever played. Mechanically you're playing a severely wounded character struggling to make it through basic obstacles, while attempting and often failing to fight back against incoming enemies. You're on the brink of death, and the character you're invested in protecting at any cost is putting herself in mortal danger to try and get you out alive. The character development in this scene is an inversion of roles that sets up the following chapter expertly, as both Joel and the player flip from a place of being the guardian to being the one in need of rescue, and Ellie goes from companion to desperate protector. The characters continue their riffing on each other, joking about Joel's singing in between arguing about how badly Joel's wounds are affecting him, and all through it you see the overwhelming concern these two characters have for each other's lives. I think this scene really laid bare how they had come to see the other as an indispensable part of their own world, something only confirmed in the following chapters as they continued to fight for each other at any cost. Honestly you feel more for the characters and their relationship in this 5 minute sequence than most games ever achieve in their entire storyline. My 2 cents aside, congrats on another thought-provoking video. It's always neat to see you try a new format, and this kind of reflections diary style of review has real potential.

[@NevG27]

I dunno about them needing to talk about it at the end. I think Joel and Ellie's relationship is more about the unspoken, and they will have confronted their trauma just by being together.

[@lifefindsaway7875]

Also, by not showing the discussion about Sara, and all the people theyve lost, NaughtyDog doesnt run the risk of messing up that delicate conversation. I feel like the final scenes imply that they Will have those conversations, and the player is able to imagine that growth and vulnerability exactly as theyd like

[@TheBossGrand]

@@lifefindsaway7875 Except they never will as we found out in pt 2 all of this was for nothing

[@fdtrillo]

@@TheBossGrand And you are saying that's a bad thing? I think Part 2 is great at subverting expectations (in a good way). It's sad and frustrating... like life itself sometimes. All the negative reviews I've read (that don't talk about the game being "SJW") say something like "they shouldn't have done this" or "they forced me to do this", without realizing that's the way the story is told. I think we should appreciate the game, and every story, for what it is, and not for what we want it to be.

[@Neutral_Tired]

@@fdtrillo Part 2 is intended to send a message of revenge being bad, but it fails at that. Abby completes her revenge, she relishes the thought of killing Dina even knowing she's pregnant, she's the worse person, but she has no consequences. Ellie, however, doesn't go through with it, she doesn't finish her revenge, and she loses everything. Instead of "revenge is bad", the message is "if you go for revenge, finish the job". Furthermore, part 2 actively tries to make you feel like a bad person, it humanises every enemy and makes you feel bad about the revenge, but never gives you the choice to stop, only stopping with Abby, the one character everyone wants Ellie to kill. It strives to make it clear you are doing the wrong thing, and doesn't give you the option to do the right thing, it doesn't ask the philosophical questions we were promised, as one review put it "I never felt like the game asked me anything, instead it told me 'brutality' repeatedly and louder, until by the end I couldn't hear what it was trying to say at all"

[@fdtrillo]

@@Neutral_Tired EDIT: SPOILER ALERT (TLOU2). . . I see where your points are going, but I respectfully disagree with some of them. Ellie didn't lose everything when she let Abby go instead of killing her: she chose to sacrifice her new life with Dina after the talk with Tommy (maybe this is showing that Ellie may be great at survival, but is still 'maleable' and can't get Tommy's words out of her head). Another point you make is about player choices. This is not a game where your choices matter, but a game that tells a story. You (or anyone) can't stop Ellie from killing everyone and letting her revenge consume her, and that's how the story is. She only stops when she realizes that she will get nothing out of killing Abby: Joel will still be dead, Jesse will too, and Dina won't forgive her. And that's why she lets her go. I certainly think the game has flaws, but not where most people are looking at.

[@CoopBurrito]

I honestly think that part of the beauty of The Last of Us' storytelling is that it doesn't really have a happy ending, tied up with a neat bow and everything. The narrative they wanted to tell wasn't about being able to talk about past traumas. It was about tackling it different ways, even if those ways aren't positive, and even if you never truly come to terms with everything.

[@co7769]

True. Stories don’t need happy endings to be good, but the second one just kept hammering tragedy, after tragedy, after tragedy, right up until the end. I think the creators forgot players like to win and feel good, satisfied, accomplished that they set out on this journey. It was literally a complete waste of time and life for all the characters. What am I suppose to say “ye I learned revenge bad” and feel good about it? Everyone’s lives are worse by the end of the second. It was such a waste of my time.

[@CoopBurrito]

@@co7769 Then the game and its story weren't for you, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, I think you're misremembering just how much tragedy there was in the first game, too. Every single person who could have been a friend to Joel and Ellie ended up meeting an untimely end or got left behind (pardon the pun). The first game literally ended with Joel flatout lying to Ellie after committing mass homicide out of his selfish desire to keep Ellie alive, regardless of what she wanted. I'd argue there was no "winning" or "feeling good" in that scenario, either. Both games have their fair share of tragedies, and they're both better for it. The tragedies in the second game just hit closer to home because they affect the personal relationships of Ellie and Abby instead of just culminating in the destruction of a group whose only known face to us was Marlene, a character we didn't even know much about.

[@Ozarka0]

"Maybe they'll answer that in Part II." Oh, you poor, sweet, innocent child...

[@rangerwickett]

Without getting into specific spoilers, well, by the end of TLOU2, yeah, they kind of *do* answer it. They finally have a talk about what happened, and we see that so much of the pain Ellie endures in the sequel is because she is *unable* move on (similar-ish to Joel being *unwilling* to move on). She felt like she was denied agency about giving up her life for the vaccine, and after the inciting incident of the sequel she feels like she's been denied agency again (i.e., she *wanted* to move on with her life, but never got the chance), and so now her life has no meaning. But by the end of the sequel, she has a realization that I'm not sure Joel did in the first game.

[@felipenevado]

tell me about it

[@BlackBlood297]

Such Wasted Potential 😔

[@fccareta2373]

Y’all crazy. TLOU2 is amazing.

[@duankaineo2853]

@Harry Paul I respectfully disagree. I think that all the characters actions were well motivated from their point of view. do we as audience agree with them? not always but I can understand why they are behaving the way they behave. why joel was killed was foreshadowed, built up and paid off. Abby's characterization at multiple points revealed her thoughts and why she was acting the way she was. The flashbacks were an effective way to show how the characters were working through their trauma while revealing exposition to us, the players. But I do think that they were overused and it took out some momentum to the structure of the story. Last of us 2, is not pleasant and it asks a lot out of it's players, which is why I can understand why people dislike it, but I don't think it's fair to criticize it as "clumsily shat out" and "not earned".

[@ascrub8527]

"It's not that they haven't concluded both of their character arcs there is still plenty of room for *Joel* and Ellie to grow. That's why perhaps there is a part 2" *Golf Course intensifies*

[@AscendantStoic]

lols XD

[@violetembers330]

this comment 😭

[@dangleeballsii8034]

Joel in one

[@PalaDave99]

@@dangleeballsii8034 I... you.. dammit

[@thelvadam2884]

@Just Another Nobody can u like atleast do a spoiler warning ther next time ? thx........ FFS

[@AHealthyDoseofFran]

As someone who studied video game writing/design at university (as part of my creative writing degree) this was a fascinating look at gaming narrative and character told in a way that’s informative, analytical, and engaging. Great work as always!

[@LucasDeziderio]

Great work as always! But what really surprised me was the fact that you managed to go through an entire 40 minute video without citing ATLA.

[@waterfall6782001]

It's a testament to the game developers that so many people, including myself, have a strong emotional connection with this game. Great storytelling makes everything better.

[@electricbluetiramisu3713]

“I am probably - no, scratch that - definitely - going to make some mistakes or assumptions that turn out to be wrong as we do this” *Literally 30 seconds earlier* “I know it has zombies” Above observation is 100% humour, no disrespect, I am genuinely excited to watch this experience unfold

[@NeroVuk]

Is my brain going dumb, I don't get your point, it does have zombies, that's not a wrong assumption. lol

[@zebbr0s]

@@NeroVuk I guess because they're not the conventional types of zombies? I don't really get it either

[@crapshoot]

@@NeroVuk The infected aren't technically undead, while zomibe are; I think that's what they were getting at :P Took me a while as well XD

[@gw3nd0lyn1]

@@zebbr0s they refer to them as infected, never zombies

[@Enourmousletters]

I kind of liked that their arcs didn't finish. It gave the sense of a snapshot in their lives. There is still growth to go, still healing to be done. Life goes on.

[@ChibiHoshiDragon]

I think my favorite ambient narrative in the Sewers was the room with a cloth over "lumps" and the writing on the floor "They didn't Suffer". You then take a closer look at the "lumps" and see shoes. and the body next to them has a note that explains that he killed the children to save them from starvation/dehydration or being turned.

[@Tig3r4ce]

I feel like we do get a bit of Joel's growth in the final bit, though, just before that oh-so-beautifully-bittersweet final moment. As he and and Ellie make their way through the forest outside of Jackson (with the player now playing as Ellie, since Joel's arc and story is effectively over), Joel talks freely about Sarah. "Sarah would have loved this," he says; and, "I think you two would have been friends." This is a huge reversal from the earlier parts of the game, where he bristled and/or recoiled at the mere mention of Sarah. While it's true that he and Ellie never hash out their feelings re: grief and loss directly, I think that there's a lot which can be read from the subtext. All the same, great analysis (as usual)! I had a lot of fun watching your thought process, and I'd be interested to see this same thing with Part II, as well as your thoughts on how they both fit together.

[@alexwhite4885]

True also i think theres something to be said of them both just being fallible humans that are still trapped by their brokenness and the broken world… just like real life….

[@spacefes7365]

This diary approach is brilliant, I always feel a certain way about a game whilst playing it but once I’ve finished I find it hard to remember what I was feeling due to my knowledge on the end

[@rangerwickett]

I want to see him do TLOU2 now.

[@AngryPieMan]

My takeaway is summed up in the last few lines spoken by Joel. "I struggled a long time with survivin'. But you just have to keep finding something to fight for." Loss permeates the tone of The Last of Us. You lose people, you kill people, but you keep pushing forward. The game was never about saving the world, it was about Joel finding "something to fight for." Finding meaning and joy in his life. Also, it's a story about survival. To Joel, Ellie's survival means more than anything, and he projected that on her. She would have wanted to die, yes, but that's the point of the game - you survive at ALL costs. Your own life is all you have, and you need to defend it. That, and the lives of the people you love, so you defend them. Nothing else matters. Now, that's pretty much tribalism, and the real world would be a terrible place if everyone acted that way, but that state of mind of survival is what is needed to survive in the world of The Last of Us and is the state of mind that Joel always had. That's what let Joel be part of the hunters for awhile and pushed Tommy away, but also what made it possible for Joel and Ellie to survive to get from Boston to Salt Lake City and back to Jackson County. No other mental state could have let them survive. But it's also terrifying, as seen from the winter scenes where Joel tortures folk and they are literally just trying to escape from him, all while referring to him as a mad man. Yes, he is mad - but he is alive, and will most likely stay alive so long as he keeps that intense mind set. Survive at all costs. Maybe you'll regret what you did to survive, but you just need to keep going.

[@ClintEPereira]

That ending wrecked me for a couple days ngl. Joel lying to Ellie at the end was such a betrayal. It hit me harder than any of the murders.

[@K.Gthealmighty]

I mean at least it made sense for his character unlike his death and Ellie’s final choice in the second game

[@wksnxkeksnd]

I really struggled to kill the surgeon. It was the only death in the last of us which I regretted the second I did it. I even tried to restart the encounter to see if I could avoid doing it. I left the nurses alive but yeah, that ending wrecked me.

[@TheTwztdtwitch420]

I cried multiple times on my first playthrough. Having children of my own i felt like i could heavily relate to Joel but as the story went on i also felt that the fear and confusion Ellie felt was just as much as Joel felt through the story as well. He thought he was trying to be strong and realized he had to feel again or he was already dead and as he said just surviving instead of living. Great story telling at its finest. Awesome video Tim. Always happy to see an upload from a great person doing what they love.

[@chrishess5526]

Tim: Swear to me. Swear to me that anything they left unresolved will get resolved in the Last of Us 2. Me: I swear.

[@isadora6092]

but it gets resolved

[@Whovian1029]

Everything that's unresolved at the end of the first game is thoroughly explored and resolved to the greatest possible extent.

[@bckends_]

@@Whovian1029can't tell if serious or not

[@Whovian1029]

@@bckends_ Definitely serious. Which parts were left unresolved?

[@co7769]

It still hurts me so much how the second game played out when I fell in love with the first one. Not saying the second wasn’t a good game or story. But what I am saying is that from the very beginning of the second game, I didn’t even want to play. I just did because I was a die hard fan of the first. I never felt, you know what this journey despite how hard it was, was worth it. That it was worth my time.

[@Trustworthy_McLegitimate]

"Thematically this says that Joel's mentality of distrust is the right way to think" yes, actually. Yes it is.

[@pretendtheresaname9213]

Oh, almost had me there, I thought you were talking about the second one 😂

[@prexp9026]

Same here

[@danieltidey5599]

"The Last Of Us" is such a well-crafted story that the game is quite different when you play it a 2nd time. Once you know when the difficulty curves are going to spike and which characters are going to survive, a lot of the tension is lost. I mean, the first time you leave the University with Joel...

[@calunsagrenejr]

David was supposed to be Joel's parallel. They were the same person - under different circumstances, Joel would have been him. And you, as Ellie, have to see this side of Joel through David. It was foreshadowing the ending, to show you the choice Joel was going to make then. About the ending, I think Joel's character arc DID finish. When Joel saw Ellie as his daughter, he realized he couldn't lose his daughter a second time, the fate of the world be damned. That's why he didn't allow Ellie to grow. The game ended with a lie, which was supposed to make you feel tension and unease to make it seem like the game ended abruptly, so that you want to hold on to the story more as it's ending. I like that they made that choice.

[@franciscomm7675]

Rene Jr Calunsag, in a way, Abby story and Ellie story parallel each other. Both had loved ones murdered and both embarked on dangerous revenge journey where they risk both their own lives, but also risk their friends life’s. And in the end, both Abby and Ellie are even more broken and miserable state than before.

[@mray4784]

@@franciscomm7675 No. Because Abby has her boy/girl/whatever friend and freedom after killing Joel. Ellie lost Joel, Dina and her fingers. There is no parallel because the Last of Us 2 is They Laugh of Us, a joke of a sequel.

[@calunsagrenejr]

@@mray4784 Thanks for the spoiler.

[@kat8559]

M ray thanks for the transphobia

[@pupville1055]

@@mray4784 - Very constructive criticism. Very impressive. Come on dude. Also, spoilers FOR The Last of Us II Honestly, Abby and Ellie are very explicitly made to be foils/parallels of one another, which was pulled off extremely well. Considering a major theme of the game *was* revenge, Abby and Ellie nearly losing everything they cared about demonstrated what revenge will do to a person. It escalates and escalates, involving more and more people until its self-destructive manor finally climaxes with everyone dead. (Which was shown with the WLF and Scars, where nobody is even aware of exactly *how* the conflict started). The whole thing with Ellie losing her fingers was a bit of a visual representation of it. That mentally and physically, while she did the right thing in not killing Abby, she's still got both literal and mental scars that will never go away. The guitar, to me, represented her connection to Joel. Ellie can't play the same anymore, but she does so anyway and there is room for her to improve and get better. When she leaves the guitar on the windowsill and you see her walking in the distance, it's a beautiful piece of visual storytelling of how Ellie has lost Joel, but is still capable of moving on. That, and maybe it's only me but I never thought Ellie and Dina were just never going to be together again. I more so interpreted it as Dina going back to Jackson and that her relationship with Ellie will be extremely rocky for a while. Sorry to be ranting on. Frankly, this game is really fun to rant about when people don't just resort to bigotry, insults and petty nitpicks.

[@gryranfelt5473]

Joel: “Things happen and we move on.” Ellie in part 2: ....

[@justsomeguyanimations]

Wow this was amazing. If only there was a youtuber of his analysis quality who could do this with avatar the last airbender. I watch a reactor who is currently on book two and while he's no essayist like Tim is seeing his reactions to it is like when I introduced my cousin to it. It's freaking beautiful. Also since I had never played this game this video gave me a beautiful story with the same on the go critique that normally goes on in my head as I watch a good show or movie but with a more critical eye. Thanks Tim for literally just existing and doing what you do. It honestly makes my days and nights much brighter and happier, even the slightly more depressing stuff.

[@nicolasdanan8182]

is it goodwin tv?

[@pipp972]

"The ending was clearly leading to the point where joel would openly discuss the trauma of losing Sarah" You said it yourself mate - he's a doer, not a talker. He acts in a way that shows him coming to terms with it, he doesn't need to say "indeed, losing my baby girl made me sad". Really amazing video, though. Well done!

[@juanete6706]

Dude, you are my favourite yt Channel by far, thanks you being alive. Greetings from Argentina!

[@TheMusicscotty]

Same. Tim is amazing. Greetings from Utah, USA

[@PepperoniMage]

29:51 My dude... what were you planning with that nail bomb?!

[@eiselda]

That footage was from someone else’s gameplay. It’s still strange. A lot of this footage is other ppls.

[@MoonlightWalnut]

MasterGamer23 i think the footage is largely sourcespy91, if not his own

[@theOkamiCouncil]

Perfect timing, tim. Awesome breakdown.

[@cypressketch]

i listened to this while working on a college assignment, and i had to stop working a few times because of some of the profound things that you said about this game. wonderful job, i really enjoyed every minute of this video :)

[@noreehix5714]

I just played the Last of Us 6 months ago and I was blown away but how emotional I became and how there is a moral grey area that makes you feel uneasy.

[@thecowboy9698]

"Joel is more concerned with action rather than words." That's a good way to be, and it's what you should judge a person by because they reveal the truth of not only about others but also yourself, however don't underestimate the power your words can have on others.

[@RedtheEdge]

With the release of part 2, my friends and I actually discussed parts we liked and disliked from the first part. The disliked part lasted maybe two minutes at most while the liked parts took at least an hour. That speaks on how well this game was forged and we are looking forward to part 2. And @Hello Future Me, I would like to thank you for these wonderful videos. They have helped me with my book I am writing.

[@d.u_]

What a wonderful way to format and take a critical look at a narrative like this. I absolutely loved this video, bravo sir.

[@skipperbuske2976]

I beg of you to make a video about the storytelling in the game Firewatch, it's the best narrative-driven game that I've ever played and I think that you would love it if you gave it a try. Keep making great videos

[@zack95]

17:30 At this very moment, in 2013, I felt so stressed, and I was so scared of the dogs barking in the back that I stopped playing the game for 9 years. I restarted it from the beginning only last month and I felt ridiculous when I finally reached the dogs' place. However I'm very glad I've experience this game. One of the best I've ever play.

[@lax398]

i’d love to see you analyze the second game

[@tabaflip]

A masterclass in messing up lol

[@phazeflux7900]

He’s gonna hate it though lol

[@deiz1083]

What second game? pretty sure it doesn't exist

[@franciscomm7675]

Syamil Afiq, just because you don’t like a game, that doesn’t mean it ceases to exist

[@phazeflux7900]

Francisco MM most people don’t consider it cannon due to how bad the story is

[@mrdee2454]

Best game ever made, i adore every second of it

[@MetaNiteFM]

I think that Joel’s arc is reliant on that Lie that you mentioned. Joel believes the Lie that people are fundamentally cruel and untrustworthy, which by extension makes HIM fundamentally cruel and untrustworthy. In the end, Joel comes to dispel that lie about himself and grow as a person, seeing Ellie as his mode of redemption. But his lie about the world is untouched and is in fact reinforced, so while his viewpoint initially is that everyone is a bad person including himself, he now believes that he and Ellie are good people and he has to shield her from the evil of the world around them.

[@cerpin_text]

late, but as someone who just played the two games with no pre-knowledge on anything outside of the ending of 1: David's words and his actions were maybe superficially good, but there was zero felt sincerity in it. from moment 0 he gave off a complete sense of manipulating ellie, of grooming a young girl hoping she'd be naive and trusting him. in other words he gave the worst vibes from the get-go. the fact that some caught it whilst others didnt is a testament to really strong writing and performance. loved how crushing the experience of this game was.

[@Kal-El_was_taken]

That's such a good spot on a videogame character companion; being that it is much easier to form a less annoying companion if you make points of conflict stem from the player character - it's kinda sneaky of the writers but very smart. Such a good analysis as always, you should do this kind of analysis again.

[@HypeGuy-3]

Honestly, I would really be curious to see his take on TLOU Part 2

[@Amantducafe]

I predict "there is no way Joel and Tommy would have trusted a group of unknown armed people near their settlement that has been under attack by raiders in the past"

[@shahrezaziz3264]

Georgie Pineda there are some legit criticisms of the second game. That isn’t one of them. I think the creators explain it better than I can, so do check their spoilercast out!

[@fccareta2373]

Georgie Pineda that’s the difference between Wolves and the Jackson camp. They wanted to help the person they knew they could help.

[@fccareta2373]

The Bandog if you think the story is garbage you real dumb.

[@martinsriber7760]

@The Bandog "forced diversity agenda" - You outted yourself, mister legitamate.

[@McManthony21]

2 minutes in I tear up. This is one of my favorite stories and games! I'm very excited you did a video on it but am amazed you did a diary of your progress through. Beautiful! I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

[@henning7491]

An amazing video once more and I have to say I like the day by day style a lot. I feel like it's more relevant than looking at a work when all the pieces are in place because like you said, more often than not this is the only way people experience a story. I think you really managed to tell enough about the story so that this video makes sense even to someone like me who hasn't played the game (and also managed to avoid spoilers until now) without taking away so much that I wouldn't want to have a look at it myself because there's nothing new to see. Great work! While we're talking about games, without saying too much about it, I highly recommend you have a look at Oxenfree, if you haven't played it already.

[@HelloFutureMe]

I have played Oxenfree! Another really unique game. ~ Tim

[@tammyle9517]

Wow first and got replied from the youtuber

[@shewhowillrise9748]

PLEASE either do the show like this too or compare how the writing and story changed or something i love how you dissected this!!

[@JoelTrujillo]

Ok, amazing analysis. I loved watching every minute of this. But the part that stood out for me is that bit at 29:45. "No, it's not... it's fine." *Joel immediately realizes he is unable to connect with Ellie anymore, and runs to a wall with a bomb in hand ready to kill himself.*

[@TimmyStreams]

28:32 This popped up in God of War Ragnarok too! Playing as BOI really highlighted his growing independence.

[@patrickramseyart]

I'd love to see an analysis of Lego's Legends of Chima. I've never seen the world building of a show raise so many thought provoking questions, only for the tone to throw it away. It's the same age rating as ATLA (and Lego's own Ninjago), so that isn't an excuse. I'm dumbfounded how you could get so close to a brilliant fantasy world, but refuse to look past the surface-level.

[@MrZomBie775]

I agree that this is one of the few games where I don't feel compelled to sprint everywhere in gameplay, it breaks the immersion.

[@zetroll0372]

0:01 "Never played The Last of Us" Me:You disappoint me.

[@taranhaight9985]

This is my favorite game, hands down. And you my friend gave done a phenomenal job in making this video journal/essay. I applaud you and thank you.

[@alaakhassawneh3423]

you would love the show now because they did lead up to Joel opening up about his trauma to Ellie AND we get the ending.

[@mintgreensandra8772]

I just wanted to say I love your videos and it always makes me happy when I see a new upload from you. Best regards from Germany :D

[@chevin0]

First off, this IS an interesting video. You bring up some interesting thoughts and increased my vague interest in the game. That said, I'm a much bigger fan of your videos that tackle concepts over multiple works, not breakdowns of one works. Especially video games, because i rarely play them. i feel like the ones that tackle a concept across multiple works are more interesting and approachable, with no chance to become 'this video is pretty much just for fans of this particular work'. but in the end, even this video about a game I never actually intend to play has interesting moments, and you do what makes you happy, I hope to keep seeing this channel for a long time to come. Cheers :)

[@joelsasmad]

In breaking down individual works it is possible to understand elements of those works that can be universally applied even without being a fan of that specific work.

[@Anubiszz512zz]

I just wanna say this video format is absolutely amazing. To do these analyses, critiques, and predictions all piecemeal in real time is fucking awesome from the viewers perspective. Great idea, I wish there was more content like this on KZbin by other reviewers.

[@williambennett7935]

Can’t wait for the sequel’s review 😂

[@RealGateGuardian]

It sucks a bag of ass. The end.

[@floresdeisla]

I was scrolling for a comment like this. 😂

[@axios4702]

Sequel? Oh the necrophilia SJW shitshow! Yeah thats gonna be fun.

[@corydk4834]

The Sedaiv not it doesn’t, most reviews rank it high.

[@ArcanaEric]

cory dk And most audience reviews rank it low.

[@samuelwithers2221]

You never fail to disappoint Tim, thanks for putting out such great content so consistently

[@perezo27]

When the day 3 part ended, I fully expected for it to cut to Tim's face and a few seconds of silence, cut by him saying "So...I was wrong. Really wrong" Close enough

[@esmewayne318]

Literally can't stop picturing this as Mando and Baby Yoda

[@WizWiteKnight]

The world took his daughter away from him, so he took Ellie away from the world. I remember the DREAD I was feeling as I was playing that final chapter so many years ago. I still remember REALLY NOT WANTING TO KILL ALL THOSE DOCTORS. I remember feeling like I was being forced into something I didnt want to do any more for the first time in the game, and it was jarring. It left a very bitter taste, and the lie he told to Ellie mad me livid. I was so angry at the game when I first played it. And thats one of my favourite feelings from this game which I think is a work of fucking art. It made me feel the anger that Joel must have been feeling. It made me feel the fear and the desperation. Torn between knowing what I was doing was wrong, but knowing it was to save someone I loved. And in that moment I wasnt thinking about what Joel had lost already. I was just thinking about what Ellie wanted. I wasnt thinking like a tortured father. And it helped me really understand, if not agree with, his choices. He already had one daughter taken from him by the shitty fucking world. He wasn't going to give up another one to save it.

[@WizWiteKnight]

Thanks for this video. It made me cry. Ive been watching your videos for a long time but I rarely have much to add. I really appreciate all the effort you put into deconstructing the art I love, and your videos are in themselves art that I love.

[@Super-BallSharp]

Wrong. A soldier took his daughter away from him.

[@samidejong106]

The music, particularly “the choice” really brings out my emotions

[@R4ggedyM4n]

The Last of Us is my fav game ever. A game will really have to blow me away to take over it. Really liked this. Are you planning on doing something similar with the Left Behind DLC??

[@ilmari1452]

One fascinating theme of this game that you didn't touch on, and which I really liked, is the fact that it's not really a distopian story. It's not a story about the end of the world. It's not even a story about the end of the human race. It looks at a world where humanity it suddenly no longer the apex predator on the planet and must consequently adapt to a new ecological niche. From the first time they leave Boston and right throught to the end, it's constantly but subtly showing that the rest of the world is doing just fine without "us". Better, even. My favourite scene of all, with the Giraffes, is there to let Ellie be a wide eyed child again - but also shows how these majestic creatures, critically endangered before the cordyceps, are now living in the ruins of humanity completely unaware of it all. No animal except for humans are effected by the fungus. You never even see infected attacking non-humans. The whole world is vibrant and thriving and alive and uncaring of humanity's precarious state. It's the most upbeat post-apocalyptic take I've seen and for that is all the better at exploring the human condition.

[@holysecret2]

TLOU is one of the best written games there are. Shame it never got a sequel

[@FreedomAnderson]

Unfortunately it did.

[@fccareta2373]

Freedom Anderson *fortunately

[@munchnerkindl7480]

Yeah. Maybe one day, there will come one, similar to this masterpiece, but at the moment there ain't one. Unfortunately😧

[@epicsauce664]

@@munchnerkindl7480 Imagine if they went all rdr2 on us and gave us a Tommy/Joel prequel? Which in RDR's case, both amplified the first and second game to a great extent.

[@munchnerkindl7480]

@@epicsauce664 That would be nice.

[@АндрейЕлизаров-п2э]

Can't wait for your video on the second part of this game.

[@Ki_Adi_Mundi]

This is amazing! Would love to see one in a similar style for Part 2, to see how they compare for you personally.

[@toryspelling7737]

Great video essay, well done. Excellent insights, and fun to watch!

[@Michael-A-V58]

This was a real to life great game, Sorry you did not like the ending much because of not having the characters resolve their issues verbally but as in real life, it was implied, with symbolism and gestures which shows acknowledgment of the issue in how they react or speak which is clearly different from the past.

[@MRuby-qb9bd]

I liked how unsettling it was. I love Tim's videos, but sometimes he gets hung up on narrative structure. That can be limiting. I kind of like stories that are allowed to meander a little, and leave a few threads hanging. Sometimes stories that are wrapped too tight just feel manufactured. The Last of Us was perhaps unsatisfying as a narrative, but it felt more real because of it.

[@vinceinman9666]

Love the analysis. I think Joel is probably one of the deepest characters I have seen across many mediums because of both his inner turmoil in addition to his flaws at the end (not addressing death for growth and choosing to save ellie instead of the betterment of humantiy).

[@aranerem3767]

The best game ever. Masterpiece

[@isaywhateveriwantandyougot7421]

Your standards are VERY low

[@SpeedingWheelbarrow]

Videos like this one are the reason I love video essays and why I follow people who make good ones. I am never able to pick up on any of the nuance in the stories I consume I just know that they are good and whether or not I liked them but if you asked me to explain why I could study it over and over and I still couldn't tell you and no matter how many times I watch a movie or play a game or listen to an audio book, I would never pick up on details like Joel touching his watch near the end of the game or (even though it did't fully pan out) the thematic ties the gun may have had, or playing as Ellie jiving with that part of the narrative. All those little or even sometimes large things elevate a work far more than if they weren't there but I never pick up on them and need them pointed out to me. Thanks for the amazing video and deepening my appreciation of a game I thought I already loved. (I feel like I should just make a list of all my favourite things and then go find video essays that tell me why I should love them more than I do :P )

[@Mateo-oq7ui]

>there is plenty of room for joel to grow >perhaps thats why theres a part two oh boy he didnt see the leaks

[@dragon200ism]

Oh boy is he gonna dislike the new one. BIGGEST OOF INBOUND!!

[@Mateo-oq7ui]

>tfw spend years anticipating a second game only to see the director ditch all character arcs and self inserting in a sex scene with the antagonist

[@nefelibatayumeno2568]

I really liked the way you reviewed the game day by day. Also, I don't like playing games but I am intrigued by the narratives sometimes, so this was perfect for me! Thanks x

[@TheJibrilK]

Hope you can analyse more on killing off a main character. Whether it's an empty, unnecessary cliché for publicity or a risk taken to put more depth to creating a reality of survival in such a world... I'm just torn tbh and need some clarification on this 😭

[@noteliassmith]

Which main character are you referring to?

[@adamqwert8397]

@@noteliassmith the guy in the video/game in the video

[@noteliassmith]

@@adamqwert8397 You mean Joel? Because I feel like his death was pretty understandable.

[@anastasiatavadze]

i would love this kind of video about Outer WIlds. i think it would be especially interesting because of the non-lineair storytellling in this game

[@fierypickles4450]

How am i getting second hand emotions from this game, after i already played it. This game still digs deep like a nail that is curved when pulling it out.

[@brenna_marie]

I’ve watched this video so many times... I can’t stop watching it. Low key addicted to this video for some reason 🤷🏼‍♀️. Great vid Tim!! Do part 2 please!!!!

[@ninjapino]

"Act III, I believe, is the darkest hour..." *a few minutes later* "Well, that didn't go the way that I thought!" Buddy, it gets sooooo much darker....

[@JWSIM]

I really liked this video and I would love to see u do something similar for part 2.

[@AscendantStoic]

"I hope part 2 measures up" ... Oh boy, you are in for a very bad surprise XD

[@reaceness]

Why?

[@AscendantStoic]

@@reaceness Visit r/TheLastOfUs2 and you will get it.

[@reaceness]

@@AscendantStoic Okay, but, whats your opinion?

[@AscendantStoic]

@@reaceness My opinion is that the story in TLoU2 is abhorrent and throws both Joel and Ellie under the bus narratively in favor of a psychotic new character that nobody cares about, and in a game where the story is the main focus if that fails so badly neither the graphics nor the gameplay matter that much regardless of how good they are, and that's all i can say without spoilers.

[@kyledavies97]

@@AscendantStoic that's an awful sub stay far away

[@Jo-cz5qe]

The best game I have ever played. No doubts

[@canvas_125]

The beauty of this game’s ending reminds me of Bojack Horseman’s endings throughout the show. “There is always more show.” So the endings were never conclusive because in real life, the show keeps going until we die. That’s why Ellie and Joel couldn’t have a conclusive ending. Their ending is real and human.

[@SCP.343]

You didn't mention it in the video, but there's also the fact that in the scene in the toy store, after Henry and Sam leave, if you walk Joel past the toy robot and turn the camera, you can see Ellie put the toy robot into her bag.

[@justsomeguyanimations]

I was watching a video, saw the notification for this seven minute old 41 minute long video and clicked instantly just cause its hello future me. I feel like it's gonna be worth it

[@rexreap7118]

You’re my favorite KZbinr bro, keep up the amazing work.

[@emilyjones9787]

"That's why perhaps there's a part 2" _oh no_

[@XandaPanda42]

If the rest of your content is as good as this, then i just found my new favourite channel.

[@daedalus7286]

Here before the comments get locked.

[@nitroon8476]

What?

[@marinary1326]

@@nitroon8476 I assume OP is worried about discourse happening about the second game

[@sakurap95]

What I like about the story is its unique take on humanity and its purpose within us as humans. It’s sort of a trope to have one person sacrificed to save the many. But this game subverted that expectation for me. Usually zombie apocalypse games/movies have a level of expectation that you have to make the “tough call” and let people die. Usually for your own survival or for all remaining humans to be saved. But movies like “Train to Bushan” and this game, broadened my thinking of the genre. Because of Joel’s actions, I realized… The fate of humanity shouldn’t rest on the shoulders of a single little girl. Like some miracle cure is going to help save the world from its problems. It’s not her responsibility. It’s everyone’s. Ellie dying won’t save humanity. People have to save their own humanity. A cure won’t give anyone that. People would still fight. People would still abuse power. Joel gave her a chance at life itself. To enjoy being alive. To find love, to have friends, to be her own person. Ellie, this character we’ve grown attached to, is worth more alive than dead. She means more to Joel than the world would ever care about her or her death. Even if her cure did save the people that were left, she’d be forgotten. This girl that thought she wouldn’t matter to anyone - because everyone she’d ever loved had either died or left - through Joel, got the chance to live and feel important. So in the end, to my own surprise, I think Joel was justified. Not because he took a choice away from her, but because it shouldn’t have been a choice a kid should have to make in the first place. BTW: thinking about it, those doctors didn’t even wake Ellie up and ask her for her consent. As far as Ellie knew, they would draw some blood and run tests. She might have guessed death could be possible, but the surgeons didn’t bother waking her up. I can only think that is because they knew they were going to go through with the surgery whether she said yes or no. So they kept her sedated and asked Marlene’s permission. Abby’s dad can fuck it. Sorry for the strong language but, man, he doesn’t get to decide for her.

[@vanillacream2383]

Question is will he review the second one as well.

[@RealGateGuardian]

Pray to the Old Gods & New he doesn't try it

[@zidaryn]

He has to review the prolouge story (DLC?) for The Last Of Us before he does #2.

[@matshepherd118]

Part 2 is hot woke garbage. Let it die.

[@georgecataloni4720]

@@matshepherd118 I watched a little bit of a let's play and I think you're right. However, learning from mistakes can be valuable, too. I think Tim should review it.

[@demisor9701]

Everybody hates it, but if you're a person who never liked Joel or Ellie anyway (like me) and just enjoyed the first one for its gameplay, it's not really that much of a bother lol

[@antoinemonks4187]

Thank you for this review. I feel like video games can be a great medium, and are often overlooked.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

The first game is hands down a well written masterpiece, the sequel may disappoint you though.

[@That_One_Guy-.]

"May"

[@franciscomm7675]

While it had its flaws, overall, the sequel didn’t disappointed me. They really weren’t kidding when they said that theme of the sequel was hate and revenge. The gameplay was great, the graphics were beautiful and like its predecessor, the last of us 2 really showed how brutal is the post apocalypse world

[@thomasnanto9093]

It’s interesting because Tim critiques the unresolved character flaw of Joel’s (his things happen, move on attitude), and I totally agree that the game should have had some sort of resolution, some closure with that. But I also think, now knowing the second game is coming out and having played a bit myself, that there’s a real opportunity for it to be quite realistic. Often times in a broken family situation or friendship, things get put on the back burner. Flaws can remain and get pushed back in favor of avoiding conflict, when other things take the reigns. It would be interesting to see if they explore what that unresolved flaw does to their relationship as Ellie grows older. I know a lot of people have negative things to say about Part II, but so far I can only say I love it.