Life Through a Pandemic ft. The Last of Us
Written by Swastika Shankar
“Everything happens for a reason.” Maybe that’s why “The Last of Us” was thought of and released way back in 2013 to give us an indication of what would happen to us in the future, ie. now.
Anyone who has played The Last of Us can vouch for it as one of the best games created in gaming history. Although the gaming experience is remarkable, what makes this game stand out is its engaging storyline and how real it feels. It grips the player from the very first scene. It transports the player into a zone where the real world seems fake, and the virtual world(the story of this game) seems real. Games about post-apocalyptic America aren’t a new concept (The Walking Dead, Wasteland, etc.), but the writers of The Last of Us depict the story in the most unique way possible.
As the story progresses, the player goes on to realize what a huge threat a pandemic actually is to human life and their survival. It has shown how the lives of many had to be altered to just arrange for food and escape the zombies. Much of this can be vouched for given the current scenario since all everyone is doing around the world is something quite similar.
The characters in the game feel authentic and are just like the ones we encounter every day, be it all the badass women who take charge throughout the story or the evil dealers who try to take advantage of other people in every situation. The length of the game really compliments the story which is well elaborated and stays with the player while steadily taking its course.
Joel and Ellie — the two protagonists — are both people who have mastered the art of killing zombies (and people) and have absolutely no sense of loss, perhaps because they’ve been hardened by their respective situations. In the first few moments of the game, Joel loses his daughter which leaves him even more cold-hearted than he already was. 20 years later, in a military quarantine zone, he is only concerned about his business as some sort of a dealer of weapons and survival. He is unwillingly set on a cross-country expedition with a little girl, Ellie, from whom he prefers to maintain distance.
The one character that truly stood out was that of Henry. Between his introduction and exit in the storyline, the player likes him, hates him to the core, and then falls completely in love with him. Although most characters of the game are believable, Henry’s is the one that is the most relatable and touching. He is someone who takes decisions from the heart, cares about his loved ones, and prioritizes them over everything, even the greater good of society.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that we have tried to play out the scenes of how human life would have dealt with a zombie apocalypse. The ease of progression from action to cut scenes and back makes the player super engrossed in the storyline without effort. It captures the state of humanity where an apocalypse was caused by a pandemic.
Epidemiologist Sandro Galea says that there are 5 stages of human reactions to a pandemic: Self-Preservation, Group Preservation, Blame Setting, Justice Seeking, and Renormalizing. If you think about it, the game — and the world right now — is in the 3rd stage. Joel and Tess (Joel’s partner) blame the fireflies for every issue that pops up in their lives, while we are trying to blame the government and other countries for the pandemic.
The game clearly shows that even in post-apocalyptic times, the biggest threat is still other humans. It captures the breaking of the social hierarchy in the 20 years post the first outbreak of this zombie attack. The panic makes everyone behave very selfishly and completely disrupts the societal order. As the number of affected keeps multiplying, the situation tends to worsen the societal structure to a point of no return.
Another important issue raised by the game is that of survival vs morals. Many times in the game, the player encounters situations where what they’re supposed to do isn’t really what they should do. What do you do when someone points a gun to your head? You don’t obey the bad guy, you do what’s best to overcome the situation and fight with all your heart. The player is forced to make choices for the character and hence, somewhere this game makes the player a little stronger mentally and emotionally.
The best part about the game is probably the way the human reactions are made just so relatable. We can all relate to the game now, more than ever. The game being written and designed so much before anyone would have imagined being in a situation like this makes you wonder about the writers’ creative aptitude.
Interesting Fact: The Wellcome Trust (A UK based research charity) dwelled deep into the game with scientists, philosophers and game critics through a YouTube series discussing the legitimacy of the game. Now that definitely says something about the impact left by the game on its viewers.
The game mentions the idea that “Everything Happens For A Reason” a few times, but it is truly depicted through the course of Joel and Ellie’s journey. They might not have achieved what they were looking for, but Joel did get the daughter he didn’t have — through his very conscious efforts towards the end.
A second part of the game was released in 2020, with Ellie being the main protagonist of the story, in our very new apocalyptic situation — the coronavirus. With Ellie going on a journey away from Joel after years, it would be interesting to see what happens when she uncovers the truth and how she decides to lead her life fighting “them”. The trailer gave us nothing but chills imagining the fact that one of our lives could shape up to be like this and wonder what else this world — the real one and the one in the game — has in store for us. The game received mixed reactions from fans and players and mostly failed to be the sensation and path-breaking game like the first one.
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