The Last Of Us II’s violent trailer
At Paris Games Show this past week, Sony decided to tease fans for the second time with a clip from their hyper-anticipated atmospheric zombie thriller, The Last of Us part two.
The clip, to be blunt, was horrific. It was violent, aggressive and for many, distressing to watch. So much so that Sony executive Jim Ryan felt the need to respond to the controversy, saying that “[this] is a game made by adults, for adults.” (more here)
What I find interesting in the zoo of hysteria online is that this isn’t the first time this has happened. And by “this,” I refer to the idea that people are wildly offended by video game violence. Consider the 90’s, when Tekken garnered a similar response from audiences when the “realistic” bloody scenes were first screened to audiences.
Tekken still gets gasps when a clip of Subzero ripping another characters’ spine out is shown. But Tekken doesn’t draw the same internet ire because it has a history of being that violent. A game by Naughty Dog doesn’t carry that weight of expectation when it comes to such violence.
And remember, the first trailer contrasts drastically with the second. The first featured the two protagonists of the first game in a relatively calm environment. Most notably a more teenage Ellie, playing guitar and proclaiming her distain for someone.
Which leads to my personal issue with the second trailer: Ellie and Joel don’t feature. This is a marketing blunder because the reason I want to play this title is that I fell for these characters. I loved their story, their relationship and the way they interact to survive in a dystopian zombie future horror show. The zombies themselves are a challenge, but not the draw to the game.
However, complaining about video game violence in 2017 feels naff. It feels like controversy for the sake of it. Maybe in our post-Trump world this is the norm; people get easily offended and can’t contain their hate for something featuring violence, even if it is an 18-rated video game featuring zombies.
