From Revenge to Blood Feud

Examining why The Last of Us II is an uncomfortable story through a literary lens

Any video game can tell a story of how revenge is a double-edged sword. Most of the time revenge is at the core of epic stories that we’ve played and enjoyed, such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or the Dishonored series. The good ones are unafraid to show the consequences of revenge. But the great ones give characters the opportunity to grow past it.

Naughty Dog has a history of creating video games that feel more like gripping novels or movies. The Last of Us Part II is no different. The game has much to brag about with its interactive environment and the emotional delivery given by its voice actors. Yet I admired more of the different literary techniques used to drive the narrative.

To show the consequences of revenge and the struggle to regain control in the aftermath of tragedy, writers relied heavily on multiple POVs, parallelism, and the moth motif. These devices helped push the standard narration of a tested and tried revenge story to new heights. The Last of Us Part II becomes a story of revenge that we’re not used to or comfortable with.

I decided to dig deeper into the literary devices used to push the envelope on a typical story of revenge in The Last of Us Part II.