The Last of Us 2: The dangerous tale of a dark and complex world
One of the protagonists of the game, Ellie.
Normally we discuss filmmaking, but as artists we never stop ourselves from exploring and talking about other forms of artistic expression, especially when they are worth talking about. It is quite fitting then that our deviation from the “norm" is with one of the greatest games ever assembled; The Last of Us 2 (TLOU2).
This is not a conventional good vs bad story. No, this is far from that. This was never going to be THAT. TLOU2 is a miserable and bleak tale of the consequences and unsatisfactory nature of revenge. Not Hollywood revenge either, but dark and tormented revenge. Revenge that manifests itself deep in the soul; an unquenchable thirst, a never ending hunger, the darkest of darkness. Revenge that pushes everything positive away but welcomes the cloud of sadness and unfulfillment in through the door like a dear friend.
To address the criticisms would be to detract away from what is an equally beautiful and depressing experience, and a visceral portrayal of a theme, or themes, explored rarely in mainstream media/art. The sort of themes that wouldn’t make it past test screenings, or themes that a producer would turn their nose up at, maybe stating it’s “not marketable” or “satisfying" enough to invest in. Hell, maybe a writer wouldn’t even have the audacity to do what Neill Druckman, the games director, a co. at Naughty Dog did with this project.
A quote from the questionable second series of ‘True Detective’ comes to mind with this, “…we get the world we deserve.” That is hauntingly true, here especially. Characters whom we love(d) and cherish(ed) may actually be, to others, the villains. The villains to us are to others family and friends. To know that life is not always good vs bad, to have the understanding that revenge is not an eye for an eye but instead a hollow attempt at filling a bottomless void, is admirable beyond words. Exploring theme and creating art is far more interesting than serving fan expectation, and unfortunately that means that some may be lost on this experience (and all art is subjective so that is understandable).
The Last of Us 2, like its predecessor, is gaming operating as high art, expressing itself like a video game has rarely, dare I say never, done before. It is an experience that is not there necessarily to be enjoyed (even though I did), but one to be felt. What an absolute masterpiece.