10 Most Shocking Moments From The Last Of Us & TLOU 2

17.01.2024 - 15:23 / screenrant.com / Last Of Us

Few games depict near-constant tragedy in the same way both titles do. Humans being the real threat is not an unfamiliar trope to zombie stories, but and revel in duplicitous characters and harrowing experiences born from interpersonal conflict. While nearly identical in their moment-to-moment gameplay, the games are quite different in scope. The first game centers on what may be a noble journey with world-changing implications, while its sequel is an unfortunate and saddening odyssey of violent revenge. Regardless, the world of is unforgiving, and both games deliver a slew of shocking moments.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2.]

series spans roughly 26 in-universe years when counting from the first game's prologue on Outbreak Day. Both games don't pull any narrative punches when it comes to prominent characters, and central figures are regularly killed off unceremoniously. It's not just death that manages to surprise the player, though. Morally questionable and selfish decisions, cathartic climaxes, and the Cordyceps brain infection itself provide plenty of shocking turns throughout the collective story of Joel, Ellie, and Abby.

At the very start of the series, players control Joel's daughter, Sarah, on the night the Cordyceps brain infection reaches critical mass. The sequence sets up Joel as a struggling, but loving single father, and succinctly depicts the horrors witnessed during Outbreak Day. The ending of the prologue is a truly heartbreaking turn, when a soldier who'd just saved Joel and Sarah from infected turns his rifle on the civilians out of extreme and unnecessary caution. Sarah's death sets the tone for the entire series, and is a foundational moment in Joel becoming the jaded smuggler players next see in the Boston Quarantine Zone.

's expansion,, centers on a night shared between a younger Ellie and her best friend, Riley, who's planning on leaving Boston as a member of the Fireflies. Since Riley isn't present in the rest of, it's fairly unsurprising that tragedy befalls her, but the emotional whiplash of the sequence, and the implied conclusion to their relationship make devastating.

Just as the two share a kiss, starting to move beyond mere friendship, both girls are infected. Thus, Ellie learns of her immunity, and Riley succumbs to the Cordyceps brain infection. Riley's ultimate fate is left unclear, but there are only two tragic options: Riley becomes a runner (which potentially survives long enough to become a clicker or worse) or Ellie is forced to kill her.

The Rat King is the most horrifying infected in either game. A melded mess of flesh, the creature is incredibly resistant as it hunts down Abby and Lev while the two