How The Last of Us 2 Uses Symbolism to Convey Its Themes
When The Last of Us 2 was released in 2020, gamers were expecting some more survival horror fun with Ellie and Joel in a dystopian world riddled with zombie-like enemies called the Infected. Instead, what gamers got was a title that continually subverted expectations and forced them to reconsider their perspectives on key characters. A lot of daring decisions were made in service of a narrative desperate to deliver an important message.
The Last of Us 2 is primarily concerned with revenge, hatred, and how violence breeds more violence. It also highlights how it is unwise to see the world as a good and evil binary because reality is far more complex than that. Some of these thematic concerns are conveyed through symbolism that, although subtle, is remarkably powerful.
The Last of Us: Explaining Ellie's Survivor's Guilt
Collectibles in video games can be a hit-or-miss feature. Too many times, games cram in too many collectibles or require an incredible amount of effort from players with little to no rewards. Fortunately, the collectibles of The Last of Us 2 are well implemented. They are hidden a little off the beaten path, encouraging players to explore the densely detailed environments. Scavenging for collectibles often leads to resources or points of interest that players might have otherwise missed and, more importantly, they help to convey some of The Last of Us 2's main themes.
The game centers on Ellie and Abby, two women who believe they have scores to settle with each other. For the first half of the game, players take control of Ellie who, along with Dina, travel to Seattle to seek Abby and the Washington Liberation Front and exact revenge. Along the way, Ellie collects trading cards featuring fictional characters
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