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The Last of Us |OT| It Cant Be For Nothing (Spoilers)
- Thread starter Pranay
- Start date
Joel doesn't start talking about Sarah until the very end, after he had rescued her.
It was. I'm pretty sure they were discussing it around the point where you find the
giraffes
some more details about the original ending pitch from from videogamer (original story in gameinformer, couldn´t find anything on their site though):
http://www.videogamer.com/ps3/the_l...ginal_story_ending_and_alternate_villain.html
more at the link.
wow, i´m definitely very happy with the way the ending turned out. that vagueness is one of the reasons that had it sticking in my head for a long time and making me trying to dissect/think about it.
http://www.videogamer.com/ps3/the_l...ginal_story_ending_and_alternate_villain.html
[/SPOILER]
more at the link.
wow, i´m definitely very happy with the way the ending turned out. that vagueness is one of the reasons that had it sticking in my head for a long time and making me trying to dissect/think about it.
Huh? Rescued her from where, the hospital? It wasn't during a cutscene he said that, it was just while you were walking, I think somewhere around the giraffes. That was definitely before the hospital.
He says that they would have been good friends while you are walking around in the forest part when they are heading to Tommy's town at the very end.
Oh, my bad. Yeah I guess it was, I totally forgot you even control anything after the hospital. I just knew it wasn't during a cutscene, so I figured it was before that. Kind of all runs together, but you're right.
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
Good link, thanks. I actually also enjoyed their write-up about the ending:
http://www.videogamer.com/ps3/the_l...nal_hours_the_generations_perfect_ending.html
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
I bought the soundtrack before I even started playing the game. It's phenomenal.
He does talk about her a little bit when they're in the quarantine zone before the flooded tunnel. He says he ended up in a place like that and Ellie asks if it was after he lost Sarah and he doesn't snap at her. But that's her bringing it up.
Just finished Winter. Holy fuck at its entirety.
No Infected makes me dread Spring now. I said that before being in the university, and I got an entire floor of clickers and a bloater. Not terribly difficult thanks to molotovs and the flamethrower, though.
The part where you sneak around David was fucking tense. Died a few times, but I got the asshole.
No Infected makes me dread Spring now. I said that before being in the university, and I got an entire floor of clickers and a bloater. Not terribly difficult thanks to molotovs and the flamethrower, though.
The part where you sneak around David was fucking tense. Died a few times, but I got the asshole.
Andrew Korenchkin
Member
Yes, that David battle was absolutely terrifying. I really did feel like I was being stalked by a mad man. I think more games should focus on these types of game play, such as the upcoming Routine.
Especially when you get killed. Machete to the neck has got to be one of the most disturbing death sequences I've ever seen, I had to look away after the first time he got me. That part was brutal.
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
That fight wasn't difficult for me at all. I just grabbed bottles on the ground, tossed them at him, then ran up and stabbed him while he was stunned. The fight took me all of 2 minutes.
Oh. That sounds way easier! I must've completely missed the bottles, I didn't think you could use any items during that fight. Just had to try and sneak up on him without stepping on all the broken glass, but he walks around like a crazy guy, constantly turning around and changing paths. It was really tense.
If you play on hard there are no bottles or bricks to be found so that makes it a little bit more difficult. I agree, though, the fight was not particularly hard. It still was intense as hell.
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
This is not possible on hard. There aren't any throwables...
He is tricky on hard/survivor... especially his final form lol.
Eh, he's still pretty easy. The first two stabs are simple, and then for the last one I just haul ass into the kitchen and wait. He'll pop up by one of the entrances eventually, so sneak around to the other one and get him.
Seriously. The music is perfect.
Watching the Making of The Last of Us (1:24:51 - don't watch it before finishing the game), it was interesting to see Gustavo Santaolalla mess around with different instruments (some made by himself) to get the right kind of sound.
Also, that Making Of feature is pretty awesome. Naughty Dog went all out with it. It's available to download inside The Last of Us bonuses in the menu for free.
The scene in the beginning with Joel and Sarah was pretty intense on mocap. They were both (Troy Baker and Hana Hayes) wrecked from filming it, and they had to re-do it over and over again.
On the lighter side of it, you have them improvising from time-to-time. That scene with Joel and Ellie in the car, with Ellie flipping through Bill's magazine, and, "Why are the pages are stuck together?" line was apparently improvised (from what the soundbite and subsequent scene presented hinted) .
SpideySenses
Member
I have the digital version and there's no making of video in the bonuses section.
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
It's part of the season pass... which is $20. That youtube video will probably get taken down real soon I imagine.
Oh my god...
Just imagine how nostalgic that music is going to make us in 10 years...
Oh, damn. Didn't even realize that it's part of the season pass.
Speaking of, I'm really hoping for more single player content coming soon.
Evolved1
make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
They are working on it. Recently there was an AMA and Bruce/Neil said a couple things (no date, or specifics on characters) they said they were happy with what they came up with for it, and confirmed they would be visiting familiar characters in some capacity (though no real detail on this).
Still pretty hush hush on the DLC info/time frame. They took that season pass money though.
I'm not one to jump on season passes immediately (or at all), but the game interested me enough to get me to buy one.
Same here, this is the first game i bought season pass for. I did it mainly for the making of video. Kinda pissed its on youtube now! But i like to support this dev anyway possible.
Refreshment.01
Member
Many share the unsatisfiying ending feeling. What would have made the ending satisfaying? The only less conventional think about the plot is the closure.
Warning: Long post incoming. I'm writing about my thoughts on the game but I am doing it very quickly because I want to catch Breaking Bad lol.
Edit: I know the thread says [Spoilers] and I see that people are spoiling some plot points in this thread. I'm not going to spoiler tag this post just because it's so long but if I should then someone let me know.
So I bought this game a month ago and played for about a couple of hours every now and then. It took me about 12-13 hours to complete the game over a month. I've been pretty busy from July until now so this was the first time I could crush it in a long play through. I played for a good 6 hours this past weekend though. Here are my thoughts on the entire game:
[ending spoilers ahead]
I really enjoyed this game. I have to say that I enjoyed the story and the acting more than the gameplay itself though. Recently, I have found myself trying to get through combat sections in games quicker so I can get to the cutscenes and progress the story. I seemed to do that a lot more in this game. The combat was pretty simple, IMO. I enjoyed running up to infected/humans and being able to grab/stab/punch/shoot them but it was all to simple compared to other games. While the combat was pretty repetitive, the game definitely had some challenging parts, let alone intense parts. I thought the hardest parts in the game were being stuck in the warehouse with David (when the infected overran you) and the final battle with David; however, I picked up on the pending battle with David because of the glass on the floor so I pretty much knew the tactics that were required in order to beat David. When the encounter started, I immediately sprinted in a corner and just waited until I could sneak behind and stab David. The fight took only a few minutes for me.
The character development in this game was fantastic but it took some time before it really bloomed. The point where it became amazing was when you reached the city of Pittsburgh. The bond between Joel and Ellie really started there. The other various characters were incredible too.Sam, Henry, and David's characters were pretty damn good even though they were only in the game for about an hour or so You could really tell that Joel started to care for Ellie when they were in Pittsburgh. I thought the most touching scene between the two was at the end of Winter though. Joel running into the restaurant and comforting Ellie saying "aww baby girl" really brought some feels. The scenes in Fall when Joel says "you're not my daughter", the whole stitching up scene, and the playful commentary between the two like "sing for me Joel!" really enforced the impact of the ending cinematic during the Winter chapter. The whole event was really fucked up yet the scene showed that the two really needed each other. That scene really made it tough because I knew the game was winding down and that some sort of surprising action had to happen between then and the end of the game.
I thought the Spring chapter was interesting, especially because Ellie seemed distant immediately. I still can't tell if it was because she was trying to cope with Winter or if she was struggling to accept the decision that was forthcoming or if it was Joel. It was hard because Joel really stepped into that Father role yet she was barely responsive to any of the emotional statements. I think that's what made the ending harder. I liked that they left it open for interpretation but for some reason I really wanted to see a definitive ending. What I really wanted was to see was whether or not Joel's love for Ellie was mutual. I mean the girl's life is really fucked up and I understand that - she's permanently infected and lost her innocence at a young age. I wonder if she really wanted to go through with the surgery though.The story she shared at the end about her and her friend made me question whether she was okay with whatever the outcome the surgery presented - death especially. Another scene in Spring that makes me believe she wanted to go through with the surgery was when she gave Joel the picture of him and Sarah. I believe it was sort of a notion to remind Joel that Sarah was his daughter and that he should always remember her and that Ellie was just a friend/companion who required Joel's help through their journey so that she may present her immunity to the firefly doctors. I'm assuming her "OK" line at the end meant that she knew Joel was lying in some form since his story in the car seemed simple and loose-ended. I wonder if we will ever see her realizing his selfish acts and his lies.
Joel was a real interesting character. His actions at the end of the game were selfish and crazy though. His character took a complete 180 at the end. Sure, we saw a lot of those traits throughout the game but they really made an impact through his actions at the end of the game. Everything up until the hospital, he was required to kill because he wanted to survive. But when he heard that they were going to kill Ellie to get the vaccine, he immediately became this selfish person. He was especially hypocritical at the end. This was evident when Marlene told him that they have to go through with the surgery and all he said something like "that's not your choice". So he adds to his body count and kills her. Maybe Ellie would have wanted to go through with the surgery?
The game definitely defines the downfall of society and humanity since we interact with various groups of people who were in a survival mindset all while running and hiding from an infection. Every individual in this game was in a survival mindset: the soldier at the beginning, Joel and Ellie, Tess, Bill, Tommy and Maria, David and his people, Sam and Henry, Marlene, and all of the Firefly and random Rebels. Every one of them had a survival attitude.Joel's was definitely the most intense of the lot though. He went and took out most, if not all, of the fireflies in the hospital and put humanity at risk for his own personal gain. It sucks that the ending had to come down that way since I really wanted the two to be together. After playing through the entire game and hoping for the best for the two, the ending just throws a curveball and insists that you become an insane, selfish murderer. I really like the he cares for her but the whole selfish act is hurting her in the process.
In the end, it stinks that we do not know what she feels for Joel. We know that she has had some of feelings for him throughout the game which are evident when she said "I don't want you to leave" in the Fall chapter or when she put herself at risk to save him when he was stuck in the bus. I can't help but think that she may be straying away from him. I know that she doesn't know what exactly happened in the hospital but I just have some sort of feeling that she knows he is lying and that something went wrong. I hope these questions are answered in The Last of Us 2 (well if Joel and Ellie are the story's focus of the game). The best thing about the open ending was all of the theories and hypotheses that could come from this.
Edit: I know the thread says [Spoilers] and I see that people are spoiling some plot points in this thread. I'm not going to spoiler tag this post just because it's so long but if I should then someone let me know.
So I bought this game a month ago and played for about a couple of hours every now and then. It took me about 12-13 hours to complete the game over a month. I've been pretty busy from July until now so this was the first time I could crush it in a long play through. I played for a good 6 hours this past weekend though. Here are my thoughts on the entire game:
[ending spoilers ahead]
I really enjoyed this game. I have to say that I enjoyed the story and the acting more than the gameplay itself though. Recently, I have found myself trying to get through combat sections in games quicker so I can get to the cutscenes and progress the story. I seemed to do that a lot more in this game. The combat was pretty simple, IMO. I enjoyed running up to infected/humans and being able to grab/stab/punch/shoot them but it was all to simple compared to other games. While the combat was pretty repetitive, the game definitely had some challenging parts, let alone intense parts. I thought the hardest parts in the game were being stuck in the warehouse with David (when the infected overran you) and the final battle with David; however, I picked up on the pending battle with David because of the glass on the floor so I pretty much knew the tactics that were required in order to beat David. When the encounter started, I immediately sprinted in a corner and just waited until I could sneak behind and stab David. The fight took only a few minutes for me.
The character development in this game was fantastic but it took some time before it really bloomed. The point where it became amazing was when you reached the city of Pittsburgh. The bond between Joel and Ellie really started there. The other various characters were incredible too.Sam, Henry, and David's characters were pretty damn good even though they were only in the game for about an hour or so You could really tell that Joel started to care for Ellie when they were in Pittsburgh. I thought the most touching scene between the two was at the end of Winter though. Joel running into the restaurant and comforting Ellie saying "aww baby girl" really brought some feels. The scenes in Fall when Joel says "you're not my daughter", the whole stitching up scene, and the playful commentary between the two like "sing for me Joel!" really enforced the impact of the ending cinematic during the Winter chapter. The whole event was really fucked up yet the scene showed that the two really needed each other. That scene really made it tough because I knew the game was winding down and that some sort of surprising action had to happen between then and the end of the game.
I thought the Spring chapter was interesting, especially because Ellie seemed distant immediately. I still can't tell if it was because she was trying to cope with Winter or if she was struggling to accept the decision that was forthcoming or if it was Joel. It was hard because Joel really stepped into that Father role yet she was barely responsive to any of the emotional statements. I think that's what made the ending harder. I liked that they left it open for interpretation but for some reason I really wanted to see a definitive ending. What I really wanted was to see was whether or not Joel's love for Ellie was mutual. I mean the girl's life is really fucked up and I understand that - she's permanently infected and lost her innocence at a young age. I wonder if she really wanted to go through with the surgery though.The story she shared at the end about her and her friend made me question whether she was okay with whatever the outcome the surgery presented - death especially. Another scene in Spring that makes me believe she wanted to go through with the surgery was when she gave Joel the picture of him and Sarah. I believe it was sort of a notion to remind Joel that Sarah was his daughter and that he should always remember her and that Ellie was just a friend/companion who required Joel's help through their journey so that she may present her immunity to the firefly doctors. I'm assuming her "OK" line at the end meant that she knew Joel was lying in some form since his story in the car seemed simple and loose-ended. I wonder if we will ever see her realizing his selfish acts and his lies.
Joel was a real interesting character. His actions at the end of the game were selfish and crazy though. His character took a complete 180 at the end. Sure, we saw a lot of those traits throughout the game but they really made an impact through his actions at the end of the game. Everything up until the hospital, he was required to kill because he wanted to survive. But when he heard that they were going to kill Ellie to get the vaccine, he immediately became this selfish person. He was especially hypocritical at the end. This was evident when Marlene told him that they have to go through with the surgery and all he said something like "that's not your choice". So he adds to his body count and kills her. Maybe Ellie would have wanted to go through with the surgery?
The game definitely defines the downfall of society and humanity since we interact with various groups of people who were in a survival mindset all while running and hiding from an infection. Every individual in this game was in a survival mindset: the soldier at the beginning, Joel and Ellie, Tess, Bill, Tommy and Maria, David and his people, Sam and Henry, Marlene, and all of the Firefly and random Rebels. Every one of them had a survival attitude.Joel's was definitely the most intense of the lot though. He went and took out most, if not all, of the fireflies in the hospital and put humanity at risk for his own personal gain. It sucks that the ending had to come down that way since I really wanted the two to be together. After playing through the entire game and hoping for the best for the two, the ending just throws a curveball and insists that you become an insane, selfish murderer. I really like the he cares for her but the whole selfish act is hurting her in the process.
In the end, it stinks that we do not know what she feels for Joel. We know that she has had some of feelings for him throughout the game which are evident when she said "I don't want you to leave" in the Fall chapter or when she put herself at risk to save him when he was stuck in the bus. I can't help but think that she may be straying away from him. I know that she doesn't know what exactly happened in the hospital but I just have some sort of feeling that she knows he is lying and that something went wrong. I hope these questions are answered in The Last of Us 2 (well if Joel and Ellie are the story's focus of the game). The best thing about the open ending was all of the theories and hypotheses that could come from this.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Heh in reference to above, I was about to bring up Breaking Bad too. After tonights premier episode, there was a scene where all I could think about was TLoU's ending.
Fuuuck.
Fuuuck.
Noisepurge
Member
is there a way to know if i can just sneak past enemies or am i usually forced to kill everything in sight before i can proceed?
I cant remember the city but was going for the yellow bridge and there was several places with bad guys with floodlights etc. and the game doesnt tell me if its possible to just sneak to a door or something and avoid fighting and get out.
I've spent so much ammo killing spawning dudes in waves waiting for Ellie to trigger a door or something to move on
I cant remember the city but was going for the yellow bridge and there was several places with bad guys with floodlights etc. and the game doesnt tell me if its possible to just sneak to a door or something and avoid fighting and get out.
I've spent so much ammo killing spawning dudes in waves waiting for Ellie to trigger a door or something to move on
is there a way to know if i can just sneak past enemies or am i usually forced to kill everything in sight before i can proceed?
I cant remember the city but was going for the yellow bridge and there was several places with bad guys with floodlights etc. and the game doesnt tell me if its possible to just sneak to a door or something and avoid fighting and get out.
I've spent so much ammo killing spawning dudes in waves waiting for Ellie to trigger a door or something to move on
It's kind of half and half. I don't recall that encounter specifically, but there are plenty of times when you can just sneak past entire encounters. And then there are times where you'll clearly see the door/ladder you need to progress after sneaking by, but it won't let you activate it until everyone is dead.
Noisepurge
Member
Allright, thought so as there is no icons or other indicators
Joel or Ellie should do a voice hint "maybe we should just get out of here" or something to indicate that i don't need to fight Also really wish the game would have a non-lethal playthrough option against human enemies. The shooting gets Uncharted levels of mass murder at times Hard to take the story seriously after shooting 250 people per level.Oh well, back to stocking nailbombs and finding shotgun shells ->
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
Allright, thought so as there is no icons or other indicators
Oh well, back to stocking nailbombs and finding shotgun shells ->
Well the difference is the world of TLoU is so bleak and dog-eat-dog that you are more or less forced to kill the humans or they will have no qualms killing you.
In Uncharted it's more of a pulp action movie "oh hey hundreds of bad guys, let's shoot them all, get the treasure, and save the girl" situation. You are shooting lots of people in both games, but the justification in TLoU is much more believable.
Speaking of which, I watched the documentary over the weekend and my God that was a good video. They actually mentioned that they made it a conscious decision not to blunt the violence because otherwise the world wouldn't feel as dangerous and bleak as it is. I think it was Neil Druckmann who said that if the violence were just kind of mild and they instead told you how dangerous the world is, it would be a sort of dissonance where you're "told" how dangerous the world is but you don't feel it through gameplay. I think that's ND's strength - expressing ideas and concepts through gameplay which other developers relegate to exposition and cutscenes. Throughout the entire game you never have a character straight up tell you, "The world we live in is dangerous!" But you get that feeling every single time you're in a combat situation, which I think is fantastic.
Saargabath
Member
FInished it yesterday.
It was quite a ride but felt very repetitive. The few pieces which are not 'stealth or shoot/loot/find ladder/craft' were either not long or deep enough. That said, the core game is very impressive and the MP looks like it's a lot a fun.
The prologue was pretty intense and I was shocked before starting the real game. But after that, the story felt quite cliché... Only to become more unconventionnal during 'winter'. I have mixed feelings about the ending... I think it would have been more interesting to see
It was quite a ride but felt very repetitive. The few pieces which are not 'stealth or shoot/loot/find ladder/craft' were either not long or deep enough. That said, the core game is very impressive and the MP looks like it's a lot a fun.
The prologue was pretty intense and I was shocked before starting the real game. But after that, the story felt quite cliché... Only to become more unconventionnal during 'winter'. I have mixed feelings about the ending... I think it would have been more interesting to see
Ellie agreeing to die and Joel say fuck anyway and take her back OR Ellie killing Joel for trying to take her away
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
I actually think the strength of the game's ending is that we don't know what she's thinking. Some people (me included) think that Ellie knows that Joel is lying but she wants to believe it so that she can live with him, since she obviously has developed a bond with him. Others think that she doesn't know he's lying. This is one of the few games where we can sit and debate about what a character is really thinking - most games tell you in no uncertain terms what each character is thinking and what their emotions are.
The weird thing about this game is that there is no plot "twist" in the conventional sense. You never learn what Ellie's secret is, you never learn something shocking about the infection, things basically play out as you expect in terms of the overall narrative: Joel takes Ellie to the Fireflies. I didn't expect him to kill them all and retrieve her, but then again that didn't feel like a "twist" because when it happened I was kinda like, "Well yeah of course that's what Joel would have done." It just seemed so in character for him. And yet it was a powerful moment because ND forced you undo everything you had spent the past 15 hours fighting towards.
This game's strength lies in the literary quality of its plot rather than any big shocking twist or emotional ending. Its ending just kind of...happens, and yet it is very unsettling and poignant.
The only thing I wish it did talk more about was Joel's past. Maybe that will be covered in some of the DLC? They mentioned it a few times (basically just telling Ellie "you're better off not knowing") and it's easy enough to guess what he and Tess had been doing, but I wouldn't mind exploring it a bit more. Gameplay could be interesting too, since it would be more based in the quarantine zone.
Good point. I guess there is no correct "answer" in this game since the ending is ambiguous (unless they tell us in a DLC/sequel) which definitely adds to the game in a unique fashion. As for Joel's decision at the end, I, too, agreed that what he did wasn't out of the ordinary for him since we knew he would go that extra mile to save her... but it was just so... messed up in a way. At least for me. I play this entire game and get to enjoy both of the main characters and have a unique bond with them myself but then at the end, Joel does some extreme things and then lies to the closest person to him. Well, I'm actually more upset with the lying lol. It's selfish. I'm not saying it wasn't the right or wrong decision on his part, it just seemed so abrupt. And to be honest, I'm glad we do it so that they can be together but it would literally suck for him if she doesn't approve, you know? I guess that's why it's nice to discuss and sort of make the assumptions ourselves (or until ND tells us what to believe).
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
Yup, my first thought when I saw Joel driving away from the hospital with Ellie in his car was, "God damn, Joel is one selfish motherfucker." I didn't like what he did. I didn't like that he lied to Ellie; she put her life on the line and went through hell and back to get to the Fireflies because she wanted to help mankind, and at the end of the day Joel takes that away from her without giving her a chance to have her say. It must feel very frustrating for her to know, or at least sense, that Joel did all this behind her back.
But, we always knew that Joel was one hard egg. From the way Tommy talked about their past to the way Joel avoided those conversations with Ellie to the way he tortured those two guys, we know that Joel will do anything and everything to get his way. That's just the way this world is - harsh and unforgiving. So once again, Joel did whatever he needed to do in order to satisfy his own emotional needs.
Yeah. TLOU world definitely is harsh. Joel's decision may not even be that bad considering some of the various possibilities of a cure even being created. Having a chance to prevent the infection from spreading is one thing but the amount of power such a vaccine holds could be a problem. At least Tommy and co. are creating a society similar to the one they were familiar with 20 years prior but, as we've seen throughout the game, it's definitely at risk like the numerous triage/government outpost/firefly stations.
I'm just glad that I was able to experience this game. I don't think I have ever been attached to such a story and world in a video game (Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect comes to mind but this more emotionally). The writing and story were very addicting.
nillarilla
Member
just finished it...
I think ND missed an opportunity to make a perfect game for me personally....instead the ending just made it a very good game.
They spent all that time creating such strong emotional bonds, which they pulled off flawlessly. But it was "alll for nothing." There simply was no emotional pay off (for me).
Joel's decision didn't make sense to me after all those notes and recordings in the hospital.
But, I understand that ND is a business, and killing off your strong lead characters doesn't make much business sense, and I also see where they were scared to do something that may have been perceived as a rip off of TWD's ending....but I'm still disappointed that they had a perfect emotionally strong ending set up, and simply didn't cash in.
Still one of the best games I've ever played though....just not perfect.
I think ND missed an opportunity to make a perfect game for me personally....instead the ending just made it a very good game.
They spent all that time creating such strong emotional bonds, which they pulled off flawlessly. But it was "alll for nothing." There simply was no emotional pay off (for me).
Joel's decision didn't make sense to me after all those notes and recordings in the hospital.
But, I understand that ND is a business, and killing off your strong lead characters doesn't make much business sense, and I also see where they were scared to do something that may have been perceived as a rip off of TWD's ending....but I'm still disappointed that they had a perfect emotionally strong ending set up, and simply didn't cash in.
Still one of the best games I've ever played though....just not perfect.
I'm not sure what you thought it was building up to. Who would you have liked to see get killed that would've made it better? The "all for nothing" was kind of the point of the whole ending sequence, which was very unconventional compared to most things. TWD had a fantastic ending, but so predictable that you could've guessed it after Episode 1.
nillarilla
Member
good point...I was totally expecting joel to die in a blaze of glory to save Ellie, I would have bet everything on that being the ending. So I guess the actual ending was good for that, since I didn't see it coming.
I guess what messed it up for me was the recordings in the hospital that made it seem so definite that the cure would come from elile. Maybe I interpreted them wrong though, but I wish I didn't listen to those.
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
I don't think the recordings state that at all. They mention that this "could be" the breakthrough they were hoping for, but they don't know for sure. There is no indication that taking Ellie's brain out of her head would lead to a vaccine at all.
Melchiah
Member
Not to mention, that killing Joel would have reminded too much of a certain dystopian movie from 2009 (
The Road
After reading multiple opinions and thinking about this over a few days, I think the ending is pretty great for the game. The world they live in is completely turned around. Society and humanity has collapsed. I think all of the logical and ethical decisions that would have been made 20 years ago are now rarely performed, for the most part. Everyone is fighting to save themselves. We see that through the government, fireflies, other rebel groups, hunters, Sam and Henry, Maria and Tommy, etc. Like the majority of similar stories and situations, Ellie's condition probably would have saved humanity. Here, it was always a risk and could possibly have failed. Joel's attitude stayed consistent from beginning to end. He decided that he wanted to save Ellie and actually succeeded. For Joel, in order to survive, he wants to live with the closest thing to him. That's what he needed in order to survive. That's why he fought. Selfish? Yes. The real question is what Ellie is thinking or how she feels about the whole situation. She most likely feels absent, now that she doesn't have anything to fight for - yet. That's why she shared her survivor's guilt.
nillarilla
Member
scanning through a bunch of reaction videos and reading reviews now, I think you guys are right... I think the ending I was expecting would have been too telegraphed. Naughty Dog obviously put a lot more thought into this than me.. They really do have their shit together.