This has upset the gaming community

If you believe the news, The Last of Us 2 is about to destroy gaming.

Admittedly, this is an exaggeration, though this attitude is understandable. The Last of Us is one of the greatest video games ever made.

It follows the journey of Joel and Ellie, an unlikely pair that must survive a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by the dead and the dying. It is a great zombie game. But it is an even better drama that explores a makeshift father/daughter relationship.

That, I think, is the reason the sequel is attracting so much hate. I have tried to steer clear of the furious conversations, but even I could not help but frown when the first trailer debuted. Yes, the gameplay looked amazing, however, I was not the only one who noticed a startling lack of Joel, the protagonist of the first game.

Yes, I loved the idea of continuing the story from Ellie’s perspective. I was more than happy to sacrifice Joel’s strength for Ellie’s agility. And yet, it is worth reiterating the fact that The Last of Us was the Joel and Ellie story. All the fun we got out of the zombie elements was because of the Joel/ Ellie dynamic.

And my excitement for the sequel was driven by a desire to continue the Joel and Ellie story. So, the idea that The Last of Us 2 was ditching Joel in favour of an Ellie-centric story did not sit well with me.

Ellie is still my favourite sidekick of any game I have ever played, but where Last of Us is concerned, I don’t care about Ellie as a character; not on her own. I care about Joel and Ellie. Would I play a Joel-centric sequel that chose to do away with Ellie? No.

And this is where The Last of Us 2 started to lose me; when it suggested that Joel was essentially a non-factor in the sequel.

Naughty Dog eventually decided to sprinkle Joel across the footage they released in the weeks that followed. And while this assuaged me, the rest of the gaming community was losing its mind over rumours of the heavy-handed feminism behind the scenes, not to mention the anti-Christian themes and SJW (social justice warrior) overtones that had molded the game.

These arguments I also chose to avoid. Then the spoilers flooded the internet. Some sections of the gaming community were quick to defend the sequel, arguing that certain gamers were blowing several unsubstantiated rumors out of proportion.

Then actual footage of the game leaked, and all hell broke loose. The true nature of the game proved to be far worse than even Naughty Dog’s biggest critics could have imagined.

Now, a game whose release had been postponed indefinitely is finally coming out in June, which is a good move on the publisher’s part because large swathes of the gaming community have promised to boycott The Last of Us 2.

All this hullaballoo will probably benefit the game in the long run. At this moment, if I’m being honest, I can’t imagine myself playing The Last of Us 2, especially if the spoilers are true.

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