The Last of Us Left Behind

Editor's Notes

This DLC story episode review contains spoilers for both the main game and the DLC. 'The Last of Us Left Behind' is available as a stand-alone purchase (that requires the base game) or as part of the season pass.

Introduction

After a couple minor multiplayer DLC add-ons for Naughty Dog's critical darling 'The Last of Us,' the Sony-exclusive developer is finally delivering what fans of the game really want: more story. 'The Last of Us Left Behind' is Naughty Dog's first DLC story episode (for any game), and Naughty Dog has made it clear that 'Left Behind' would be the only story DLC for 'The Last of Us.'

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

In this two to three-hour single-player campaign, the game's strongest character, the post-apocalyptic grown Ellie, revisits a past trauma as she struggles to survive on her own in the present day. 'The Last of Us's other lead, Joel, sits this one out as chronologically, the game takes place during a period in the campaign where Joel is incapacitated. In 'Left Behind,' character building is taken to another level as past events shine a new light one of gaming most memorable worlds.

'The Last of Us' ended on a somewhat somber note with the necessities of a demolished world leaving us with a simple truth, survival comes first, humanity second. It's expected then that 'The Last of Us Left Behind' would continue these themes. This time around, Ellie and childhood friend Riley take center stage, with their relationship revealing another layer of mud and paint in the life of everybody's favorite post-apocalyptic teenager.

Without getting into spoilers, Ellie and Riley, after reuniting upon Riley's return to Boston, slip away to the local mall to do some shopping. They dance and they flirt with boys until their cell phones ring with their respective loving mothers on the other end, asking that they come home and enjoy a voluptuous meal with their loving families. The end.

Just kidding. They do go to a mall, a tattered remnant full of miscellaneous crap for which Ellie can't help but remark her confusion for why people would spend their money. And so much like the original content, it's a delight to see how somebody born of this terrible environment might be fascinated in the shadow of the past, this time accompanied by the confident Riley. She reveals that she's joined the Fireflies, a rebel group relentlessly seeking a cure, and must leave Boston within the day. The two spend their time marveling at various atrocities of consumerism and debating Riley's decision.

Again, the writing is both incredibly detailed and lush with characterization, the differences between these two both nuanced and obvious, their relationship clearly special to the both of them in different ways. The ending is both satisfying and revelatory for Ellie's character, and definitely worth it for anybody engrossed in 'The Last of Us' fiction.

But there's a problem. The game is made up of two contrasting sections, which can be jarring as the player moves back and forth. In the DLC's mall sequences, a flashback for present-day Ellie as she tries to keep Joel alive, it feels almost like an interactive exhibit called "The Life of Ellie." There's virtually no combat, no real objective other than to explore stuff with your friend and let the narrative play out as it's supposed to. While the story is indeed compelling, with interactive elements like a photo booth or carousel there as optional digressions for fleshing out the scene, there's no real gaming element to it.

On the flipside, Ellie's present-day search for medical supplies is all about survival. It's only combat, and it's made just barely interesting by one twist. Normal humans and infected, whom you would normally go to blows with separately, are placed into the same space. Ellie doesn't wield the same firepower as Joel, so she must play the two factions against themselves and pick off the stragglers when it all plays out. It's easy to see why she might capitalize on manipulating the battlefield from a distance rather than becoming the center of it. Throwing bricks to lure infected into the humans is a devious joy, but beyond that the combat is much the same. You're sneaking around, finding opportune moments to strike and utilizing limited materials and bullets as well as you can.