#12
The Last of Us (PS3)
YoY: -1
The Last of Us is a perfect example of a game where the main driving force of the whole experience (for me at least) is the developing relationship between the two main characters. I think the story is very well told, the gameplay wonderfully intense and visceral, and the music complement the game perfectly, but ultimately, the most important part of The Last of Us are Ellie and Joel.
Seeing Joel go from a loving father to a broken husk of a man with nothing to lose or to live for, and then slowly regaining some of that humanity back through his time with Ellie is among my favourite character arcs in a game. One thing that makes it stand out so much, is that even at the end, Joel hasn't actually turned into a good person. He will still do horrible things to other people, make selfish decisions, and do anything in order to achieve his goals. The only thing that has changed is the reason he does those things. It's a fascinating look at a character. He's someone we're meant to sympathize with even though he is still clearly a horrible person, with just one redeeming quality: He cares deeply for Ellie, and because the player starts to care for her as well, we are right there with Joel with all the horrible things he does.
