This is a 'small' mashup of a review combined with general thoughts that consists of HEAVY SPOILERS and is based on one playthrough that took 2 hours and 20 minutes on the difficulty level of 'Hard'.
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Left Behind is by far the best DLC I've played, albeit I cannot say that I have played many in the past.
What I truly loved was the writing which should come as no surprise to anyone. Everything we see from Ellie throughout the main campaign is given an extra dimension thanks to Riley. Naughty Dog kept a specific part of the DLC a secret which was a very clever move. Without that part, there would have been far less combat and the impact would not have been the same. Allow me to elaborate.
Riley dies. We already know this and we did not need to see it unless Naughty Dog decided to try and bring up the melodramatic feelings. Infact I felt pretty foolish for expecting it since the main ending of The Last of Us was anything but cliché. Instead the relationship between Ellie and Riley seems to be more than just friendship. Dare I say romance?
I believe that Ellie truly felt grateful for Riley as she mentions that she really does not spend time with others. I guess you could say that Riley is her only friend. Riley on the other hand, risked her life just to hang out with Ellie in the mall. Shortly after a kiss, she also throws away her firefly pendant and thus gives up her dream for Ellie. I believe it is rather evident that Riley, being the older one of the two: had some feelings for Ellie and that Ellie felt something as well. Now think back on Spring from the main story.
Left Behind shows that Ellie, while trying to save Joel is actually reflecting back upon losing Riley. So by the time of Spring when Ellie is all distant... it seems very plausible that she is infact thinking about Riley. This is further enforced when she also mentions Riley towards the end upon confronting Joel regarding the fireflies.
Spring starts with Ellie seeing a deer which reflects back upon her time being left behind and thus reminding her of Riley, her one and only best friend. Other than this, we also saw just how much of Ellie came from Riley. Riley truly influenced her and seeing moments such as the joke book and the general playful side of Ellie made me emotional.
And here is the greatest aspect of it all:
It further adds to my own interpretation of the ending. Which is that Ellie is happy that Joel goes to the length he does to protect her. She decides to trust him, despite her knowing that Joel is obviously hiding something hence the reason as to why she even asks him to swear.
Riley: "We fight."
Ellie: "Fight for what? We're gonna turn into one of those things."
Riley: "There are a million ways we should've died before today."
Riley: "And a million ways we can die before tomorrow. "
Riley: "But we fight. For every second we get to spend with each other. Whether its two minutes; or two days... We dont give that up. I dont wanna give that up."
While Riley says this, it pans over to Ellie looking over Joel and riding into the snow.
Ellie truly loved Joel. We also see this when she grabs the medkit in the chopper and whispers
Ellie: "I'm not letting you go. I'm not letting you go."
From a writing standpoint, Neil Druckmann nailed it. The story is in an absolute world class when compared to video games in general. The storytelling also is in a league of its own along with the performances of the characters. It does not subtract from the main story, it merely adds a great deal to it and further makes Ellie the best character that has ever been produced by the gaming industry.
The only thing that subtracts this incredible experience from being a masterpiece is that the game design was a bit slow in certain moments. Do not get me wrong, I adore pretty much every moment we got, especially those that helped build and show the relationship between Riley and Ellie. However, the story that they decided to tell was a bit difficult to create an exciting game design around. Adding both humans and infected fighting at the same time was a great design choice. Sadly there were only about three of these encounters and most of them came towards the end whereas the game ended quickly after it. I applaud Naughty Dog for staying true to the rules they have setup themselves. For example, Ellie never actually fires or recieves a gun other than a water gun when she is with Riley.
Fortunately there were some truly unique moments that felt like taken straight from the creativity of many talented indie developers. It was very refreshing to see a company like Naughty Dog take quite the risk in doing that and for what Left Behind was trying to be: It was the right decision. It was for this particular choice that I felt a great difference in comparing Left Behind to the original story of The Last of Us. Now add that to the overall quality of the game being so high that you just cannot help but to wish for it to never end. Ultimately, this gives you two valid reasons from keeping this DLC from being a masterpiece.
So while the main game is one of the best games I have ever played in my life. This DLC will simply have to serve as the best DLC I have played and an incredible experience that is an absolute must for everyone who has finished The Last of Us.
Very few (if any) games, capture the emotions felt in Left Behind. Naughty Dog once again shows that they are masters of their craft and with a team that is so talented within atmosphere, writing, gameplay tension, music, sound design, voice acting, graphical fidelity, art design, animation and more:
It is truly difficult to not be amazed.
Final Verdict:
(not a representation of the final score)
Story: 10/10
Visuals: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Lasting Appeal: 6/10
Overall: 9/10 - "Incredible"
