The Last of Us Part 2 modders attempt to reverse its most heartbreaking death, cutting Ellie's 25-hour revenge tale down to two minutes
Jan. 21, 2024An alternate ending for the grim sequel
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WithThe Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredout in the wild, many steely survivors are likely reliving the game’s most heartbreaking cutscene. But one modder has now made that scene playable in a clip that’s both cathartic and even more brutal. (Spoilers ahead.)
Modder Speclizer posted theYouTubevideo below on January 19 - titled “TLOU 2 but you can save Joel” - showing a playable version of that brutal scene where Ellie gets her revenge much sooner. The name is somewhat misleading since Joel’s golf club accident remains intact throughout, but you can now at leastattemptto save him.
The Last of Us Part 2’s dual storyline can take up to32 hours to fully complete, as Ellie treks across the apocalyptic country to enact her revenge. In a more convenient turn for the character, the fan fiction above instead imagines a future where she avenges Joel in about two minutes. As bloody as it is, the remixed scene actually leads to less bloodshed than the full game.
The modded level certainly gave some still-grieving commenters some needed catharsis. But it’s amusing to me how it highlights the disconnect between the human, vulnerable Ellie we see in cutscenes versus the John Wick-type action heroine that she is when stalking through levels. That’s always been a quirk inNaughty Dog’s catalog, though, as these games struggle to present dramatic, grounded stories while still making the stabathon kind of fun.
Speaking of alternate scenarios that never came to be, the recently-released remastered edition features cut content from the original, one of which features a particularlyharrowing flashback for Ellie. Should you want to avoid more in-game trauma, the newNo Return modeplants the tense combat into a fun roguelike structure.
Check outhow to unlock every playable character in No Return.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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