Of course, there’s more to it than that, because Left Behind isn’t just more The Last of Us. It’s more of one very specific aspect of Naughty Dog’s masterpiece, granting players permission to explore the dilapidated ruins of the post-pandemic United States one last time (as this is the game’s one and only piece of single player DLC). While there is fighting and gunplay in Left Behind, what it readily emphasizes is a steady, slow, and thoughtful examination of a long-abandoned mall. There are surprises – awesome, story-bending surprises, in fact – but by-and-large, this once-bastion of commerce outside of Boston’s quarantine zone is the DLC’s main focus.
Left Behind also zeroes in on The Last of Us’ young female protagonist Ellie, as well as her friend Riley. You may have seen Riley in the American Dreams comic books, and Left Behind strives to further illustrate her relationship with Ellie. This is accomplished from the get-go, when Riley storms into Ellie’s bunk at the quarantine zone and suddenly wakes her up. These two girls go back a ways; there’s a familiarity between them. They know each other, they are endeared to each other, and they get along great. Left Behind does an exceptional job of making you want to experience their story, even if it’s only cursorily related to the events of the main game. And as you’d probably expect, you’ll want to stay away from it if you’ve not beaten The Last of Us, since it will absolutely spoil the campaign for you.
Actress Ashley Johnson does a great job of jumping back into the character of Ellie, a character PlayStation gamers absolutely adore not only for her smart mouth and surprisingly adult demeanor, but for her moments of vulnerability and her inability to fully comprehend what the real, pre-pandemic world even was. You get more of that here, though there’s an edge taken off of her because we see her largely through the lens of someone who hasn’t yet been bitten by the Infected or met Joel. Her world hasn’t yet been turned upside down.
Johnson’s performance is commendable, and so too is that of newcomer Yaani King, who -- in her first mo-capped gaming role – provides the yin to Ellie’s yang. The two girls’ interactions with one another made me a believer in their friendship. Everything is tangible between them. There’s true emotion there. Their back-and-forth is arguably as interesting to listen to as Ellie’s and Joel’s.
Left Behind doesn’t lean on combat, but it’s there, and as promised, there’s a new dynamic to it. Ellie will find herself in situations where she has to do battle with the Infected, or with fellow human survivors, but there are also instances where both are attacking her – and each other – at once. These melees are awesome, and I wish they appeared in the main campaign. It’s a sadistic treat to distract one side with some gunfire or a tossed (and subsequently broken) bottle, only to watch them turn their ire on each other, and not you. This is a dynamic totally unseen in Joel’s quest.
Ellie feels radically different from Joel. She’s smaller and weaker, and she can’t handle herself like Joel can. We got a taste of this in The Last of Us itself, but it’s more pronounced here. The two characters can craft the same items and find themselves in similarly dangerous predicaments, but there are major differences to be found, and those differences are obvious almost immediately. While Joel might be able to run at an incoming enemy to ward him off, Ellie can only do so much damage with her dagger and often has to retreat to keep her enemies at bay.
With that said, I couldn’t help but wonder if Left Behind needed combat at all. As much as I love the gameplay mechanics of The Last of Us, what resonated most with me was the simple act of seeing the mall with Ellie and Riley. I loved how the very act of going to the shopping center – something young girls frequently do in the world we live in – is something they do too, even if it’s a wholly different experience in their world. There’s more to the story than this – I won’t spoil that here – but I could have taken Left Behind as nothing more than walking in and out of stores, seeing what’s been left behind (get it?) by the countless looters that were there before them, and hearing them speak to one another about anything and everything under the distant sun.
Still, The Last of Us’ plot and narrative-driven nature is alive and well in Left Behind, and that’s the best news fans could possibly hear. So much is jam-packed into a few short hours that it’d be impossible to go over it all. And even if I could, I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprises stuffed into it. All I’ll say is this: there’s every reason for you to be excited about Left Behind, especially if you want to learn more about Ellie’s origins while getting a haunting – albeit brief – glimpse back into her world.
