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Essays 21 November 2020, 21:28

author: Jakub Mirowski

Twelve Most Memorable Deaths in Video Games

Death is almost stunningly prevalent in video games, but it's usually void of emotional charge. There have been "a few" games, though, which weren't afraid to do away with some really significant characters. Here's a list of the most memorable of them.

Table of Contents

The Last of Us 2

IMPORTANT NOTE! As we are writing about a game that is still relatively new, we do not reveal the name of the character right away. You don't want to ruin your surprise, go back to the previous page.

Game: The Last of Us: Part II

Cause of death: golf clubbed to death

Last words: "Just say whatever speech you've rehearsed and get this over with" (followed by some cursing later on)

How we will remember him: as a rough and introvert, but a good man, who lost too much to life, and who, despite this, still managed to find some good in himself

The devs at Naughty Dog didn't gave us a lot of details from Joel Miller's life before the outbreak. We know he had a daughter and raised her alone. We know he worked hard, but he could still be a good father, and we know that when the whole world started crumbling down, he couldn't save his child. Did he blame himself? Without a doubt. If you have offspring, you can imagine how much.

For basically the entire first part of the game, which is more than 15 hours, the devs allowed the man to grow on us, and showed how the bond between him and young Ellie is formed. And in the end, we witness a scene in which this rough and usually silent Joel saves the girl, sacrificing... it's hard to say what exactly, but possibly a lot.

He got older, he changed, things didn't always work out between them. And then he left. - Twelve Most Memorable Deaths in Video Games - dokument - 2020-11-21
He got older, he changed, things didn't always work out between them. And then he left.

The plot of the second game was unacceptable to many precisely because Joel got killed off.

This story is a nightmare. Guys, don't buy this. I won't spoil anything, but you're going to be disappointed if you think this game is about Joel.

user redgamer0

What do I care about her story anyway? You want us to root for her? The chick who killed off our favorite character with a golf club?!!! They killed Joel and gave us this in return?

user dexterx

In combination with not unseen and perhaps even frequent voices of admiration, one can say one thing, this death and the whole plot that revolved around it, is a piece of good writing. It is how you recognize it – it evokes emotions, and The Last of Us: Part II certainly succeeds in this department.

And did Joel deserve such a death? I think Naughty Dog has consistently built a vision of a world where what you get doesn't have much to do with what you deserve.

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann spoke publicly about the possibility of creating the third part of The Last of Us. He said that he had no idea what a sequel would look like, but at the same time he said that its creation is not impossible. And since Uncharted 4 was said to be the end of Nathan Drake's adventures and Naughty Dog needs to be busy with something, a question arises: will the new game not be a completely new IP by chance? We're counting on it.

Jakub Mirowski

Jakub Mirowski

Associated with Gamepressure.com since 2012: he worked in news, editorials, columns, technology, and tvgry departments. Currently specializes in ambitious topics. Wrote both reviews of three installments of the FIFA series, and an article about a low-tech African refrigerator. Apart from GRYOnline.pl, his articles on refugees, migration, and climate change were published in, among others, Krytyka Polityczna, OKO.press, and Nowa Europa Wschodnia. When it comes to games, his scope of interest is a bit more narrow and is limited to whatever FromSoftware throws out, the more intriguing indie games and party-type titles.

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