Part of what makes theHorizonfranchise intriguing is how much world-building is available when creating a new landscape.Horizon Zero Dawnsees Aloy trying to learn more about herself for almost the entire narrative, and in the process she ends up discovering what happened to the world players are familiar with. Meanwhile,Horizon Forbidden Westsees Aloy journey further into an unfamiliar part of the world where she meets moresupplementary characters that build up theHorizonfranchise. This is also echoed inThe Last of Us 2,when Ellie decides to make her way through Seattle in search of Abby.
The Last of Usis never as solitary as theHorizongames due to players almost always having an NPC companion that aids in combat and environmental exploration, butPart 2gradually begins to separate Ellie from those closest to heras the pursuit of Abby becomes an agonizing conflict. In this way, a potentialPart 3would be fantastic if it introduced Ellie to new characters and built up her connections again.
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Horizon and The Last of Us’ Dystopias Offer a Wealth of World-Building
Horizon’s Aloyis a fairly stoic character without nearly as many direct hardships or tragedies in her life as Ellie has inThe Last of Us, so a comparison of the two protagonists is impractical. Rather, the adventure that Aloy embarks upon inHorizon Forbidden Westwould make a great template for howThe Last of Us’ Ellie can ingratiate herself into a new group, or ideally her former group in Jackson.
The Last of Ushas only covered a small amount of the United States across two games, and whileThe Last of Us’ multiplayer spin-off is set in San Francisco, it would be great to see Ellie out and about in a completely different state again. This way, fans would have no prior assumptions about who she might bump into, and there could be new infected types roaming about to bolster gameplay.
This is the same world-building advantage thatHorizonhas, with the ruins of San Francisco being featured inHorizon Forbidden Westandthe ruins of Los Angeles appearing inForbidden West’s upcoming Burning Shores DLC. The possibilities are legitimately endless with this formula, andThe Last of Us 3could be incredibly fulfilling for Ellie as a result.
The Last of Us’ Ellie is in Desperate Need of a Redemption Arc
IfThe Last of Us 3is indeed happening at some point and features Ellie, it will be interesting to see which direction her character is taken. IfPart 3was to take inspiration fromHorizon Forbidden West, Ellie could slowly recompose herself after the devastating conclusion toPart 2with the help of new characters.
The Last of UsandThe Last of Us 2are low on characters who are redeemable in any sense, and it would likely be foolish for Ellie to immediately trust anyone new. But it would be a relief to see her welcomed with open arms and forgiven for her past transgressions at some point in the narrative. Likewise, Tommy is also in need of proper closure or respite.
Otherwise, Ellie could have been written this way to ensure her future would be decidedly lonesome and unhappy. It seems impossible that Ellie’s narrative could get any more tragic than it already is, but becauseThe Last of Usis rarely merciful to any character, Ellie getting the happy ending that many fans want for her might just be the most subversive choice.
The Last of Us 2is available now on PS4.
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