The year 2013 brought the gaming community “The Last Of Us,” one of Naughty Dog’s unforgettable titles that dug a deep hole onto many hearts, in a horrifying kind of way. Sappy yes, but the game grew into great popularity resulting in a port from PlayStation 3 to PS4. Eventually, the game’s following increased, and that’s when mods started popping up here and there. The latest of which is hard to bypass, as it introduces us to how the game might have played out if Joel had died and Tess had been the one tasked with delivering Ellie to the Fireflies.
Modder creates Tess/Ellie combo
Earlier this month, modder Freako released a video on YouTube showing off different NPCs (non-playable characters) in replacement for Joel. Some of the NPCs don’t work too well, which isn’t really surprising given NPCs are designed with a specific set of characteristics and movements. More often than not, they don't need be too detailed.
Freako tried working on Marlene but couldn’t get her to work properly. Tess, for some reason, had made things easier for the modder and she looked pretty natural with Joel’s animations. Kotaku notes that her grunts and hair physics among many other characteristics fit in quite well with Joel’s, shown in the video below.
In the original “The Last of Us,” Tess was a minor character and Joel’s partner who assisted him in getting Ellie to the Fireflies.
Unfortunately, Tess would later reveal she was bitten while sneaking past a group of Clickers. She ended up sacrificing herself to buy Ellie and Joel time to escape from the military. At the time, it was an unexpected turnout, but a poignant death nonetheless. Many fell in love with Tess’ character though, which is why this one mod stood out from the many others.
Will 'The Last of Us Part 2' be at E3 2017?
Despite the seemingly terminal nature of The Last of Us' story, Ellie will return, in a playable role, with “The Last of Us Part 2,” announced at the PlayStation Experience back in December. It's unclear whether Joel lives on; he may be a flashback character.
E3 2017 is just on the horizon, and many will flock to see the best games out there, hear announcements from the biggest publishers, and basically just to unleash full-on nerdiness.
It’s not a bad thing, considering there’s a pretty big chance we’ll see “The Last of Us Part 2” in the biggest gaming convention this year.
According to IGN, the sequel to the 2013 title is Sony’s crown jewel among its upcoming exclusives. There’s very little chance of seeing a gameplay clip, but the publication is positive of a teaser trailer, at least to keep the hype train going.
