History Awesome / TheLastOfUs

Okay. The game might be dark (too dark for some), but since it’s Naughty Dog game, expect nothing short of awesomeness.

* [[spoiler: Tess]] joins the ranks of great Naughty Dog females and turns her last stand into a DyingMomentOfAwesome.

* While he doesn’t fight due to his overprotective brother, Sam can help out Joel with fights by throwing bottles at enemies. He also crawls through a vent and pulls a pipe out of a sewer door, ignoring Henry’s frantic yells. Despite his initial timidity, Sam was gradually becoming braver and more confident.
* The sniper level, ending with [[spoiler: Joel taking out the Humvee that's been plaguing them since downtown Pittsburgh by shooting the guy throwing Molotovs [[HoistByHisOwnPetard as he goes to throw one.]]]]
* [[spoiler: The Jackson settlement. Every other settlement and even the military [[ScavengerWorld relies on scavenging for supplies]] (read: murdering people), and they can't exactly scavenge forever (the quarantine zones are even slowly collapsing). However, the Jackson settlement had learned how to be self-sufficient, having its own livestock and even horses to use as transport. When Joel and Ellie get there, they're in the process of getting electricity running in the power plant - and they succeed. You are even treated to a nice overhead view of the settlement later on, with lights running proudly.]]
* In a strangely zig-zagged example, Tommy standing up to [[spoiler: his brother]]. [[TookALevelInBadass He's on his home turf, he knows it and he makes damn sure the others know it as well.]] The only problem is, [[spoiler: he's standing up to you.]].

* [[spoiler: As unexpected as it is playing as Ellie,]] it's awesome when you realize this little girl had to immediately take the responsibility to fend for herself, get food and medicine and [[spoiler: protect the one you spent most of the game playing as.]]

** Also on the subject, in the UEC science building when [[spoiler: Joel impales himself and Ellie suddenly becomes just as lethal as him while helping him escape.]]
** [[spoiler: And Joel himself in the same scene, who continued to shoot and kill enemies ''while still impaled.'']]
* The latter part of Winter, fighting through [[spoiler: the cannibal settlement.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Ellie:''' Ellie is the name of the little girl who ''broke your fucking finger!'']]
** Ellie gives a good scare to [[spoiler:David and James when they’re preparing to kill her by claiming to be infected and infecting David by biting his hand. Ellie takes advantage of their brief panic and escapes, but not before killing James with the cleaver they were going to use on her.]]
** On the one hand, you get [[spoiler: Ellie fighting and ''killing'' David in what is essentially the game's ''only boss fight.'']]
** On the other, there's Joel moving through a snowstorm while fighting scavengers. [[spoiler:At one point, he's proceeding on reputation alone - these people actually are afraid of the "crazy old man" and back away from him, even though he's barely recovered from getting impaled and can hardly walk.]]
* Even though it horribly outlines how easy it is for him to kill and injure, Joel interrogating two of [[spoiler: David's]] mooks. [[GoodIsNotNice Morally Ambiguous Is Not Nice]].
** [[spoiler: He later tops himself - he interrogates a Firefly by shooting him in the groin in the most matter-of-factly way possible. Of course, this alerts the others to his presence, but that's a minor detail.]]
* The final push through [[spoiler: the Firefly lab. You go through a hospital building filled with men armed with assault rifles, bust in just before the operation, kill the surgeon stupid enough to threaten you with a scalpel in cold blood, gently unhook Ellie from the stuff she's hooked up to and run like hell to an elevator, cradling her in your arms.]]

** [[spoiler: After an introduction where one of the creators talks about Joel's actor constantly dropping his gun and asking Marlene's actress to improvise, you expect an improvised alternate ending where Joel screws up, drops the gun and gets him and Ellie killed. Instead he picks up the gun perfectly, only for Marlene to break out into broadway singing. Followed by Joel singing right back. The entire scene continues this way until the end.]]

* Naughty Dog EPICLY deconstructs the DamselInDistress trope with Ellie throughout the entire game, but especially during her encounter with [[spoiler: David. David and Ellie fight to a draw, with results in both of them losing consciousness. The perspective then briefly switches back to Joel, leading players to believe that he will be the one to save her. Then we go BACK to Ellie in time to see David attempt to kill her only for Ellie to slash him to death with his own machete.]] Joel arrives seconds later. The key point here is that Joel arrives TOO LATE to be a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]], but it doesn't matter because Ellie saved herself.
* Meta Example: This game was so well received that Wiki/TheOtherWiki has an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_The_Last_of_Us entire separate page]] devoted exclusively to the awards and accolades that it received.

* While he doesn’t fight due to his overprotective brother, Sam can help out Joel with fights by throwing bottles at enemies.

* Naughty Dog EPICLY deconstructs the DamselInDistress trope with Ellie throughout the entire game, but especially during her encounter with [[spoiler: David. David and Ellie fight to a draw, with results in both of them losing consciousness. The perspective them briefly switches back to Joel, leading players to believe that he will be the one to save her. Then we go BACK to Ellie in time to see David attempt to kill her only for Ellie to slash him to death with his own machete.]] Joel arrives seconds later. The key point here is that Joel arrives TOO LATE to be a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]], but it doesn't matter because Ellie saved herself.

** On the one hand, you get [[spoiler: Ellie fighting and ''killing'' David in what is essentially the game's only boss fight.]]

* [[spoiler: As unexpected as it is playing as Ellie,]] it's awesome when you realize this little girl had to immediately take the responsibility to fend for herself, get food and medicine and [[spoiler: protect the one you spent most of the game playing as.
** Ellie's kill animation is especially awesome. She basically wraps herself around some poor bastard's neck and stabs him in the heart three times.]]

* Meta Example: This game was so well received that TheOtherWiki has an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_The_Last_of_Us entire separate page]] devoted exclusively to the awards and accolades that it received.

* [[spoiler: As unexpected as it is playing as Ellie,]] it's awesome when you realize this little girl had to immediately take the responsibility to fend for herself, get food and medicine and [[spoiler: protect the one you spent most of the game playing as.]]

* [[spoiler: The Jackson settlement. Every other settlement and even the military [[ScavengerWorld relies on scavenging for supplies]], and they can't exactly scavenge forever (the quarantine zones are even slowly collapsing). However, the Jackson settlement had learned how to be self-sufficient, having its own livestock and even horses to use as transport. When Joel and Ellie get there, they're in the process of getting electricity running in the power plant - and they succeed. You are even treated to a nice overhead view of the settlement later on, with lights running proudly.]]

* Naughty Dog EPICLY deconstructs the DamselInDestress trope with Ellie throughout the entire game, but especially during her encounter with [[spoiler: David. David and Ellie fight to a draw, with results in both of them losing consciousness. The perspective them briefly switches back to Joel, leading players to believe that he will be the one to save her. Then we go BACK to Ellie in time to see David attempt to kill her only for Ellie to slash him to death with his own machete.]] Joel arrives seconds later. The key point here is that Joel arrives TOO LATE to be a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]], but it doesn't matter because Ellie saved herself.

* Naughty Dog EPICLY deconstructs the DamsilInDestress trope with Ellie throughout the entire game, but especially during her encounter with [[spoiler: David. David and Ellie fight to a draw, with results in both of them losing consciousness. The perspective them briefly switches back to Joel, leading players to believe that he will be the one to save her. Then we go BACK to Ellie in time to see David attempt to kill her only for Ellie to slash him to death with his own machete.]] Joel arrives seconds later. The key point here is that Joel arrives TOO LATE to be a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]], but it doesn't matter because Ellie saved herself.

* Naughty Dog EPICLY deconstructs the DamsilInDestress trope with Ellie throughout the entire game, but especially during her encounter with [[spoiler: David. David and Ellie fight to a draw, with results in both of them losing consciousness. The perspective them briefly switches back to Joel, leading players to believe that he will be the one to save her. Then we go BACK to Ellie in time to see David attempt to kill her only for Ellie to slash him to death with his own machete.]] Joel arrives seconds later. The key point here is that Joel arrives TOO LATE to be a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero, but it doesn't matter because Ellie saved herself.

** And you can even [[PacifistRun ghost it]], although that's a pretty tricky effort.

* When you spent so much time playing as Joel having to strap a mask on his face the second he notices spores, it's pretty awesome to just waltz unharmed into spore infected places as Ellie.

* When you spent so much time playing as Joel having to strap a mask on his face the second he notices spores, it's pretty awesome to just waltz unharmed into a spore infected places as Ellie.

* The infected and the hunters fighting each other in the last chapter. After so many encounters with them and the difficulties they give Joel and Ellie throughout the main game, it is oddly satisfying to be able to sic the infected onto hunters and watch the havoc that unfolds.

** On the one hand, you get [[spoiler: Ellie fighting David in what is essentially the game's only boss fight.]]

* [[spoiler: The Jackson settlement. Every other settlement and even the military [[ScavengerWorld relies of scavenging for supplies]], and they can't exactly scavenge forever (the quarantine zones are even slowly collapsing). However, the Jackson settlement had learned how to be self-sufficient, having its own livestock and even horses to use as transport. When Joel and Ellie get there, they're in the process of getting electricity running in the power plant - and they succeed. You are even treated to a nice overhead view of the settlement later on, with lights running proudly.]]

* [[spoiler: The Jackson settlement. Every other settlement and even the military [[ScavengerWorld relies of scavenging for supplies]], and they can't exactly scavenge forever (the quarantine zones are even slowly collapsing). However, the Jackson settlement had learned how to be self-efficient, having its own livestock and even horses to use as transportation. When Joel and Ellie get there, they're in the process of getting electrics running in the power plant - and they succeed. You are even treated to a nice overhead view of the settlement later on, with lights running proudly.]]