She wields her trusty switchblade with exceptional skill, and she knows how to shoot, too, but playing as Ellie is night-and-day when compared to her future partner. She can handle herself, but she’s no Joel. The Boston-based quarantine zone she’s holed-up in has its share of danger, sure, but the remnants of the federal government keeps her clothed, fed, and taken care of. What’s novel about playing as Ellie in Left Behind, however, is that she hasn’t yet been informed by and hardened by her experiences with Joel. Playing as Ellie isn’t necessarily novel in and of itself, as anyone who played The Last of Us can attest to. The adventure is strengthened even more by expert performances from voice and mo-cap actresses Ashley Johnson and Yaani King. Still, trekking through the mall as Ellie – with Riley in tow – is a nice change of pace from the more danger-filled haunts that she later finds herself in with Joel. After all, everything they know about the pre-Infected world comes by way of stories from older folks and their own observations of the decaying world around them. There’s an important touchstone to the past here, even if neither Ellie nor Riley necessarily knows that.
A majority of Left Behind takes place in a mall, which I loved simply because two girls going to the mall is something that happens with regularity in the real, pre-apocalyptic world. And there are a ton of other surprises, to boot. We get a true taste for Ellie’s connection with Riley, and how that helps form who she’s become by the time she meets Joel. It’s a thoughtful and meaningful prologue to the events of the original game, fleshing-out Ellie’s origins through the lens of her friendship with a girl named Riley (who’s first introduced in the companion comics, American Dreams). The real beauty of Left Behind is that it isn’t derivative of The Last of Us’ campaign, nor is it an afterthought or a cash-in (though, at $14.99, it’s a tad bit expensive).
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