by Brian LeTendre
Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us is launching around this week. The game paints a bleak picture of the future, where most of the world has fallen victim to a parasitic fungus that turns humans into savage killers. If that sounds silly, then you should watch the video below of the Cordyceps fungus that affects ants--it was the basis for the concept behind The Last of Us.
Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated post-apocalyptic game The Last of Us is launching around this week. The game paints a bleak picture of the future, where most of the world has fallen victim to a parasitic fungus that turns humans into savage killers. If that sounds silly, then you should watch the video below of the Cordyceps fungus that affects ants--it was the basis for the concept behind The Last of Us.
Freaky, right? Anyway, Dark Horse teamed up Neil Druckman, the Creative Director for The Last of Us, and artist Faith Erin Hicks for a prequel miniseries that ties into the game. The Last of Us: American Dreams leads into the events of the game, and features a young orphan named Ellie, one of the game’s main characters.
The first issue of this series opens with Ellie being transported to a facility for orphans run by the military. We get to see the world through her eyes as she catches glimpses of just how bad things are outside of the militarized zones, and how life inside them isn’t that much better. Ellie makes a few enemies right off the bat, but also meets a fellow orphan who has the potential to become a friend and running companion. Together they sneak out of the facility to do some exploring, which is where things leave off in the first issue.
I think the book does a nice job of setting the tone for the world you can expect to see in the game. Ellie is a character you can sympathize with right away, as it’s clear she's gone through some pretty crazy stuff, and she’s had to learn to take care of herself. I’m interested to see how much of the world we’ll get to see as the series goes on.
If you’re at all interested in the game, this book is worth picking up.
3.5 out of 5 The Future Looks Bleaks
The first issue of this series opens with Ellie being transported to a facility for orphans run by the military. We get to see the world through her eyes as she catches glimpses of just how bad things are outside of the militarized zones, and how life inside them isn’t that much better. Ellie makes a few enemies right off the bat, but also meets a fellow orphan who has the potential to become a friend and running companion. Together they sneak out of the facility to do some exploring, which is where things leave off in the first issue.
I think the book does a nice job of setting the tone for the world you can expect to see in the game. Ellie is a character you can sympathize with right away, as it’s clear she's gone through some pretty crazy stuff, and she’s had to learn to take care of herself. I’m interested to see how much of the world we’ll get to see as the series goes on.
If you’re at all interested in the game, this book is worth picking up.
3.5 out of 5 The Future Looks Bleaks
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