There are other, bigger, more significant moments of representations for marginalized identities in Left Behind (which we won’t spoil here). You hear it in Riley’s voice, too, relishing in the badassery of the black female fighter character that let her see herself through the lens of a video game power fantasy. Despite every obstacle keeping her from playing (you know, like the apocalypse, zombies, Marshall Law, to name a few), nothing could keep her away from discovering that joy for herself. It’s there in Ellie’s expression that I saw not just myself, but all the stolen moments that were my only access to games as a girl. The camera stays on Ellie’s face the whole time, the arcade’s broken blue screen illuminating what I can only describe as her Gamer Face - enraptured, lips pursed in deep concentration and determination. You press the button combos to execute all of Angel Knives’ best moves. A mini-game begins as Riley tells Ellie to close her eyes while she narrates a fight sequence. The cabinet’s busted, but Riley doesn’t let that stop Ellie from experiencing her first video game. Riley calls your attention over to The Turning, a Street Fighter-esque game featuring her favorite character, Angel Knives. ‘Lost Legacy’ proves the best thing ‘Uncharted’ did was ditch Nathan DrakeĪs Ellie, after sneaking out and breaking into the mall with your best friend Riley, you can go to Raja’s Arcade, a dilapidated but still brightly lit relic of a gaming haven. Actually, even if you played the Left Behind prequel DLC (a downloadable addition to the original game), which told Ellie's story before meeting her father-figure Joel, you still might’ve missed it, since it’s an entirely optional scene. But if you only played the main game, you’ll have missed the moment that meant the most to me.

That character was Ellie, co-protagonist of The Last of Us. Despite my lifelong commitment to games, though, it wasn’t until college in 2014 that I actually saw myself reflected in one for the first time ever. Later on, I self-funded my love of gaming through babysitting, buying my own consoles and even vowing to get a career in the industry as a grown-up. As the weirdo obsessed with games among my four sisters - but not weird enough to be welcomed to play with the boys at school who had consoles - I could only love games in secret. Whether it was through the N64 at my dentist’s waiting room or in the rare occasions when a friend’s brother let us use his Gamecube, all my early gaming experiences were stolen moments - precious, blissful, forbidden, and far too fleeting. Though my parents initially forbade me from playing video games as a little girl (for being generally violent or otherwise unladylike), I found ways to smuggle games into my life anyway. Entertainment > Games This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us and some details about its DLC, Left Behind.

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