The Last of Us effectively aligns players with the player characters by allowing players to roleplay as Sarah, Sarah & Joel, and then Joel, creating a seamless progression where these player characters become extensions of the players. When players begin as Sarah, they connect with her vulnerability; controlling Sarah & Joel fosters a shared bond as if they are one entity; and when Joel loses Sarah, the player experiences that loss on a deeply personal level. Later in the game, when players take control of Ellie, they regain a part of what was lost, paralleling Joel’s own emotional journey.

The Role of Sarah in Player Connection

To address the narrative and emotional significance of positioning the players as Sarah, consider this: what if players had started by controlling Joel instead? After all, Sarah doesn’t survive the first scene, and Joel is the player character for most of the game. Why not use this opening to explore Joel’s perspective more thoroughly? The reason is that The Last of Us isn’t just about connecting players to Joel; it’s about making them feel his emotions—particularly his identity as a father who loses his beloved daughter. The game doesn’t achieve this by merely showing how much Sarah matters to Joel; it emphasizes their mutual importance to each other.

The emotional impact would be far weaker if the game only demonstrated Sarah’s significance through Joel’s eyes. It’s not just about recognizing someone’s value to us but also about feeling that we are valuable to them. If players only controlled Joel and observed Sarah, the connection would feel distant and alien, as though Sarah were external to their experience. By allowing players to see how much Joel means to Sarah, and vice versa, the game convinces players of the strength of their bond.

The Transition to Sarah & Joel

When Joel escapes the car, many players might have anticipated a “revenge sequence,” where Joel takes up arms and fights back against the chaos. Instead, the game subverts this expectation by forcing Joel to carry his injured daughter and flee for safety. This is the moment where control transitions from Sarah to Sarah & Joel. At this stage, players aren’t just controlling Joel—they are embodying both player characters simultaneously. Sarah’s vulnerability is transferred onto Joel as he carries her, and they become a single unit, both literally and metaphorically.

Mechanically, this transition is profound. Players shift from controlling a slow, defenseless child to an adult who moves faster but remains equally vulnerable due to carrying Sarah. This seamless gameplay shift mirrors the emotional journey of the player, moving from Sarah’s perspective to Joel’s. The sequence sets the tone for the entire game, emphasizing survival and emotional weight over power fantasies. Joel isn’t a heroic zombie-slayer; he’s a father desperately trying to protect his daughter.

The Climax of Grief

The final moments of the opening sequence bring this emotional progression to its devastating conclusion. If the scene’s primary purpose is to make players resonate with Joel’s grief, it succeeds flawlessly. This is the final stage in the player’s transition: from Sarah to Sarah & Joel, and finally, to Joel alone. After fleeing with Sarah in their arms, running from the chaos as one, Joel loses not just his daughter but also a part of himself—exactly how players would share the same loss.

At this point, the game doesn’t need to elaborate on Joel’s personal life, skills, or backstory. Players have already become Joel, feeling his sorrow and despair. The specifics of his character fade into the background as his grief takes center stage.

The soldier’s role in Sarah’s death amplifies this emotional impact. If she had been killed by a zombie, the scene would have carried less weight—zombies are expected to be deadly. The soldier, on the other hand, represents a glimmer of hope, only to cruelly snatch it away. Despair that follows hope is always deeper, and this contrast leaves an indelible mark on both Joel and the player.

By allowing players to embody Sarah, Sarah & Joel, and Joel, The Last of Us creates a profound emotional connection between players and player characters. This layered progression ensures that players don’t just understand Joel’s loss intellectually; they feel it viscerally, making the game’s narrative impact unforgettable.