Highlights
- Naughty Dog's outstanding storytelling in The Last of Us makes even side characters like Tommy feel essential to the game's narrative.
- Fans yearn for a game centered around Tommy to shed more light on his life and his unique influence on the franchise's story.
- A potential Tommy-focused game would need to exceed the narrative limitations of a prequel and delve into the lives of impactful NPCs surrounding his story.
When developers create spin-off games, they get an opportunity to tell the main game's story from a different perspective, sometimes allowing players to step into the shoes of some of their favorite supporting characters. Naughty Dog excels in storytelling, making even the side characters feel essential to the game's narrative, and one character who left a lasting impact in both The Last of Us 1 and 2 is Tommy. Tommy was so iconic that some fans yearned for a Last of Us game centered around him to shed more light on his life and the unique influence he brings to the franchise's narrative, expanding his role beyond being a mere side character to Joel and Ellie's story.
Tommy Miller, Joel's brother in The Last Of Us, starts as a loving brother and uncle in the early hours of a world about to be ravaged by the Cordyceps Outbreak. From being unable to protect Sarah to becoming a hunter alongside Joel, he had passed through his fair share of hardship and disappointment during the early parts of the game. He later splits up with Joel, joining the Fireflies, who he eventually leaves. Settling down in Jackson County with his wife Maria, he only meets his brother again when Joel runs into him while delivering Ellie to the Fireflies. Joel, like Tommy, eventually settles in Jackson County, living a relatively peaceful life with Ellie.
Tommy's Backstory Demands Special Attention
Players do not see much of Tommy in the first game, only witnessing his influence on Outbreak Day and the Tommy's Dam chapter. Fans missed out on the details of his struggles as a hunter, his disagreements with the Fireflies, and his redemption in helping build the safe haven of Jackson County. There's enough narrative juice about Tommy in the first game alone that it could make a fun experience for gamers. Players could go on missions as a hunter, robbing innocents to survive, and later as a Firefly, bombing military outposts and carrying out other tasks to further their cause. Finding and rebuilding Jackson County as a member of their community is another tantalizing prospect, as well as getting married to Maria.
Fans could see the brunt of Tommy's emotions firsthand, going on his journey from survival to redemption and building relationships in the process. In the second game, aside from the beginning with Joel's torture and eventual murder, gamers see little of Tommy. Still, his impact on the game is more pronounced than any other side character. Because of his love for Ellie and Joel, Tommy goes on a rampage, torturing and killing many Washington Liberation Front soldiers as he heads to Seattle for revenge.
He had as much of an effect in the second as in the first game, leaving a trail of dead enemies Ellie follows, and even engaging in what a lot of gamers feel is the craziest boss battle in the game, sniping at Abby with pinpoint precision making it challenging for players to clear Seattle Day 3. If players ever get to play as Tommy during the events of the second game, going from loving brother and caregiver in the early parts to his vengeful pursuit and eventually being disabled, it would offer an exciting perspective.
Evidently, Tommy is more than a regular side character set up to aid The Last of Us' main plot; he is a complex character with a spectrum of emotions and an actual impact on the game's direction. A Tommy-focused game could quickly go beyond the narrative limitations of a prequel and into detail about the lives of impactful NPCs surrounding his story. However, fans will have to wait on any new developments in The Last of Us universe.
