If you're an avid fan of post-apocalyptic survival video games, then Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and Tellate's The Walking Dead should be familiar to you. With the commercially successful release of Part II this year, fans have been comparing both games' characters, notably Ellie from The Last of Us and Clementine from The Walking Dead, and choosing who's winning against who based on numerous criteria.
On this list, we're comparing the leading ladies from both game to see who emerges as the superior zombie apocalypse survivor. Please be aware that there will be significant spoilers ahead, so if you haven't played any of these titles yet, feel free to retreat!
9 Clementine: She Was an A-List, Bright Student
Before the outbreak, young Clementine came from a loving family. Her father, Ed, and her mother, Diana, loved their little Clem so much, and she was a bright student too. She was only a first-grade kid before the event, which she described as "easy." She also played soccer, much like Joel's daughter Sarah, even though Clem didn't like it.
Although Ellie and Clementine were smart kids, Ellie was a lot clumsier and more rebellious as she once skipped her military school programs with her friend Riley, the center of the Left Behind DLC story.
8 Ellie: She Has Never Seen the World Before the Outbreak, While Clementine Has
Clementine was born 8 years before the outbreak event in The Walking Dead, while Ellie was born somewhere between 2018 and 2019, years after the 2013 Cordyceps Brain Infection. Both are good survivors, but Ellie has precious little knowledge of what the world used to be before the outbreak that killed millions of lives. She has never worried about anything but survival, and it makes her a sturdier option in terms of survival ability.
7 Clementine:Â She Is a Strong Lone Wolf, While Ellie Is a Monophobic
However, this is what makes Clementine better. After, spoiler alert, losing Lee and her group, she had difficulty finding other groups. Over the years, she grew more and more independent and believed that nothing good comes from being in a group anymore. Then, Clem and AJ wandered and fought alone, until the Final Season when the two finally settled in forever in the Ericson's Boarding School. She's a tough lone wolf.
On the other hand, being alone has always been Ellie's number-one fear, making her a monophobic. Losing everything and everyone she loved made Ellie defensively hold onto her values and loved ones, as long as they're around.
6 Ellie: She Is Better Armed Than Clementine
However, being in a group does work wonders, especially in an insane, unprecedented, and post-apocalyptic environment. After fleeing the Fireflies' base at St. Mary Hospital, Ellie and Joel settled at Jackson County, where Tommy and his wife Maria lived. Being in that big group meant Ellie had much better access to weaponry and the knowledge to use it effectively. By the end of Part II, she had used more than 10 different weapons, ranging from the stealthy bow and arrow to the hell-raising pump shotgun.
5 Clementine: Her The Walking Dead Universe Isn't As Deadly As The Last of Us, Giving Her A Slightly Better Chance to Survive
In The Walking Dead universe, the only 'infected' creatures you have to face are the walkers themselves (or whichever of the many nicknames you prefer). You can also make your way through the hordes by smearing your body with the walkers' blood.
In The Last of Us, the infected creatures vary based on their infection stage. Those in the earliest stage are called walkers, and they still possess some human features like eyesight. As the infection worsens, the creatures get uglier and more powerful. So far, the biggest boss is the Rat King in the hospital's basement during the campaign with Abby, which is definitely a rough encounter.
4 Ellie: She Is Immune, Clem Is Not
Ellie is immune, as most The Last of Us fans know well by now. Even if she dies during the gameplay, it's likely due to her wounds or being fatally shot, not being infected. This gives her a better chance of surviving than Clementine, who is never immune from the walkers.
Over the years, fans have been connecting the dots of Ellie's immunity. One of the best theories is that she obtained it because her mother, Anna, was bitten a day before giving birth to her.
3 Clementine: She Is a Lot More Mature
Clementine generally chooses her words carefully, even refraining from cursing most of the time. And she's always looked at as the moral compass of whichever survivor group she's in. For example, on the First Season, Lee would always ask for her opinion on things before moving forward, showing that he respected her sharp decision-making skills.
Ellie, on the other hand, seems to speak first and think later, particularly during the first game. Growing up, she was always that kind of disobedient, wayward, and bolshie type of kid. When the pressure's on, it's likely Clem is going to make the better call.
2 Ellie: She's Better And More Experienced With Combat
After arriving at Boston Quarantine Zone, Ellie was directly sent to the military school; hence she's pretty effective in both one-on-one and stealth combat. On the other hand, Clementine didn't really have any combat skills to speak of preceding the outbreak. Even though she turned out to be more lethal over the years, Clem has never had any training, discounting her limited hands-on experience in the harsh and cruel environment she's surviving in. A score for Ellie on this one.
1 Final Conclusion - & Why Clementine Crawford is Better
Being a survivor takes more than just weapons. It takes a lot of character to be the last person standing on Earth, and with that in mind, Clementine Crawford is the winner on this list. She's the complete package, managing to be both a strong lone wolf and an impeccable leader.
Clementine may not have the same resources or physical skills as Ellie, but wherever she goes, her group always follows her because she's such a good leader. Her maturity is beyond her age, and it's proven simply by how she talks and acts.
On another hand, Ellie, a clumsy and rebellious kind of kid, has never seen the light of a day without worrying about which friend of her will turn next, and she always tries to hold her loved ones close. With military education she received in her youth and a wide variety of weaponry, Ellie makes a strong case as a sturdy, combative survivor who shows no mercy of killing anyone (but Abby, of course), but Clem seems to edge her out by a thin margin.