During the ninth chapter of The Last of Us Part 1, players will begin as Ellie hunting animals in a wintery forest setting. Following the events at the university, Ellie is now alone and using everything she has learned to live another day, with taking down a deer being the player’s first task.
Along the way, players encounter two men who offer to provide medicine in exchange for the deer. One of these men, David, takes a particular interest in Ellie and the pair of them fend off several Infected together. The player then learns that David is the leader of a community, many of which had met a bloody end after encountering Joel and Ellie. After he initially lets her go, players will eventually be captured by the group.
As it so happens, this group of people are cannibals, and while David wants to keep her alive, Ellie’s reluctance to join them enrages him. Upon escaping, players will find themselves in an old restaurant, and as they attempt to leave, David will appear and disarm Ellie before locking them both in as a fire breaks out. Ellie is now in serious danger, and it's up to the player to bring down David before he can get to her.
Once David locks the door and begins moving to where Ellie has taken cover, players will be able to assume control and move to a better hiding spot and take this opportunity to survey the arena. In this old restaurant, players will have plenty of cover to hide and sneak around as David prowls, but be careful of the broken plates in some areas. Stepping on these will create noise, and David will be alerted of the player’s location.
Armed with only a switchblade, the goal is to use the cover around the restaurant to remain out of David’s line of sight and sneak behind him. By doing so, players will see a prompt to knife David, causing Ellie to launch herself at David’s back to stab him, but players must do this three times before the fight ends.
This boss battle can be broken down into three phases, corresponding with the number of times players successfully attack David.
Phase 1 - Using the revolver that Ellie had previously taken from one of the cannibals, David will taunt her as he walks around searching. Players can take advantage of the noise he creates to keep track of him, using listen mode to pinpoint him if they lose sight.
Phase 2 - David puts the gun away and takes out a machete instead. His behavior is largely the same as in the previous phase, but his intent to kill Ellie is growing.
Phase 3 - David’s actions in this phase are reminiscent of how Stalkers behave. He will begin to use cover and move between them as quietly as possible, making him more difficult to detect through listen mode.
While there won’t be any resources in the restaurant, there will be bottles strewn about that players can throw to distract David. This will allow players to get into a better position or to throw him off the scent if he gets too close for comfort. Furthermore, players can find health kits dotted around to heal up if they take damage, but there will be fewer when playing on higher difficulties.
Stabbing David a third time will result in a struggle between him and Ellie before the two fall unconscious in the burning restaurant. Players will then reassume control of Joel, who has arrived at the resort, on a search to find and rescue Ellie.
The Last of Us Part 1 is available on PlayStation 5, and a PC version is in development.
