Highlights

  • The Last of Us 3 needs a fresh direction to avoid hitting a story plateau with the infected narrative.
  • The franchise could benefit from exploring Joel's past in a spin-off to add depth to the story.
  • A potential Joel-centered spin-off could provide insight into his relationships and offer thrilling gameplay.

Following the events of The Last of Us 2, the third installment in the series has a tricky situation on its hands when it comes to the game's story. The Last of Us 2 dove deeper into the game's world, but when it comes to the infected, the story has arguably hit a brick wall. Unless The Last of Us 3 drops a huge revelation regarding the Cordyceps infection, there isn't much room for th story to evolve.

Although The Last of Us franchise has birthed one of the greatest stories in modern gaming, its lifespan is beginning to feel limited. The Last of Us 2's expansion of the story provided some fascinating insight, but the third game currently feels like it needs to wrap up Ellie's story sooner rather than later. However, Joel's life provides the perfect opportunity for a spin-off that has plenty of room to blossom.

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The Last of Us Could Explore Joel Further With a Spin-Off

Joel's role in The Last of Us 2 was one of the most divisive talking points in the gaming world back in 2020. The Last of Us 2 killing off Joel remains an incredibly shocking story arc, and it continues to be controversial for some fans. Despite this great loss in the story, Joel still has the opportunity to return in a spin-off that has plenty of material to work with.

Joel's Past Offers Plenty of Opportunity

Before Ellie and Joel crossed paths, there are 20 years' worth of his life to explore. This is the perfect place for a potential spin-off of The Last of Us to target. The franchise reveals a little bit about Joel's past, but it's not been explored to its full extent, yet. The Last of Us' iconic opening sequence showing Joel and his late daughter Sarah experiencing the outbreak is the most substantial flashback players get to see of the character. Following Sarah's death, all that is known about Joel's life after the tragedy is that he spiraled into a dark way of life in order to survive.

Joel's Journey to Boston and Starting a New Life

It's known that Joel and his brother Tommy smuggled themselves into the Boston quarantine zone, but there remains a lot to be seen about that time. Tommy and Joel had very different philosophies when it came to the two surviving, which eventually led the two to split up. With Tommy gone to join the Fireflies, Joel eventually partners with Tess. The two work together as smugglers, which is how Joel later becomes entrusted with getting Ellie across the country.

The dynamic between Joel and Tess is an underrated relationship in The Last of Us, and it deserves to be showcased again. A Joel-centered spin-off would be a great chance to show how far Joel and Tess have come since they first met. Not only would a deeper look into that partnership be fascinating, but getting to play the role of a smuggler is a perfect recipe for some white-knuckle stealth gameplay.

As of now, there are no new games in the Last of Us ' franchise officially announced.

The future of The Last of Us games seems to be in limbo at the moment. HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us has created a ticking clock for Part 3, which is worrisome when it comes to the crafting of the game's story. If The Last of Us 3 marks the end of the main franchise, a spin-off focused on Joel would be the best way to add to the game's lore without expanding the story beyond its limits.