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The Last of Us is easily one of the most recognizable and beloved PlayStation franchises. Developer Naughty Dog's survival-horror/action-adventure series is a benchmark in video game storytelling, featuring an engaging and personal story of the protagonists, Joel and Ellie, and their struggle for survival in a desolate post-apocalyptic world.
While breathtaking visuals, cutting-edge animation tech, and an amazingly written script deliver a spectacular narrative experience, the voice acting brings the characters to life and makes them relatable.
With the increasing popularity of the Naughty Dog title, partly due to the recently released phenomenal remake of the original 2013 title and the release of the live-action adaptation of the series, some fans have been wondering who the voice cast behind the game's many characters are.
One of the most important characters and driving forces in the story of The Last of Us is Ellie, the young orphan who eventually found a family in Joel. That said, here's a look at the vocal talent behind Ellie, whose amazing performance throughout the first game and the sequel enhanced the character.
Ashley Johnson is voice actor behind Ellie in The Last of Us Part 1 and sequel
While Joel, voiced by Troy Baker, is the main protagonist of the first game, the series feels more like the story of the secondary protagonist of The Last of Us, Ellie (who becomes one of the primary protagonists in the sequel). In The Last of Us and the sequel, Ellie is voiced by the talented Ashley Johnson.
Ellie's character arc throughout both games has been brought to life by Ashley's incredible vocal and motion-capture performances. The emotions projected while delivering her lines have made Ellie one of the most relatable video game protagonists.
From the onset of her meeting Joel in the first title to the end of her arc in the sequel, Ashley delivers an amazing performance that enamors and makes Ellie feel like a living, breathing human trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. Naughty Dog are masters at creating compelling character stories, with Nathan Drake and his antics in the Uncharted games being among their best.
However, it can be argued that Ellie might be the best character Naughty Dog has ever created, in part due to the growth of the character within the two games that she starred in. From a brash teenager to a brutal yet forgiving young woman, Ellie's character growth has been interesting throughout the series.
While The Last of Us, on the surface, is a standard post-apocalyptic survival tale, complete with zombies (called Clickers), it is unlike most zombie-survival stories. The narrative of The Last of Us is not about its world but rather about the characters that inhabit it. The franchise is one of the best narrative-driven games on the PlayStation and has inspired a generation of story-driven games.
