A poll conducted for The Game Awards 2020 pitted The Last of Us Part 2 protagonists Ellie and Abby against each other, asking fans to vote for "#TeamEllie" or "#TeamAbby." It's a move that closely mimics The Last of Us 2's pre-release marketing, oversimplifying the game's complex story to the point it directly contradicts that story's message.
Much of The Last of Us 2 is, essentially, a condemnation of violence, showing the main characters' personal relationships destroyed by their thirst for revenge. It arguably only delivers on this message with partial success, as The Last of Us 2's ending only justifies some of its use of hyper-violence to move the plot along, and its gameplay still relies on wanton action-game murder. But the impact, whether viewed as positive or negative, is an affecting playthrough.
Reactions to The Last of Us 2's story have been beyond contentious among both reviewers and fans. Some critics found The Last of Us 2's controversial violence so brutal and over-the-top that any message the game tries to send is drowned out, but others found its quiet, touching moments shone over the brutality. Fans, meanwhile, have rallied against The Last of Us 2 for a number of reasons - some for legitimate criticisms of its story and others for its supposed pandering to the LGBTQ community or mistreatment of characters from the first game.
Regardless of any person's opinion on the story, though, The Last of Us 2 is at least a game that, unlike most other AAA titles, tries to say something meaningful about violence. This makes its oddly simplistic marketing strategies feel jarring, such as pre-release trailers that seemed to make its violence a sort of edgy selling point and The Game Awards' recent fan vote.
Prior to 2020's award show, The Game Awards' official TikTok account asked, "Which The Last of Us Part 2 team are you on? #teamabby #teamellie." Although each TikTok hashtag has very few posts actually related to the poll, Team Ellie apparently won, as awkwardly and anticlimactically announced late in The Game Awards 2020's pre-show. Later, The Game Awards played a clip showing two Cobra Kai stars attempting to "settle one of the great rivalries in gaming," citing arguments such as, "Yeah, and Abby can beat [Ellie] up, so that makes Abby better." The latter was one of a number of cross-promotional videos featuring Cobra Kai actors debating video game matchups, but it was the only of these paired with corresponding hashtags, tying it to the previous, Cobra Kai-unaffiliated TGA TikTok.
Because of the deeply serious subject matter of The Last of Us 2's (award-winning) narrative, this kind of odd "Twilight-ifiying" of its central conflict reads as just plain gross. Rather than conveying the characters' mutual destruction through violence, the vote treats them as if they're part of some silly high school rivalry. The game's release back in June gave way to plenty of nuanced discussion, so it felt like The Last of Us Part 2's uncomfortable marketing tactics were over. But The Game Awards' Team Ellie vs. Team Abby vote shows getting people talking, no matter how contrary to a game's message - and even on a night when the way that message is conveyed is given industry-wide recognition - will always come out on top.
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