The Last of Us
Sometimes games come and go. The Last of Us is not one of those games. Those that played it remember it like you remember that one book that somehow managed to change you. The story. The world. The gravity of every choice Joel thought to make in that final act. It sticks with you. So when you’re looking to pick a gift for someone who loved it, the expectations are already set high by the source material itself. And we’re not asking you to lower those expectations.
We compiled this list with that thought in mind. We didn’t want stupid merch. The t-shirts with the logo plastered across the front because why not? Game merch isn’t clothes. We wanted pieces that actually reflected what this game is. That elevates it. Clothing that respects the art direction. The earnestness of the story. The particular tone of tragedy and beauty in a world that’s been overrun by nature and humans are still somehow the worst thing in it. We combed until we found merch that felt as specific as this game does.
Whether that person played both titles, watched the HBO series, and still can’t get that ending out of their head. Or whether they’ve just now taken the plunge and are currently crying on a Tuesday night about half-way through. The Last of Us fandom stretches far and wide with many people finding a different relationship with this story than the one you had. The gifts in this roundup reflect all those people. Some are for bragging on your wall. Some are for actually using. Some are just that perfect thing to get for that person who needs to know how much you understand what this game meant to them.
We also considered occasion. Birthdays, Christmas, a gift to celebrate getting through 2020, a thank you for the friend who wouldn’t stop bothering you until you played it. These are gifts that can overlap in those situations because these aren’t niche items only meant for one specific occasion. They’re for anyone who fell in love with this story.
Like that story itself, this game asks a lot of its audience. But it rewards those who played it time and time again. We made sure everything on this list tried to do the same. Pass over impulse grabs because the artwork looked cool. Each one of these was picked because we thought about who this would be for. That’s the filter we used and why this list isn’t much longer.