Joel, Ellie, Clickers, the Fireflies and the Boston Quarantine Zone. 10 questions on the game and the HBO series.
10 questions on The Last of Us: the original game, the sequel, the HBO adaptation, characters, world-building and key moments.
Pick your level
The Last of Us is an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony in June 2013 for PlayStation 3. The player controls Joel, a hardened smuggler tasked with escorting Ellie, a teenage girl immune to the Cordyceps fungus that has turned most of humanity into infected creatures. The story takes place 20 years after the outbreak begins.
The game won numerous game-of-the-year awards, and its 2023 HBO adaptation with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey was acclaimed as one of the best video game adaptations ever made. The Last of Us Part II (2020) extended the story through Ellie's perspective.
All ten easy level questions, with the answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: Smuggler
Smuggler, in the Boston quarantine zone, with his partner Tess.
Correct answer: Her arm
Her arm, where she has a bite scar that should have killed her.
Correct answer: 14
14, and already better at swearing than most adults.
Correct answer: Troy Baker
Troy Baker. He turns up in the HBO series too, in a small role.
Correct answer: Tess
Tess, who makes one of the toughest exits in the game.
Correct answer: Monsoon
Monsoon. The game is divided into Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring.
Correct answer: Sony
Sony, whose Naughty Dog studio made the game.
Correct answer: Gas masks
Gas masks. Ellie, handily, does not need one.
Correct answer: 2013
2013 in the game. The HBO series moves it back to 2003.
Correct answer: A stalker, then a clicker
A stalker, then a clicker, then, if you have been unlucky, a bloater.
Want to warm up before playing or double-check something? Open any question to reveal the correct answer and a short explanation.
Correct answer: Cordyceps
The Cordyceps fungus is the origin of the infection in The Last of Us. Inspired by the real-world Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which parasitises and controls ants, the fiction imagines a mutation allowing it to infect humans. The fungus spreads through spores (inhaled) or bites, and progressively transforms the infected into aggressive, zombified creatures.
Correct answer: Pedro Pascal
Pedro Pascal plays Joel Miller in the 2023 HBO series. The Chilean-American actor is known for Game of Thrones (Oberyn Martell), The Mandalorian and Narcos. His performance in The Last of Us received universal acclaim, particularly in Episode 3 ('Long, Long Time') and the season finale.
Correct answer: The Fireflies
The Fireflies are a paramilitary resistance group opposing FEDRA (the military authority governing the Quarantine Zones). They seek Ellie because her immunity could allow a vaccine to be developed. Their symbol is a firefly, a light in the darkness, representing hope in a world that has largely abandoned it.
Correct answer: Austin, Texas
Joel Miller and his daughter Sarah live in Austin, Texas, when the outbreak begins on 26 September 2003. The prologue of the game (and the first episode of the HBO series) takes place there during the first hours of the chaos. Twenty years later, Joel lives in the Boston Quarantine Zone.
Correct answer: Clickers
Clickers are third-stage infected whose faces are entirely covered by fungal growth, rendering them blind but giving them echolocation (hence the distinctive clicking sound). They are extremely dangerous: a single bite is lethal for a non-immune person. Beyond Clickers come Bloaters, even more heavily armoured and powerful.
Correct answer: He kills the surgeons and saves Ellie, destroying the chance of a vaccine
At the end of the first game, Joel learns that extracting the vaccine from Ellie requires killing her. He chooses to massacre the Fireflies and their surgeons to save Ellie, sacrificing humanity's best chance at a vaccine. He then lies to Ellie by telling her the Fireflies abandoned their research. It is the most debated moral decision in narrative video game history.
Correct answer: Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog, Sony's internal studio based in Santa Monica, California, developed The Last of Us. Previously known for Crash Bandicoot and Uncharted, the studio shifted to a darker, narrative-driven tone. Creative Director Neil Druckmann co-wrote the game's script and serves as executive producer on the HBO series.
Correct answer: The Last of Us: Left Behind
The Last of Us: Left Behind is a DLC released in 2014. It tells the story of Ellie and her friend Riley Abel in an abandoned mall, set before the events of the main game. It reveals how Ellie discovered her immunity and is considered one of the most emotionally resonant pieces of storytelling in the game.
Correct answer: Jackson, Wyoming
In The Last of Us Part II (2020), Ellie lives in Jackson, Wyoming, a thriving community established after the events of the first game, run by Tommy (Joel's brother) and his wife Maria. Joel also lives there. The bulk of the game's action then moves to Seattle, Washington.
Correct answer: Gabriel Luna
Gabriel Luna plays Tommy Miller, Joel's younger brother. The American actor is known for Ghost Rider in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Terminator in Terminator: Dark Fate. In the series, Tommy is central to the complex fraternal relationship that defines much of Joel's psychology and backstory.
Stuck on one, or just curious how nasty it gets? Every hard mode question is here with its answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: Abby
Abby, with a golf club, in Jackson. It is probably the most argued-about scene in the series.
Correct answer: The Wolves
The Wolves. The Scars are their Seraphite enemies, and the Rattlers are in Santa Barbara.
Correct answer: She has just joined them
She has just joined them, which is exactly what Ellie finds hard to forgive.
Correct answer: Maria
Maria, who runs Jackson with a firm hand, and with good reason.
Correct answer: Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, where she finds Abby held prisoner by the Rattlers.
Correct answer: Henry and Sam
Henry and Sam, whose story ends in one of the game's hardest moments.
Correct answer: Lincoln
Lincoln, in Massachusetts, a town booby-trapped from end to end.
Correct answer: The Rat King
The Rat King, the result of years of infected growing together in the basement.
Correct answer: Utah
Utah, in Salt Lake City, after the giraffes and before everything goes wrong.
Correct answer: Anna Torv
Anna Torv. Merle Dandridge plays Marlene, as she did in the game.