HEADS-UP: Heavy story spoilers for The Last of Us and the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, plus minor spoilers for the opening of God of War (2018) follow.
One of the reasons people love games is because they allow an escape from our surroundings, to experience the empowerment that comes from taking action with pixel protagonists. Two of my favourite gaming experiences of the last few years, however, did more than that – they helped me reflect on my own life.
Nearing my mid-20s in the early 2010s, I was drawn to two protagonists who exhibited heroic qualities to which I had never given a second thought. When I think back to Lee Everett in Telltale’s The Walking Dead and Joel in The Last of Us, I realise the sacrifices they were willing to make for their unofficially adopted children had illuminated my perspective on parenthood.