The Last Of Us Part II is a sad game where plenty of sad things happen to its cast of sad characters. It also stars a traumatized character named Ellie who can pick up acoustic guitars she finds miraculously preserved throughout the ruins of post-apocalyptic America and, if the player is a real asshole, heap extra misery onto her plate by getting her to play bummer songs on them.
In the video above, we see poor Ellie controlled like a digital puppet by YouTuber KWFoxy so that she must perform a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” (in the same key as Johnny Cash’s version). It’s an impressive performance, not just since it’s a perfect song for Ellie to mope to for a bit, but because replicating even simple picking on the PlayStation 4's touch pad—especially while moving one of the analog sticks around to select chords—takes a good amount of practice.
Still, even though it’s tough to master this digital guitar, players are determined to help Ellie must express her pain through music. Here she is, once again working out her feelings by playing “Nothing Else Matters” like an angst-ridden teenager in her bedroom.
And, because even in a dystopian future everybody must learn the same handful of standards on guitar, Jeff McPherson shows us Ellie is also able to take some time out of bludgeoning pseudo-zombies and violent bandits to death and play (the fucking) Eagles (man).
There are many more where these come from. Within a week of The Last Of Us Part II’s release, YouTube has been flooded with Ellie’s guitar covers, starting with a video from VG247 where she sits down to perform a set featuring “Californication,” “Black Hole Sun,” “Zombie,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “Creep.”
For more, check out other somber wasteland medleys in videos from Dan Allen Gaming. In them, you’ll hear Ellie perform other campfire classics like “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” Sadly, to date, nobody’s figured out how to really get Ellie working that game guitar to death with dopey acoustic covers of “Eruption” and the controller-busting DragonForce sets we crave.
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