In PlayStation Lifestyle?s favorite character column, we?ll celebrate, you guessed it, our favorite game characters. Personally, The Last of Us? Joel came to mind immediately, though not because I favor him over others. Rather, I hoped to examine what about him resonated most with me. Years after its release, talk of TLoU still dissolves into dissecting Joel as hero, villain, or anti-hero. Many deem him one of the latter two archetypes; no hero would damn humanity to selfishly protect a loved one. But Joel isn?t heroic, nor does he try to be. We can?t hold him to the standards of Superman. Joel?s an average joe who, before the apocalypse, appeared struck by financial woes. As such, faced with a similar conundrum under similar circumstances, how many of us would save Ellie" I believe I would. When questioned about Joel?s perceived villainy on an episode of Podcast Beyond, TLoU Creative Director Neil Druckmann said he agreed with Joel?s choice. Would Druckmann doom the world to save his kid" Absolutely. Even as someone who doesn?t have children, I found myself able to resonate with this sentiment. A child can be interchangeable with the individual you love most, a sibling, parent, etc. But the question, in the context of TLoU at least, doesn?t consider damning mankind as it presently exists. Instead, the events within the game?s narrative inform Joel?s decision. Consider that world?s depravity, man?s inflated inhumanity to man, cruelty and lawlessness, all wrapped ...