The Representation of Physical Books and Bookish Places in Video Games: The Last of Us Part II

Abstract

For more than a decade now, video games have rivalled more traditional modes of complex narratives in storytelling, like novels and films. Interestingly, there is no shortage of representations of physical books or bookish places in such games. Though sometimes these elements can be seen simply as decoration, they can add insight into the story of the game. A recent example is The Last of Us Part II (2020), a PlayStation game that tells the story of two women in a pandemic world ravaged by a parasitic fungal infection. The story focuses on the themes of hate and revenge with nods to Greek mythology and other classics. This article demonstrates how the game uses books and bookish spaces not merely as an aesthetic backdrop within a postapocalyptic world, but rather as an important layer to the complex narrative by using the symbolic value of the book as a material object.