Among the list of most realistic-looking video games ever made, The Last of Us might just be at the top due to how much detail was put into the game's character models and animations. From dilating pupils to each individual character's heartbeats, it's unquestionable that Naughty Dog was able to create one lifelike character models in The Last of Us 2. As a result, cosplaying the many characters in The Last of Us is made much easier because of how realistic they look. There's very little left to the imagination, so cosplayers are easily able to create a checklist of things needed to truly capture the essence of each character.
Ellie was a divisive character in The Last of Us 2. Some thought that she pushed herself out of being a likable and relatable character by the grim acts of violence she chose in order to get revenge. Others pointed out that perhaps the distance between the player and Ellie was part of the grander point Naughty Dog was trying to make. Either way, she's one of the most popular characters to cosplay from the series, so here are the best cosplays of Ellie from The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2.
LookForTheLight and GummyBearVanii
The contrast between who Ellie is in the original The Last of Us vs. who she becomes in The Last of Us 2 is one of the most compelling elements of the series. Cosplayers GummyBearVanii (younger Ellie) and LookForTheLight (older Ellie) highlight that with the stark contrast between Ellie's outfits in both games.
Opal.Ink.Cosplay
Highlighted recently by Naughty Dog, Opal.Ink.Cosplay gets plenty of points for nailing one of Ellie's facial expressions. Exploring the subway tunnels of Seattle bathed in ominous red light is enough for anyone to turn back. Opal.Ink.Cosplay captures the nuance of Ellie's fear and strong sense of determination in a single picture. Combined with the two clickers slowly creeping towards her, and the photo might as well just be a still from the game.
Molzenna
Ellie's guitar playing and its representation of her fading connection to Joel is one of the emotional cores of The Last of Us 2. Cosplayer Molzenna perfectly recreates the original teaser trailer for the game that's since been re-contextualized now that everyone has played it. Ellie's bloody knuckles and old, worn-down guitar help further illustrate the long life Joel had and the violent path his death took Ellie down.
Sandramillrr
Cosplayer Sandramillrr does an excellent job capturing what it must feel like to come face to face with a TLOU2 clicker. Adrenaline and fear are just two things influencing a person's body who isn't trying to get eaten and this cosplayer accurately portrays the entire scale of emotion contained inside those moments. Luckily, as everyone who's played the game knows, Ellie is able to push forward past clicker after clicker with her teeth grit and a machete in hand.
SasameCosplay
Immediately after playing through The Last of Us Part 2, it's hard to remember the wide-eyed kid that Ellie used to be in the first game. SasameCosplay looks nearly identical to the aspiring astronaut that is a young Ellie. Her sense of humor and wonder are all captured to great effect in the pictures SasameCosplay took posing with a custom chibi-Ellie statue.
DabbuCosplay
DabbuCosplay gets so much right in these photos from the poster image of Ellie gently playing the guitar behind a tree to her actual face. DabbuCosplay looks astoundingly like Ellie which is even more noticeable in the photos below.
Looking at DabbuCosplay as Ellie is like looking into the future of what a potential PlayStation 5 version of The Last of Us 2 might be: lifelike in almost every way. In fact, cycling between screenshots taken from The Last of Us Part 2 on a PS4 Pro/PS5 and DabbuCosplay, it's pretty hard to tell which is which. While all the cosplayers on this list capture the essence of the character, the uncanny resemblance is most notable here.
Despite the fact that it's been nearly a year since The Last of Us Part 2 released, it seems like cosplayers aren't slowing down with their portrayals of Ellie both young and old. The most elaborate The Last of Us cosplay is yet to come, however, with the upcoming HBO series set to start filming later this year.
The Last of Us Part 2 is available now on the PS4.