With The Last of Us Part 2 set to release in just under four months, it's hard to believe that the first game came out over six years ago. Despite the original's age, The Last of Us managed to cement its legacy as one of the greatest games of all time. Beyond its survival-horror roots and reputation as a Naughty Dog game, fans keep showing just why the title continues to be as beloved as ever.

Although The Last of Us seems like a typical post-apocalyptic survival tale on the surface, director Neil Druckmann has stated that the game centers on love. As players go through The Last Of Us' many plotlines, they see the relationship between the protagonist Joel and Ellie continue to develop, becoming like family over time. On that note, one fan has summarized how the characters keep resonating with people all over the world.

RELATED: The Last of Us 2 Rating Description Teases Graphic PS4 Game

Earlier this week, user Shinobi2u uploaded a movie-style poster on DeviantArt. Titled "Cordyceps Dreams", the image includes Joel and Ellie as they have changed and grown older over the years, shifting from The Last of Us to Part 2. Other prominent characters in the image are the backdrop of a clicker, the third stage of an Cordyceps-infected person, and Joel's deceased daughter Sarah. Since yesterday, the poster was noticed and shared on Naughty Dog's official Instagram page which also increased the number of views for the image on both sites.

More than anything, this art shows other underlying themes within the game. Despite the fungal infection devastating over sixty percent of the human population, and despite the near complete collapse of society, people manage to survive and live on like Joel and Ellie. Even though Ellie witnessed many horrible things, and many more to come in The Last of Us Part 2, she can still find beautiful things in the world worth admiring such as the giraffes. Joel similarly found another reason to keep persevering in Ellie, choosing to rescue her over possibly curing the world. Finally, even though the Cordyceps outbreak and tragic events will always stay with Joel and Ellie, being part of the background means that those traumatic experiences don't have to define their future going forward.

Naughty Dog's goal when creating The Last of Us was to integrate gameplay with the emotions and actions of Joel and Ellie. To that end, they have succeeded with players remembering the heartwarming or gut-wrenching moments in the story even years and console generations later.

With the final release date of The Last of Us Part 2 closer than ever, this poster has further stirred the excitement of fans everywhere. But in the meantime, players can enjoy the other greatest survival-horror titles while counting down the days to the next chapter of Ellie's life, centered around hate.

The Last of Us Part 2 releases May 29, 2020, exclusively for the PS4.

MORE: The Last of Us 2 Art Book is Currently Discounted at Amazon

Source: DeviantArt