Diversity, otherness and empathy in The Last of Us Part II. Textual analysis of video games from a feminist perspective

Abstract

Introduction. The Last of Us: Part II is a critically acclaimed adventure, action, and horror video game that was rejected by a large part of the public manly due to the interpretation as a feminist piece that the gamer community made of it. Objectives. The objective of this study is to verify to what extent a highly produced video game whose potential audience is mostly male manages to break with sexist stereotypes and to provide a methodological framework that considers the different levels of video games from a feminist perspective. Methodology. In order to relate the formal and social dimensions, a qualitative analysis to the narrative, ludological and enunciative levels of the game is conducted from a feminist theory approach. Results. The analysis reveals that through the representation of diverse female characters and the development of ludonarrative strategies that allow experiencing otherness and empathy in a universe characterized by violence, The Last of Us: Part II stands as a cultural product of interest to practices of female empowerment, thus enabling the construction of more egalitarian social imaginaries, especially within a sector, such as the triple A, strongly masculinized. Discussion and Conclusions. The video game industry has been a traditionally male sector in which women have been conceived according to pernicious stereotypes. To combat them, this study contributes to reclaim the role of video game as a discourse capable of fostering valuables processes of reflection regarding issues of interest to feminism.