User:Snivystorm/Sandbox

Vehicles play an important role in The Last of Us, as they offer transportation and serve as blockades.

Overview
Many vehicles were abandoned when they ran out of fuel, as shown by the large number of vehicles clogging the highways. It is also possible that some of the vehicles seen on the highway were abandoned when the infected attacked their occupants. After 20 years, the majority of intact vehicles have deteriorated significantly; at a bare minimum, their batteries drained. After sitting for almost two decades, there is no doubt that the oil and any vital fluids has gone bad, along with any remaining fuel in their tanks. Tires have also rotted and/or gone flat, and electrical systems have also likely deteriorated. Many vehicles have rusted due to two decades of exposure to the elements. A good number of vehicles are seen without glass, likely as a result of accidents or vandalism (An SUV resembling a 2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee that is missing all of its glass and appears to have been in a rollover accident can be seen outside the University of Eastern Colorado).

Pick-Up Truck
This vehicle is outwardly identical to a 2007-2013 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT, but without any emblems/badges. It was acquired by Joel in Bill's Town, where Bill agreed to help him find a car in order to travel to Wyoming. The truck was found by Ellie in the garage next to a house where Frank had killed himself. When Ellie tried to start it, the trio discovered that the truck was still driveable. Though possibly brand new and at most a few years old at the time of the outbreak, the truck is at least twenty years old by the events of the game. Once started, the truck idles a little rough and sounds like it needs a tuneup, but ultimately runs and drives just fine. The tires do not seem to be rotted and the electrical system works as well. The cassette player even works, as shown when Ellie plays an old country music tape (stolen from Bill) on the drive to Pittsburgh. The truck's air conditioner seems to work, as the part of the game in which it is driven takes place during the summer and the windows are up during the drive. If the A/C system has not developed a leak, it is possible for it to hold a charge indefinitely. It can only be assumed that Frank repaired any issues with the truck using scavenged parts and put in all new fluids (oil, coolant, fuel, etc.).

The truck has a manual transmission, so the trio pop the clutch to start it. Bill and Joel pushed the truck down a hill, with Ellie steering. After saying their goodbyes, Joel and Ellie head to Pittsburgh, where they discovered the road was blocked by abandoned cars. The truck was totaled when a Hunter driving a bus crashed into the truck and caused it to crash into a convenience store. Despite being in a major wreck, the truck's airbags do not deploy, more than likely because years of neglect had caused the system to deteriorate to the point of being inoperable.

The same model of pickup truck is also featured in a photograph along the wall leading downstairs in Joel's house; Joel and Tommy are posing in front of it.

Revealing Mistakes

 * The pickup truck appears to be a 2007-2013 GMC Sierra SLT. However, it supposedly has a manual transmission; Neither the Silverado or Sierra came with an option for a manual transmission for those years.
 * Ellie is told to hit the clutch however there is no clutch pedal in the truck, just a gas pedal and brake pedal. This is possibly an error the game artists left out.
 * As Joel and Bill jump in the truck to escape the neighborhood filled with infected, Ellie shifts near the center console; However, the shifter is on the steering column.
 * Ellie steals a country music cassette from Bill and plays it in the truck. The design of the truck is modeled on a 2007-2013 GMC Sierra SLT, including the interior. A cassette player was never an option on this generation. The CD player is visible, but the cassette player is not. When Ellie inserts the cassette into nothingness, the digital display for the truck's air conditioner/HVAC controls (not its radio) flashes "TAPE."
 * The truck is a two-toned color and appears to be a 2007-2013 model (technically 2007-2014, but the pandemic began in 2013, so 2014 vehicles would likely not exist in this world), however GMC phased out two-toned color trucks in the 1990s.

Humvee
Armed with a .50 caliber mounted machine gun, the Humvee was used by The Military to look for any remaining supplies outside the Quarantine Zones. One of them was salvaged from the fighting in Pittsburgh. The Hunters were able to fix the Humvee and ever since have used it to kill any survivors that they find. Unlike standard Humvees, the vehicle was wrapped with barbed wire and had a body strapped to the hood, along with a RUN sign revealing their sadistic nature. The Hunters later used the Humvee to kill two other survivors, and attempted to kill Joel, Ellie, Sam and Henry.

Troop Transport Truck
This vehicle was used to carry soldiers to different places. Like the Humvee, they were used to check out areas and look for any remaining supplies. One can be found crashed into the high school in Bill's Town. Frank managed to take the battery from the truck and install it in the pick-up truck. The Fireflies launched an attack on one in Boston when Joel and Tess were hunting Robert.

SUV
Tommy owned an SUV resembling a 1997-2001 Jeep Cherokee at the start of the game. Tommy's SUV was wrecked by another truck, resembling a 2006-2008 Dodge Ram, when he was trying to escape the town with Joel and Sarah. Tommy's SUV has a sunroof, leather seats, a manual transmission, and an aftermarket stereo CD player (resembling a Sony brand head unit).

In the final chapter, Joel stole an SUV resembling a 2004-2009 Dodge Durango from the parking garage of the hospital in Salt Lake City and used it to drive to Jackson, but it broke down right on the outskirts and he and Ellie had to walk the rest of the way.

Other Vehicles
Cars, vans, buses, RVs, SUVs, and trucks were abandoned when the Infection started. They serve as obstacles and some must be climbed in order to advance through an area. All vehicles are generic and unnamed but are obviously based on real vehicles. For example, the police cars in every town are based on 1998-2011 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors. Taxicabs are based on the Crown Victoria as well. One type of SUV appears to be a combination of styling from the 1999-2004 and 2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee; a damaged example can be found just outside the gates of the university. Full-size vans and ambulances are based on the venerable real-life 1992-2007 Ford E-series platform; There is also a van that looks like a Chevrolet Express. Other vehicles found in the game that look like real-life vehicles include a minivan resembling a 2007-2011 Dodge Caravan, an old pickup that resembles the 1967-1972 Chevrolet/GMC CK trucks, a compact pickup that resembles a Ford Ranger, a hatchback that looks like a 1980s Honda Civic, a compact 4-door that looks like a 2004-2011 Chevy Aveo, a fire engine that resembles a Mack MC Pumper and a larger 4-door that looks like a combination of a late 1997-1999 Toyota Camry and a 1997-2004 Chevy Malibu. The newer vehicles seen in the game were quite accurate considering that the world came to an end in 2013. Another vehicle seems to be a blend of a 1972 Ford Ranchero and a 1970 Chevrolet El Camino found in the suburbs right when the sniper is encountered. It is also found in the prologue in Joel's backyard and outside of the bar where Tommy holds back the infected from Joel and Sarah. The University chapter also prominently features a model of box truck which resembles an Isuzu delivery truck, several of which are scattered around the campus. Several M2 Bradley IFVs are seen dotted around Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City.

Trivia

 * The SUV that Joel and Ellie drove to Tommy's town in the ending is the same as the SUVs that Ellie and Riley threw bricks at in the mall in Left Behind.
 * It is possible that Joel has an interest in classic cars. In the Hometown chapter, there is a vehicle what seems to be loosely based off a mid 70's El Camino in his backyard. On the wall in his office, as he is about to shoot Jimmy Cooper, a picture of a fictitious American muscle car called a GT 143 can be seen hanging on the wall.

There are many animals appearing in The Last of Us, The Last of Us Part II, and Left Behind. Some of them actually play an important role in the story, while others serve as scenery.

Cat
A cat can be seen in Left Behind, where it scares Ellie twice by running on the ventilation, perhaps associating itself with its symbolism of the devil; Ellie jokes that's it's "trying to kill [her]".

Crabs
Crabs can be seen at the beach in The Suburbs, particularly near Ish's trawler.

Crows
Crows can be heard in some certain parts of the game. Typical of its symbolism of death, they are seen roaming around an RV filled with corpses at Salt Lake City.

Deer
A deer can be seen in the winter chapter, when Ellie tries to hunt it down with a Bow. She manages to kill it on the edge of the woods after wounding it with an arrow. Ellie later trades the carcass to David in exchange for medicine. A picture of a deer in a snow covered forest was present in Joel's room during the initial outbreak, foreshadowing Ellie's subsequent encounter with one.

Dogs
In the main game, several dogs can be seen or heard. Joel and Sarah appeared to own a dog, since one can be heard barking until they are killed. Two dogs are seen in a kennel in The Quarantine Zone, when Joel and Tess cross the street. They bark and scratch against the fence as their owner remarks they have been sold earlier in the day. Two more dogs are seen in The Suburbs; they run away as Joel approaches them. Buckley is a named dog belonging to Tommy. Tommy describes him as "not much of a guard dog, but is good to have [him] around", a clear contrast to those seen earlier in the game; he indirectly characterizes Tommy's community as calm and peaceful compared to Boston's violent and rattled occupants.

Guard dogs are featured prominently as enemies within the city of Seattle and Santa Barbara throughout The Last of Us 2.

Egret
An egret can be seen before briefly when reaching Bill's Town.

Fireflies
Actual Fireflies can be seen flying around Ellie when Joel goes to set up the wooden plank during Bill's Town. Ellie comments on the creatures, momentarily frustrating Joel as he thought Ellie meant the human faction.

Fish
Fish can be seen in the flooded tunnels in Salt Lake City. Joel notices them while heading toward the Fireflies base in the city, St. Mary's Hospital.

Giraffes
Giraffes are a prominent motif within the game, appearing as toys and even posters at different points in the game, which foreshadows the encounter with a herd of them in Salt Lake City.

Horses
Horses are present in the main game, the DLC and in the American Dreams comics. They serve as transportation for humans. In the main game, Tommy's group owns several horses, one of them being Callus, the horse that takes Joel and Ellie to the University of Eastern Colorado and Lakeside Resort. He is later shot dead and scavenged by a group of Cannibals. Callus also appears in Left Behind, however, he can't be ridden and he is only present inside a store where Joel is unconscious. Another horse called Princess appears in American Dreams.

Horses are usually associated with wealth and war, reflected when Ellie flees from the Cannibals using Callus to ride off, symbolically mirroring a cavalry charge in war. The attackers even shoot the horse, as was typical during cavalry charges for the attackers to disable the horse before the rider. Callus' name, more directly, symbolizes how Tommy and Joel's relationship has repaired; a callus having formed over the wound.

Monkeys
Monkeys can be seen at the University. Recorders reveal that some monkeys were part of some tests involving the Cordyceps Brain Infection and some of them were infected. One even bit a member of the Fireflies, causing him to commit suicide to avoid turning in to an Infected. This did not prevent a second outbreak there, however. Due to the passage of time, no infected monkeys are seen in the actual game.

Rabbits
Rabbits are seen in Bill's Town, Tommy's Dam and at the beginning of the Winter chapter. When Ellie first saw a rabbit she was fascinated by it. Paradoxically, when she sees one looking around the area in Lakeside, she killed it with a Bow, displaying how Ellie's innocence has decreased throughout the story.

Rats
Rats can be seen in most parts of the game, mainly in the Boston QZ, at the Hotel lobby in Pittsburgh, in the sewers in the Suburbs, and finally in the abandoned house in Jackson. Ellie appears to hate rats, since she mentions that she used to shoot rats with an air rifle and says "Yeesh, that is a big rat" when she faces one in the sewers.

Roaches
Clumps of roaches can be seen on the walls of the sewers.

Squirrels
Squirrels can be seen in the beginning of the University chapter and at Jackson during the epilogue.

Trivia

 * The only animals that are killable in The Last of Us are the deer and rabbit Ellie hunts and Callus the horse, which the cannibals shot.
 * Both of these deaths occurred in the Winter chapter of the game.