The first The Last of Us game has one fixed main-story ending, not multiple endings selected by the player. The finale’s meaning can be debated, but its plot outcome does not branch.
Spoiler warning: The explanation below discusses the hospital finale, Joel’s decision, Ellie’s response and the distinction between the first game, The Last of Us Part I and Part II.
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| 1 |
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The Last of Us Remastered Hits - PlayStation 4 | $19.93 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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The Last of Us Remastered - PlayStation 4 [video game] (Renewed) | $16.13 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
![The Last of Us Part II - Standard Edition [PlayStation 4] (Uncut)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ytd+elO5L._SL160_.jpg)
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The Last of Us Part II - Standard Edition [PlayStation 4] (Uncut) | $39.70 | Buy on Amazon |
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What is the answer for the first game?
If you mean the original The Last of Us or its remake, The Last of Us Part I, there is one authored conclusion to the main story. The player reaches the hospital, controls Joel through the rescue of Ellie, leaves with her and then sees Joel give Ellie his account of what happened. The game does not offer a menu choice, dialogue branch or alternate mission that produces a different canonical outcome.
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What happens in the finale?
The ending is easier to understand when plot action and player control are separated. The sequence gives you control during a decisive rescue, but it does not ask you to select among competing endings.
- Joel reaches the hospital. The Fireflies have Ellie, and the treatment they are pursuing would require the operation that has driven the story toward this location.
- The game makes Joel’s rescue playable. You move Joel through the hospital and carry out the actions needed to get Ellie back. Progressing through this section means completing the rescue; there is no second route in which you hand her over and continue to a different finale.
- Joel leaves with Ellie. The immediate result of the hospital sequence is his departure with her rather than a split in which the player can preserve both the Fireflies’ plan and Joel’s rescue.
- Joel later gives Ellie his version of events. He tells her that the Fireflies had stopped pursuing a cure. The story does not provide a player-selected version of this conversation or a separate ending for challenging him.
- The final exchange remains unresolved. The game closes on the question of whether Ellie believes Joel. That uncertainty is an emotional and ethical opening for the audience, not a hidden route that can be unlocked by choosing different actions.
Because the player performs Joel’s actions, the finale can feel more personal than a noninteractive cutscene. You are not merely told that he rescued Ellie; you participate in the sequence. Participation should not be mistaken for authorship of an alternate result. The game gives you agency over movement, combat and immediate decisions inside the scene while retaining control over the story’s destination.
Can your choices change what happens?
No choice in the first game changes the main-story destination. The game’s ordinary decisions concern how you navigate spaces, manage resources and survive encounters. They do not create a branch where Ellie remains with the Fireflies, where Joel walks away without her, or where the final conversation resolves differently.
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Restarting the hospital chapter, replaying the final encounter or selecting another difficulty can change the route you take through the gameplay. It cannot produce another main-story conclusion. Likewise, a different personal judgment of Joel does not count as a second ending. Two players may finish the same sequence and reach opposite moral conclusions while having seen the same plot events.
Why does the ending feel ambiguous if the plot is fixed?
The game separates factual uncertainty from moral uncertainty. The broad chain of events is presented clearly: Joel removes Ellie from the Fireflies’ custody, leaves with her and tells her that the Fireflies had abandoned the search for a cure. What remains unsettled is how the characters and the player should understand those events.
Joel’s decision
Joel’s action can be read as a protective response to the relationship he has formed with Ellie, as a violation of Ellie’s possible future choice, or as both at once. The game does not let you rewrite his decision to test another moral theory. Instead, it asks you to live with the consequences of the decision it has authored.
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Ellie’s belief
The closing exchange does not settle whether Ellie accepts Joel’s account. Her uncertainty gives the ending its lingering tension. It is reasonable to discuss what her expression, pause or response might imply, but those interpretations should not be described as selectable endings. The unresolved question belongs to the characterization and theme of the finale.
The player’s response
Some players experience the conclusion as tragic, some as loving, some as horrifying and some as deliberately conflicted. None of those responses alters the game file’s narrative outcome. The ending’s openness is interpretive rather than branching: the work leaves room for judgment while keeping the sequence of events fixed.
Does The Last of Us Part I add endings?
No. Part I is the remake of the first game, not a version with additional finale routes. Naughty Dog describes it as a ground-up remake in its remake FAQ. The remake can present the same story with updated technology and presentation, but the evidence for the main narrative still points to the same authored conclusion.
Do not infer a new ending from a different edition, platform or visual treatment. The relevant question is which story you are playing, not whether the hardware or release label changes the plot. For the first game and its remake, the hospital rescue and its aftermath remain the ending being discussed here.
Is The Last of Us Part II an alternate ending?
No. Part II is a separate sequel that continues the fictional world in a later story. It is not a branch you select after finishing the first game, and it should not be listed as one of the first game’s alternate endings.
Naughty Dog’s announcement for its complete collection presents Part I and Part II Remastered as separate experiences. That framing is useful when sorting search results, play orders and spoiler discussions: a sequel may revisit consequences from the earlier story, but it does not turn the earlier finale into a choice-based system.
What if you mean the HBO series?
The HBO production is an adaptation, not an interactive game route. It has its own episode structure and performance choices, so a question about whether the show has “multiple endings” should be answered as a television-adaptation question rather than as a question about game save files.
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The adaptation can portray the same broad conflict and ending situation while using different timing, emphasis or scene construction. That does not create playable alternatives in the first game. Keep the medium in view: the game’s ending concerns what the player can or cannot control, while the series presents an authored screen version for viewers.
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There is no player-selected route in the first game that lets you complete the Fireflies’ plan and then receive a different closing scene. The hospital section is built around Joel’s rescue of Ellie. Choosing a different weapon, taking another path through the building or replaying the chapter changes tactics, not the result.
This is also why “Can you save the Fireflies at the end?” is not equivalent to “Which ending did you unlock?” The question describes a hypothetical alternative the game does not provide. The narrative presents Joel’s rescue as the required action for reaching the conclusion, while leaving the player to assess its cost.
Common misunderstandings
| Claim | What the game actually supports |
|---|---|
| “There are good and bad endings depending on your choices.” | The main story reaches the same finale; the good-versus-bad distinction is a player’s moral judgment, not a selectable route. |
| “You can choose whether Joel saves Ellie.” | The rescue is the playable objective of the hospital sequence. You control its execution, not whether the story proceeds to a separate outcome. |
| “The sequel is another ending to the first game.” | Part II is a distinct sequel, not an alternate conclusion of the original or Part I. |
| “The remake must have added a different finale.” | Part I is identified as a ground-up remake; a new presentation does not establish a new main-story ending. |
| “Ellie’s uncertainty means there are two final scenes.” | The uncertainty is part of the single ending’s interpretation. The game does not let you select Ellie’s belief and receive another canonical cutscene. |
How to approach a replay
Replay the finale if you want to examine pacing, environmental detail, combat choices or the way the game places you inside Joel’s perspective. Replay it to search for a hidden ending only if you understand that no supported branch has been established. A second playthrough can change what you notice and how you judge the characters; it will not replace the hospital outcome.
If you are discussing the ending with another player, specify whether you are comparing interpretations or recounting different gameplay approaches. Those are meaningful differences, but they are not different narrative endpoints.
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Bottom line
The first The Last of Us has one fixed main-story ending. The player performs Joel’s rescue of Ellie, watches him leave with her and is left with the unresolved question of whether Ellie believes his explanation. The ending is intentionally open to moral interpretation, yet it is not a branching choice system. Part I is the remake of that story, Part II is a separate sequel, and the HBO series is a separate adaptation.
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