GLAAD recognises gay Last of Us character

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]LAAD has recognised Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed The Last of Us for featuring a gay character.

The media monitoring group, which promotes the image of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual people within the media, heaped praise onto the game for the their Bill character, pictured above left, who was separated from his partner Frank during the plague.

Amongst other recognitions in film and TV, GLAAD wrote: “There weren’t many new LGBT characters to be found in mainstream video games this year, but one of 2013’s most critically acclaimed featured a particularly interesting one. Released for the PS3, The Last of Us is set in a post-apocalyptic world where lone plague survivors must protect themselves from the infected and each other. 

“One of the characters the player encounters over the course of the game is Bill, an unstable loner in the town of Lincoln with a talent for fixing things. 

“Through dialogue and backstory, the player learns that Bill once had a partner named Frank who he loved, but the plague drove them apart and led Frank to a bitter end.  Both helpful and contentious, Bill is as deeply flawed but wholly unique a gay character found in any storytelling medium this year.”

The Last of Us released in May to worldwide critical acclaim and has gone on to win numerous awards for Game of the Year, Best PS3 Game, Best Studio, Best Actor and Actress.