The Last of Us Ellie Edition

Ellie's turn on the cover, and she earned it. The Last of Us Ellie Edition for PlayStation 3 mirrors the Joel Edition's structure but puts Ellie front and center on the exclusive game pack artwork, a deliberate creative choice that hits differently knowing where her story eventually goes. You get the same mini artbook filled with the concept art and environmental design work that built Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic masterpiece, the American Dreams Issue 1 comic with the variant cover exclusive to these special editions, and a collectable poster.

The comic feels especially fitting in this version, given that American Dreams is fundamentally Ellie's story before Joel ever entered the picture. The mini artbook provides a concentrated dose of the artistic process, small enough to feel personal rather than encyclopedic. The Ellie Edition cover art has arguably aged better than any other version.

Knowing everything that came after, from Left Behind to Part II, having an edition that centers Ellie from the very beginning carries weight. Paired with the Joel Edition, these two create a matched set that any Last of Us collector considers essential. The variant comic cover ensures you can't just replicate this with a standard copy and a separately purchased comic.

It's all or nothing. For collectors who recognized early that Ellie was the heart of this franchise, this is the edition that proves you were paying attention.