The Last of Us Part 1 might have come to PC in a less-than-excellent (or hilariously broken (opens in new tab)) state, but that hasn't stopped the modders from getting to work. While most of the mods for the game since it hit PC have focused on graphical reshades and bugfixes (opens in new tab)—plus the obligatory 'skip the startup logos (opens in new tab)' mods—we're starting to see mod creators feel their oats a little and branch out.
Case in point: new clothing collections for Joel (opens in new tab) and Ellie (opens in new tab), that make the protagonists of Naughty Dog's opus look like they've taken a detour through a derelict Target.
They're simple reskins of the characters' normal clothing, but for my money they're the first 'significant' non-bugfix or reshade mods to pop up on the Nexus since TLOU released on March 28, unless you count another Joel retexture that released a few days earlier and adds a baffling "Jonathan" logo to his t-shirt, which I'm assuming is some in-joke I'm too old to understand.
But that was just one t-shirt. These collections—both from a creator called Veir—are full-on wardrobe makeovers for Ellie and Joel. Marvel at Ellie's garish Baby Yoda tee (opens in new tab)! Be astounded by the withering dad energy of Joel's new Elvis Presley shirt (opens in new tab)! Under no circumstances tell the copyright lawyers about Ellie's decision to rep the new Avatar film (opens in new tab) on her apparel!
They all look like the kind of thing that gets hawked down on the beach in Andalucian tourist traps, and honestly? I think that's wonderful.
In the grand scheme of modding—where plenty of devs work on projects that are tantamount to full-scale new games—the clothes skins are a small and frivolous addition, but I'm nevertheless glad to see that the dreadful state of TLOU's port hasn't discouraged modders from doing their modding thing. With any luck, as the game gets more patches (opens in new tab) which—we hope—bring it to the point it should have been at when it launched, even more creators will begin working on mods for the game. But remember that it began here, with Baby Yoda, Elvis, and a dream.
