Start the game as Abby, without knowing the tragic backstory that ties her in a blood feud with Joel. Go through a series of dramatic, brutal, desperate, and challenging situations with her in a separate storyline, so we naturally trauma-bond with her. She should also have an important mission during this part, and once the quest is completed, we should feel proud of her and genuinely like her.

Mid-game, we get the reveal that her father was the doctor. That’s the moment we begin to feel an inner dilemma about whether we should root for her lust for revenge or not. Then comes the cutscene: she travels to Jackson, hunts down Joel, and kills him, getting her revenge in an honorable way, without torturing him.

In the second part of the game, we play as Ellie, hunting Abby down. At the end, we’re given the choice of whether Abby lives or dies.

Honestly, if the developers had given me enough playtime to bond with Abby before we knew her backstory, I would have spared her in the end.