Some of the first non-bugfix mods for The Last of Us give Joel and Ellie a wardrobe worthy of Hot Topic

Ellie wears a modded t-shirt with a cat on it in The Last of Us.

(Image credit: Veir / Naughty Dog)

The Last of Us Part 1 might have come to PC in a less-than-excellent (or hilariously broken) 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—plus the obligatory 'skip the startup logos' mods—we're starting to see mod creators feel their oats a little and branch out.

Case in point: new clothing collections for Joel and Ellie, 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! Be astounded by the withering dad energy of Joel's new Elvis Presley shirt! Under no circumstances tell the copyright lawyers about Ellie's decision to rep the new Avatar film 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 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.

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.