What Year Does ‘The Last of Us’ Take Place? How Old is Joel?

The Last of Us — Sony PlayStation’s premier high drama and fine grit video game series — is set after the outbreak of a deadly cordyceps-based zombie infection that crumbles the governing infrastructure of the United States down into a series of martial law–governed quarantine zones. The story follows Joel Miller, a once loving father turned gruff and defeated smuggler, as he smuggles Ellie, a teenage girl who may be the key to curing the viral infection, from the Boston quarantine zone to doctors in Salt Lake City, Utah. A sequel game followed Ellie five years after the events of the first one.

Here’s what to know about the The Last of Us‘s timeline.