Ever since the technology was available to do so, video games have been telling stories. But while well-written, thought-provoking narratives were present in titles throughout gaming's history, more cinematic elements-namely writing, dialogue, and voice acting-were usually considered luxuries in the video game industry. Of course, there were exceptions, but only in the 7th generation of consoles was significant consideration towards cinematography given to the average AAA game. One of the pioneers of this trend was Naughty Dog, a Playstation developer who was known for their Uncharted series, which was known for its realistic dialogue and charismatic characters. But at the same time as developing the 3rd installment in the Uncharted series, Naughty Dog really pushed the envelope with their development of The Last of Us. And when it was released in 2013, everyone took notice; it was massively acclaimed, sold incredibly well, and has been generally considered one of the greatest games of all time ever since.
When The Last Of Us is brought up, discussion will inevitably go towards its narrative and its characters, and it's no secret why. In a medium full of epic tales and larger-than-life quests, TLOU tells a decidedly grounded story, with characters as its focus. Right from the opening scene, it's clear that this game is focused on crafting an emotional, impactful experience, and it delivers on that promise time and time again. Dialogue feels natural, character motivations are consistent, and the voice acting performances in this game are easily some of the most impressive in games to date. Joel and Ellie deserve special recognition, and witnessing their dynamic change from a business deal to a surrogate father-daughter relationship is very powerful. Special mention goes towards the moment after Ellie kills David-the emotional climax of the game-as we finally see, for the first time, the boundaries between Joel and Ellie broken down; it's an incredibly touching, cathartic moment. By placing character development as the vehicle to deliver the story, this game is full of character-driven moments like these, which makes immersing yourself in the world of TLOU extremely satisfying.
Its groundbreaking, cinematographic-like storytelling aside, The Last of Us was quite innovative in its gameplay and design as well. For a PS3 title-even for a modern title-the game looks fantastic. Despite the grim subject manner, so many areas of this game are serene and atmospheric. Sound design is incredible too, and adds to the tension in each conflict. For a relatively simple 3rd person shooter system, the game is quite varied in approach, and consistently gives the player the tools to deal with each encounter as they wish. And in fitting with the tone of the game, the combat is incredibly brutal, but never to a point where it feels gratuitous. That's an impressive, almost underrated achievement for a game as violent as The Last of Us; many of the human enemies in the game have their own justifications, their own ambitions, and the game is good at conveying that it's either you or them. It's designed to weigh on your morality, and since the game never overtly picks a side, it's left to the player's interpretation to decide for themselves, which puts a lot more weight on their actions than most shooters like to.
Most of the story elements take place outside of the combat, so it's understandable that traversal between combat would be slower paced. But the non-combat, non-story moments in The Last of Us do get pretty draining; there's only so many times you can find a conveniently placed ladder, plank, or pallet before you start hoping for some new kind of environmental challenge. There are plenty of times when it feels like the game is just playing itself, waiting to get to the next excellently written scene. It's not a secret that TLOU is more cinematic than its contemporaries, but sometimes it feels like the game is sacrificing too much gameplay in service of its narrative. Likewise, while the freedom of approach in combat is nice, it would be nice if there was more variety to stealth based combat beyond physical takedowns.
These issues are mostly moment-to-moment ones, though, and aren't enough to cloud how strong of an overall game The Last of Us is. And after 9 years, it's no secret how influential TLOU has been on the industry. Even with its relatively generic story, its densely layered characters and themes are strong enough to carry a powerful narrative. It's a risky move to commit so much to a storyline in a game like this, but it succeeds massively because of it, expertly demonstrating the best and worst of humanity several times over. Not many games will have players itching to get to the next cutscene, but those are the moments here that you're going to remember in 5, 10, 20 years time. Because even within its apocalyptic setting, it's the littlest moments-the real moments-that make The Last of Us truly excellent.
When The Last Of Us is brought up, discussion will inevitably go towards its narrative and its characters, and it's no secret why. In a medium full of epic tales and larger-than-life quests, TLOU tells a decidedly grounded story, with characters as its focus. Right from the opening scene, it's clear that this game is focused on crafting an emotional, impactful experience, and it delivers on that promise time and time again. Dialogue feels natural, character motivations are consistent, and the voice acting performances in this game are easily some of the most impressive in games to date. Joel and Ellie deserve special recognition, and witnessing their dynamic change from a business deal to a surrogate father-daughter relationship is very powerful. Special mention goes towards the moment after Ellie kills David-the emotional climax of the game-as we finally see, for the first time, the boundaries between Joel and Ellie broken down; it's an incredibly touching, cathartic moment. By placing character development as the vehicle to deliver the story, this game is full of character-driven moments like these, which makes immersing yourself in the world of TLOU extremely satisfying.
Its groundbreaking, cinematographic-like storytelling aside, The Last of Us was quite innovative in its gameplay and design as well. For a PS3 title-even for a modern title-the game looks fantastic. Despite the grim subject manner, so many areas of this game are serene and atmospheric. Sound design is incredible too, and adds to the tension in each conflict. For a relatively simple 3rd person shooter system, the game is quite varied in approach, and consistently gives the player the tools to deal with each encounter as they wish. And in fitting with the tone of the game, the combat is incredibly brutal, but never to a point where it feels gratuitous. That's an impressive, almost underrated achievement for a game as violent as The Last of Us; many of the human enemies in the game have their own justifications, their own ambitions, and the game is good at conveying that it's either you or them. It's designed to weigh on your morality, and since the game never overtly picks a side, it's left to the player's interpretation to decide for themselves, which puts a lot more weight on their actions than most shooters like to.
Most of the story elements take place outside of the combat, so it's understandable that traversal between combat would be slower paced. But the non-combat, non-story moments in The Last of Us do get pretty draining; there's only so many times you can find a conveniently placed ladder, plank, or pallet before you start hoping for some new kind of environmental challenge. There are plenty of times when it feels like the game is just playing itself, waiting to get to the next excellently written scene. It's not a secret that TLOU is more cinematic than its contemporaries, but sometimes it feels like the game is sacrificing too much gameplay in service of its narrative. Likewise, while the freedom of approach in combat is nice, it would be nice if there was more variety to stealth based combat beyond physical takedowns.
These issues are mostly moment-to-moment ones, though, and aren't enough to cloud how strong of an overall game The Last of Us is. And after 9 years, it's no secret how influential TLOU has been on the industry. Even with its relatively generic story, its densely layered characters and themes are strong enough to carry a powerful narrative. It's a risky move to commit so much to a storyline in a game like this, but it succeeds massively because of it, expertly demonstrating the best and worst of humanity several times over. Not many games will have players itching to get to the next cutscene, but those are the moments here that you're going to remember in 5, 10, 20 years time. Because even within its apocalyptic setting, it's the littlest moments-the real moments-that make The Last of Us truly excellent.