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[IbizaPocholo]

Naughty Dog's 2013 PlayStation 3 exclusive The Last Of Us is one of the most highly regarded games of the past decade. With the sequel due for release in June, you might be thinking about playing the original game the first time or returning to experience the survival story once more.

In a new video feature, Jess dives into what makes Joel and Ellie's tumultuous cross-country adventure stay timeless and affecting seven years later. Jess argues that The Last of Us' greatest strength is timeless--its portrayal of complex characters embroiled in an emotional and heart-wrenching fight for survival.

The video covers much more, including how the game cleverly keeps resources limited to elevate its themes of survival and desperation, and how the narrative's linear format and deliberate pace helps drive home the game's most impactful scenes and character moments.

 

[New Yorks Finest]

Damn, it has been 7 years already.

 

[SleepDoctor]

I might go back for my grounded plus playthrough.

 

[Geki-D]

Similar type of video but more in depth that I came across not too long ago:

 

[brian0057]

Agreed.
Now if only the gameplay was one tenth as good as its story.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

Agreed.
Now if only the gameplay was one tenth as good as its story.

It is, not sure why y'all sleeping on TLOU gameplay, just crank up that difficulty and feel how hard it is to survive, boy.

 

[HaveButOneLife]

The story did nothing new and the gameplay was a chore to play, to say the least.

That being said, it's one of the best TPS Survival Horror type games out there, especially in these last couple of generations and I definitely go back to replay it every so often (honestly I get bored and turn it off after 30 minutes). Decent game, not a masterpiece to me, but there's definitely something special if it touched the hearts of millions.

 

[Optimistic Gamer]

Stories are inherently timeless. Ideas and happenings don't go bad over time. Is there something I'm missing here? Can somebody give me an example for a good story that is no longer "good" today?

Spoiler: Spoiler

Fuck you if your first idea is the Cosby Show

 

[baphomet]

I can't roll my eyes fucking hard enough.

Even when it came out it was a C+ tier zombie story. Literally nothing about it was above average, and it sure as fuck isn't some super meaningful story 7 years later.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

Joel is still the best Texan in gaming, that's for sure.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

I can't roll my eyes fucking hard enough.

Even when it came out it was a C+ tier zombie story. Literally nothing about it was above average, and it sure as fuck isn't some super meaningful story 7 years later.

Oh fuck, I've changed my mind entirely, you've opened my eyes... I shall be contacting the creator of the Youtube video and he will surely take it down and offer a robust apology soon.

 

[wzy]

"Excellent use of the linear narrative format" is as far as I could get.

 

[Serge85]

The story is as generic as it gets.

 

[zcaa0g]

Naughty Dog should sue Ellen Page for trying to look like a real life version of Elle. Elle is better looking anyway.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

I remember when there was people on this board who made threads about the ending either they didn't get it or were trying to make out it deeper than it actually was. It's an average game forever that has its moments.

 

[Terenty]

What about Children of Men and The Road? The Walking Dead with Lee and Clementine? Have these people ever heard of them?

 

[Explosive Zombie]

What about Children of Men and The Road? The Walking Dead with Lee and Clementine? Have these people ever heard of them?

TLOU is better than all your examples.

 

[Terenty]

TLOU is better than all your examples.

How so?

 

[Explosive Zombie]

How so?

There's just more layers and nuance to its story and the ending is by far superior to how those stories concluded. Nevermind that it's also a videogame, but even if we just separated the narrative from the gameplay I vastly prefer TLOU to anything you mentioned. The Walking Dead was a saccharine softening of the hard edge the comic provided with fake choices that meant nothing by the end of season 1. It was sad but hardly anything to make you think. The Road has an interesting idea at play but it kinda just has that one idea, incredibly simple in comparison, all 3 examples miss the incredible world building TLOU has. Children of Men I never thought was that special beyond the long takes and even then I feel like the best kind of technical movie work is stuff people don't notice unless they're cinephiles, everyone noticed CoM was doing long takes, some of the best long takes are the ones that immerse you and you don't even realize it's doing it. Also the weird thing is, TLOU is getting so much shit for being "woke" when arguably both CoM and TWD are far more "woke" than it.

 

[cm osi]

dunno. one can find interesting the relationship between the two characters but the story isn't really something to praise. it's a pretty basic zombapocalipse story, i felt like i was playing a action version of walking dead.
there's the solo gun hoarder, there's the self-sufficient village of pacifists and there's the village of cannibals. it's pretty standard if you ask me.
it had good faces and animation for when it came out, sure

 

[Doom85]

How so?

I've not seen Children of Men, but Walking Dead Season 1, its primary strength was Lee and Celementine and them alone. A lot of the other characters either died too quickly or weren't present long enough for me to connect to them, and one of the few who did last the whole way, Kenny, was one of the most insufferable self-centered hypocrites I've ever seen in fiction. "Hey, everyone should bend their ass backwards to make sure my family is okay, but I will throw a temper tantrum if anyone tries to put who they value most above my family! Because this entire universe has to revolve around my family!!!" Honestly, while Ben was annoying, when he called Kenny out on his bullshit drama, I fucking applauded.

Walking Dead Season 1 is great but a lot of the supporting cast either add little or weigh it down. I personally think of the Telltale Games I've played that Tales from the Borderlands is their masterpiece. Not only is that game hilarious the whole way through (whereas BL 2 was 50% hit or miss with its jokes, and then 3 unfortunately only made me chuckle a few times. Really should have hired a few of those Telltale writers now looking for jobs, Gearbox!) but virtually every single character was funny and/or engaging to follow (I mean, when the first antagonist is voiced by the god himself Patrick Warburton, I knew I was in good hands). And those title sequences, fucking superb, Episode 4 in particular has one of my favorite title sequences ever to be honest.

 

[Elder Legend]

I think TLOU is a good game but a tad overrated. The story honestly is really kind of cliche and nothing special. As a matter of fact it's quite standard for what a story would be like for a post apocalypse setting with infectious and survival going around.

I think the reason why TLOU "story's is highly regarded is not really the main plot itself but rather the writing in the characters and HOW the story is told. Ellie and Joel are well written good characters imo and it's really the reason why people have an emotional attachment to the storyline.

Either way, I am not the biggest fan of TLOU out there to be quite frank. Yes, it is a great game, but to me it's nothing really ground breaking or OMG hype/best thing ever.

I am excited for TLOU 2 despite the leaks (I spoiled myself as well, but that's simply because I don't care for the story as much as other people do, so I am not really upset)

I am more interested in actually playing the game now and seeing how the story is told rather than what happens and what I found out. Anyway, this is not a leak thread, but just wanted to give my personal opinion on how I feel about TLOU as a franchise overall.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

A good story is timeles, so nothing surprising there.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I am more interested in actually playing the game now and seeing how the story is told rather than what happens and what I found out. Anyway, this is not a leak thread, but just wanted to give my personal opinion on how I feel about TLOU as a franchise overall.

Yup, as someone who think one of the main errors of postmodern analysis/criticism is that it judges the themes as opposed to how well written and credible a story is (insinuating you can't relate to those who are different)... I find the TLoU2 outrage mod outrageous when they think they are somehow "anti-sjw", they think and act so much alike, it's frightening.

 

[GenericUser]

Except it doesn't, it was pure garbage from the beginning to end. Re2 remake handed tlou it's ass when it comes to zombie games. Stop glorifying console exclusives that are just plain mediocre.

Also: Mr. Cuckman is an asshole.

 

[Saber]

I must say the story of the game is pretty solid. It has some nice characters and how it flows until the end its pretty good imo.

But as I said before, the gameplay isn't what I would call the best. Feels like a slowpoke and a chore in most of parts.

What I find impressive is how people paints Joel as some kind of villain, expecting some kinda of morals of him(and of the game) in an apocalipse zombie game where you have to watch your back to not be backstabbed.

 

[MORJDK]

At best the last of us story, is a c-tier zombie movie, i will never understand its praise.

 

[wzy]

At best the last of us story, is a c-tier zombie movie, i will never understand its praise.

You see, TLOU is brilliant and revolutionary because it uses scarce resources and a new technique called linear storytelling to convey its narrative themes of survival in a horrific world. No, it's not like Resident Evil! It's way more tedious and miserable to actually play, which is a lot better. Because themes.

 

[GymWolf]

never cared for the story even 7 years ago tbh.

it's a gigantic ambulant cliche.

 

[Tesseract]

everyone wants to be joel but nobody wants to be joel

i see you, enemies

 

[oagboghi2]

TLOU is better than all your examples.

No it really isn't.

I wonder do people who love TLOU like this just have no knowledge of anything else.

It's a good game, but it will not change your life

 

[Steve.1981]

It's a simple story told well. It treats the characters with care & respect. It allows them to grow naturally. It doesn't shrink away from the uncomfortable reality of how everything ends.

It's a brilliant piece of work.

 

[Terenty]

There's just more layers and nuance to its story and the ending is by far superior to how those stories concluded. Nevermind that it's also a videogame, but even if we just separated the narrative from the gameplay I vastly prefer TLOU to anything you mentioned. The Walking Dead was a saccharine softening of the hard edge the comic provided with fake choices that meant nothing by the end of season 1. It was sad but hardly anything to make you think. The Road has an interesting idea at play but it kinda just has that one idea, incredibly simple in comparison, all 3 examples miss the incredible world building TLOU has. Children of Men I never thought was that special beyond the long takes and even then I feel like the best kind of technical movie work is stuff people don't notice unless they're cinephiles, everyone noticed CoM was doing long takes, some of the best long takes are the ones that immerse you and you don't even realize it's doing it. Also the weird thing is, TLOU is getting so much shit for being "woke" when arguably both CoM and TWD are far more "woke" than it.

I dont quite remember all the details of The Road and Children of Man i just mentioned them as the source material for Tlou and how they copied from them plot points. As for the walking dead i thought the relationships between Lee and Clementine felt more genuine and less cliche hollywood- like as in Tlou.

The way Joel warms up to Elie is a worn out trope, moreover the development of their relationships is very abrupt - one season they are not close next season Joel treats her like a daughter. When was the moment when something changed inside Joel? Maybe not a moment, but a string of events that lead to Joel becoming a father figure to her? They never show it. It felt lazy to me.

Another thing that i mentioned in another thread is how it feels crudely stitched together from two different parts: story and gameplay and there's no cohesion between them. Story is super realistic drama and gameplay is an action game ala Rambo. That is another thing that makes Clementine and Lee more human and believable - they are not invincible supermans leaving hundreds of bodies in their wake. Their tials and tribulatioms felt believable unlike Tlou. Yes, you can apply this criticism to a lot of games, but the way Tlou is praised you could have thought it did something extraordinary in that regard. It didn't.

And the ending is the most obvious and safe conclusion to the story they could come up with. If Joel had let them do the experiment and they'd have produced the cure and helped humanity, while killing Elie in the process, that would be have been impactful and thought provoking.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

No it really isn't.

I wonder do people who love TLOU like this just have no knowledge of anything else.

It's a good game, but it will not change your life

What knowledge are you accusing me of not possessing, exactly?

I dont quite remember all the details of The Road and Children of Man i just mentioned them as the source material for Tlou and how they copied from them plot points. As for the walking dead i thought the relationships between Lee and Clementine felt more genuine and less cliche hollywood- like as in Tlou.

The way Joel warms up to Elie is a worn out trope, moreover the development of their relationships is very abrupt - one season they are not close next season Joel treats her like a daughter. When was the moment when something changed inside Joel? Maybe not a moment, but a string of events that lead to Joel becoming a father figure to her? They never show it. It felt lazy to me.

Another thing that i mentioned in another thread is how it feels crudely stitched together from two different parts: story and gameplay and there's no cohesion between them. Story is super realistic drama and gameplay is an action game ala Rambo. That is another thing that makes Clementine and Lee more human and believable - they are not invincible supermans leaving hundreds of bodies in their wake. Their tials and tribulatioms felt believable unlike Tlou. Yes, you can apply this criticism to a lot of games, but the way Tlou is praised you could have thought it did something extraordinary in that regard. It didn't.

And the ending is the most obvious and safe conclusion to the story they could come up with. If Joel had let them do the experiment and they'd have produced the cure and helped humanity, while killing Elie in the process, that would be have been impactful and thought provoking.

I mean were the Road and Children of Men wholly original? Everything takes from elsewhere. I honestly would argue the Lee/Clementine relationship was far more cliche Hollywood than Joel/Ellie, Joel and Ellie is far more complex and nuanced especially with how it leaves off.

What does worn out trope mean? Uh... it doesn't feel abrupt in the game, no. What really triggered change was his girlfriend dying, honestly forget her name. I mean, there is a string of events, nothing about it felt lazy to me.

That's patently absurd, one of the best things about TLOU is its fusion of story and gameplay. It's not an action game ala Rambo, the only way you could play it that way is on easy, the game is about survival, you rarely have enough ammo or resources, stealth is often required, just compare it to Uncharted and the idea becomes clear. I mean Lee and Clementine kill less zombies because there's no gameplay in that game.

Uh... what? What??? Like literally what? In what way would Joel allowing that fit with his character, the entire opening section of the game would exist for no reason, and without how the game opened Joel would have no reason to be apprehensive about caring for Ellie in the first place, it would make them bonding less meaningful as well if he wasn't initially reticent. How is this the most obvious and safe conclusion? What other game ever has posed a similar dilemma?

 

[Terenty]

That's patently absurd, one of the best things about TLOU is its fusion of story and gameplay. It's not an action game ala Rambo, the only way you could play it that way is on easy, the game is about survival, you rarely have enough ammo or resources, stealth is often required, just compare it to Uncharted and the idea becomes clear. I mean Lee and Clementine kill less zombies because there's no gameplay in that game.

Yes, no gameplay that's why the story landed better for me and the characterization didn't suffer for it.

In Tlou they literally killed a hundred or more people in their journey, in what way was it realistic? They wanted to have a cake and eat it too, and didn't have the chops to execute it properly. There's a moment when Joel is impailed or smth to that effect and almost dies, then takes some pills and goes on his way as if nothing happened. Then Ellie goes without Joel alone and puts down folks left and right. So yes, there's a lot of hollywood tropes there.

Uh... what? What??? Like literally what? In what way would Joel allowing that fit with his character, the entire opening section of the game would exist for no reason, and without how the game opened Joel would have no reason to be apprehensive about caring for Ellie in the first place, it would make them bonding less meaningful as well if he wasn't initially reticent. How is this the most obvious and safe conclusion? What other game ever has posed a similar dilemma?

Theres no dilemma for Joel at all. She became like a daughter to him, so the decision was obvious. Moreover someone mentioned there's a document stating Fireflies killed several other people trying to make the cure, so producing it was not a sure thing at all which makes Joel's decisin even more obvious. I'm not even sure the devs themselves tried to pose this dilemma to the player, it is something fans themselves tacked on afterwards.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

Yes, no gameplay that's why the story landed better for me and the characterization didn't suffer for it.

In Tlou they literally killed a hundred or more people in their journey, in what way was it realistic? They wanted to have a cake and eat it too, and didn't have the chops to execute it properly. There's a moment when Joel is impailed or smth to that effect and almost dies, then takes some pills and goes on his way as if nothing happened. Then Ellie goes without Joel alone and puts down folks left and right. So yes, there's a lot of hollywood tropes there.


Theres no dilemma for Joel at all. She became like a daughter to him, so the decision was obvious. Moreover someone mentioned there's a document stating Fireflies killed several other people trying to make the cure, so producing it was not a sure thing at all which makes Joel's decisin even more obvious. I'm not even sure the devs themselves tried to pose this dilemma to the player, it is something fans themselves tacked on afterwards.

I didn't use the word realistic. I was speaking to it being more of a survival than action game and your limited resources and reliance on stealth are a part of why. The number of enemies killed speaks more to the game's length than anything else, it's an issue most games face and it's often unavoidable without turning into a non-game like a Telltale game. I think you're misremembering how Joel heals and how long it takes, you have to play as Ellie because of how long he's out. I mean, you're the one controlling Ellie, you don't believe you can do what you're doing? I don't get it.

This old argument again. The final scene, the actual final scene, is Ellie making Joel promise he hasn't lied to her about the Fireflies and when Joel promises he hasn't her face drops, she no longer trusts the man she looked upon as a father. Joel's actions save her, but kill their relationship. It's amazing how many people don't get the ending for the game at all. If Joel thought what he did was the ultimate good and didn't see the evil in it why would he lie about it to Ellie? Joel did what he did not to save her, but because HE couldn't bear losing another daughter, his own weakness is what caused him to do what he did but in the end he might have lost her all the same. That's what's poetic and tragic about it.

 

[Terenty]

He lied to her because he didn't want her to run off again and get killed. She was a naive child and didn't know who Fireflies really were. The fact this conflict is not important in the second part tells me the devs themselves didn't find it that important

 

[Explosive Zombie]

He lied to her because he didn't want her to run off again and get killed. She was a naive child and didn't know who Fireflies really were. The fact this conflict is not important in the second part tells me the devs themselves didn't find it that important

"Fact"?? How is not important? What inside info do you have the rest of us don't? What do you mean who the Fireflies really were? They really were searching for a cure, they may have been desperate and willing to operate on an unconscious child without her consent but Joel was also desperate and willing to forsake the human race for Ellie. There's no need to hero worship Joel OR paint the Fireflies as saints in some way. There can be nuance to your views of both and Druckman would expect nuance, the final shot of the game is the look if disappointment on Ellie's face at the realization Joel has lied to her about everything.

 

[ROMhack]

Ehh the gameplay was fun and I think tying a decent enough story to it worked well. It's the same with a few Sony games from this gen (God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn).

I'm not sure it was anything close to original or thought-provoking in the way many made it out to be. We had a similar issue with Heavy Rain at the time.

 

[Shmunter]

The funny thing is, the more time passes and the more software as a service and open world incoherent junk we get, the better this game gets.

Can’t be easy, 7 years later and we still haven’t got anything close to the caliber.

 

[CobraXT]

the story is good .. people loved the father-daughter relationship .. the gameplay is mediocre at best .. for me the gameplay became tedious
after 5 hours of playing ..

 

[Guilty_AI]

Can't say this enough but TLoU was a product of its time.

In the ps360 gen, there was this trend of seeing games as if they were interactive movies, and a lot of the games following that trend would fall short of that ideal for one reason or another, be it because the story was too much of a "B dumb action movie", game was too weird or silly, too low budget, niche gameplay, etc.

TLoU was basically the idealization of that trend. The writing was good enough, story was "serious" and character centric, gameplay was acessible and followed mainstream appeal, cinematics and acting were pretty good, graphics were gorgeous, it had a hollywood-esque appeal for the western audience... However, looking at it objectively, the story really is just ok, and mechanics are average at best. I guess the only reason people still praise it nowadays is due to their lingering attachement to the characters.

 

[Burrito Bandito]

this is the aspect of the game that was the most overrated. I still cant comprehend why its so highly regarded. The story was extremely cliche and predictable. Even the ending was obvious after the first hour of the game.

idk, i just dont get it. zombie apocalypse where a father figure escorts a little girl throughout the world as she comes of age. i mean for video games that may be above average but for any other media thats average AF

 

[Guilty_AI]

this is the aspect of the game that was the most overrated. I still cant comprehend why its so highly regarded. The story was extremely cliche and predictable. Even the ending was obvious after the first hour of the game.

idk, i just dont get it. zombie apocalypse where a father figure escorts a little girl throughout the world as she comes of age. i mean for video games that may be above average but for any other media thats average AF

See my previous comment (right above yours), it might clarify some things

 

[Terenty]

This old argument again. The final scene, the actual final scene, is Ellie making Joel promise he hasn't lied to her about the Fireflies and when Joel promises he hasn't her face drops, she no longer trusts the man she looked upon as a father. Joel's actions save her, but kill their relationship. It's amazing how many people don't get the ending for the game at all. If Joel thought what he did was the ultimate good and didn't see the evil in it why would he lie about it to Ellie? Joel did what he did not to save her, but because HE couldn't bear losing another daughter, his own weakness is what caused him to do what he did but in the end he might have lost her all the same. That's what's poetic and tragic about it.

Ok, lets agree to disagree then. For me Joel's decision to save her wasn't morally grey, selfish or anything, it was a no brainer. If the writers tried to make him out to be some kind if villain for doing that then they failed in my opinion.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

Ok, lets agree to disagree then. For me Joel's decision to save her wasn't morally grey, selfish or anything, it was a no brainer. If the writers tried to make him out to be some kind if villain for doing that then they failed in my opinion.

Not a villain, that's a bit too binary, but when Marlene is lying, wounded, begging for her life and Joel blows her brains out it's a little hard to say he wasn't in a moral grey area at the least. Nevermind lying to Ellie about it.

 

[Kerotan Frog]

Because we all feel like the world is about to end..?

 

[plushyp]

Can't say this enough but TLoU was a product of its time.

In the ps360 gen, there was this trend of seeing games as if they were interactive movies, and a lot of the games following that trend would fall short of that ideal for one reason or another, be it because the story was too much of a "B dumb action movie", game was too weird or silly, too low budget, niche gameplay, etc.

TLoU was basically the idealization of that trend. The writing was good enough, story was "serious" and character centric, gameplay was acessible and followed mainstream appeal, cinematics and acting were pretty good, graphics were gorgeous, it had a hollywood-esque appeal for the western audience... However, looking at it objectively, the story really is just ok, and mechanics are average at best. I guess the only reason people still praise it nowadays is due to their lingering attachement to the characters.

This is a very balanced take and pretty much what I think as well.

 

[Dibils2k]

i will never understand how people have replayed this game over and over... gameplay was horrendous/slow and just the want to play out the story is what kept me playing.

i am not a stealth fan though so maybe thats why