The Last of Us, and Why it Didn't Blow My Mind, but Also, Why I Think That's Ok.
Apr. 17, 2014The Last of Us, and Why it Didn’t Blow My Mind, but Also, Why I Think That’s Ok.
Ah, The Last of Us. Naughty Dog’s latest, which set the Internet on fire, in a remarkably short time frame. Actually, the game was hyped up before it was even released, but it lived up to that hype, and then some. I remember, shortly after the game’s launch, hearing so many people, critics and fans alike, going on and on about what an emotional ride this game is, and how it took videogame based narratives to a whole new level, not previously seen before. Of course I was intrigued.
I was going to wait for the game to at least be at the more reasonable price point of $40, but I decided that I had to check it out ASAP, to find out what all the fuss is about. Yeah, I played a small part of the game at E3, but nothing that told me much of anything about the story and characters.
But, I went down to EB Games, and the girl there told me they were out of copies. However, since I’m a regular customer, she asked me, in a whisper, if I really wanted the game. When I said she did, she pulled a copy out of a drawer. It was a pre-order edition with all the dlc extras. I bought the copy, and left a happy customer. Alas, that employee doesn’t work at that store anymore, but the service there has always been good.
Wait, what was I talking about? Oh, right. The Last of Us. I brought my copy home, and spent the better part of three days playing it non-stop. I enjoyed every minute of it, but my mind wasn’t blown, like many claimed it would be. To be fair, I had a similar experience to the movie Avatar. So many people praised that movie, and some even claimed that it changed their outlook on life, so of course I had to see it for myself. It was pretty to look at, just like The Last of Us, and I enjoyed the film, but I just didn’t understand why it had such a huge impact on people.
The analogy isn’t perfect, because The Last of Us wasn’t quite hyped to the extreme of Avatar, largely due to it being a gamers only affair, and I think it’s much more creative than Avatar ever was, but neither blew my mind, or changed my outlook on life.
With the recent announcement of a ps4 edition of The Last of Us, many people will undoubtedly buy the game again, but I probably won’t. I already spent $60 on it as it is, and even if the dlc is included, I can get that for a lot less by downloading it for my ps3 version. Even upgraded resolution and frame rate won’t be enough to entice me to buy it again. I might consider it when it drops to $20, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like The Last of Us. I beat the game in three days, because I just couldn’t put it down. I think, as an experienced gamer, who has played countless games, it becomes harder and harder to justify calling something one of my favorite games of all time, because it becomes a bolder and bolder statement to make, as time goes on.
The Last of Us is not one of my favorite games ever made, but I think that’s ok. I enjoyed every minute of it. It manages to bring a proper wasteland story to a videogame, but it also combines a good variety of conventional gameplay mechanics, and the game allows for a few different approaches to dealing with enemies, effectively giving the player some freedom to play to his or her playing style. The characters are well written. The take on the standard zombie is different, and refreshing. The ending is sufficiently controversial, and though the last line in the game, that everyone says is fantastic, didn’t blow my mind either, I still enjoyed the game.
Sometimes, it’s ok if a game doesn’t blow away everything else we’ve played. I can enjoy a game without calling it one of my favorites, and I’m ok with that. The Last of Us is a good game. Some may even call it a great game. But, there’s no law that says everyone has to feel the same way about it. I look forward to hearing about the continuation of the series as a franchise, but in the meantime, I’m content having enjoyed The Last of Us, and that’s just fine with me.
Hi guys. I hope you like this post. I just started a blog of my own, which you can find here:landofgaming.netI will be re-posting my work over here at Fextralife, but if you like what you see, feel free to check out the link above, but otherwise, have a nice day.
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Tross
Sounds about right. I have the same deal with Fallout games. EVERYBODY near where I live loved the crap out of those games, but I can just never get into it. I’ve tried thrice, and it never works.
I was prepared for some backlash, but I wouldn’t have written that article if I was really that afraid of what people think. Lots of people just adore TLoU, and yeah, I liked it too, but by Internet norms, it’s almost a crime to think of it as anything less than Shakespeare. But, hey, different strokes, right? I wasn’t calling out the dedicated fanbase for TLoU, so much as saying that I don’t exactly belong to the church of Joel and Eliie.
I guess it’s just one of those moments when something’s hyped so hard, to doesn’t end up living up to itself. I had this same predicament.
Nice article. I feel like you expected to get a lot of backlash, when in reality you have some good company.
I think TLoU is a great game. I just don’t think it’s super mind-blowingly incredible. I didn’t approach this post as a straight up review, since I didn’t get into specific details, or post a score, but, my point is that it’s ok to like something without being totally in love with it, and I think I managed to get that across.I have thought about doing a comparison between TLoU and Telltale’s The Walking Dead, mostly to put to rest the notion that one has to be superior to the other(since I’ve played both, and enjoyed both), but we’ll see if and when I get to it.
Thank you for everything Fexelea. Later today, I’ll submit a couple of my other posts. Their names aren’t usually super long, like this one, I promise that.I think I will do my most recent ones, since yesterday’s covers a new release, and today’s is a current news piece, so both are best seen ASAP. Then again, today’s is more of a boring, report type post, so I might just send yesterday’s. Nah, I’ll send them both.
I don’t think Poison thinks much of TLoU as a survival horror title, but she’s very particular when it comes to her definition of survival horror. I think she still enjoyed the game for what it’s worth though. Great review, by the way.
Would have loved to have seen that Fex.
Solid review btw OP, I really liked TLoU but I agree it wasn’t without fault.
I sold the game really soon after beating it so I actually got most of my money back…if the Remastered Edition comes with the DLC then it’s a definite buy for me.
Nice post Tross, and welcome to the site!
I liked The Last of Us andposted a review herewhich has most of my take on the game. I even did some streaming of the multiplayer while working on platinum, it was a nice mess!
I’d love to hear what Sweetpoison and some other genre fans have to say about this one
