TLOU deserves credit for its powerful performances and character-driven story, though I cant help but feel it is moving in the wrong direction.
Many see TLOU as the first video game to reach a level of mass appeal and maturity deserving of respect on the level of a blockbuster movie or prestige TV show. This is definitely true, if the bar for respect is sufficiently convincing technical/acting performances, or writing with an emotional core more engaging than historical AAA standards.
While I cant speak for everyone, I believe the ideal video game would primarily use interactive elements to shape our experiences. Naughty Dog does not seem to agree; the emotional cornerstone of the game -- Joel and Ellie's complicated relationship -- functions because good work was put into the cutscenes and the ambient dialogue between combat encounters. Combat, stealth, and scavenging encounters themselves, though, function mostly as a fun distraction, something to fluff the length of what could've been a compelling miniseries into a sufficiently-long clump of Video Game Content. The dozens, if not hundreds, of zombie and human bodies Joel and Ellie leave behind over the course of this game only makes it feel immature and insecure in its desire to give us a tender and personal story about relationships.
Equally immature is the theming. I feel that the game wants to make SOME kind of point regarding toxic parenting and trauma, but fails to articulate it and most of the story feels like a simple relationship being played very straight, with a twist existing more so to shock the player than to make a cohesive point. Again, I must say that the relationship is well done, but I expect more out of games, especially games lauded as breakouts in narrative design.
TLOU is what it is: a very engaging and well-made blockbuster, and nothing more, nothing less.
Many see TLOU as the first video game to reach a level of mass appeal and maturity deserving of respect on the level of a blockbuster movie or prestige TV show. This is definitely true, if the bar for respect is sufficiently convincing technical/acting performances, or writing with an emotional core more engaging than historical AAA standards.
While I cant speak for everyone, I believe the ideal video game would primarily use interactive elements to shape our experiences. Naughty Dog does not seem to agree; the emotional cornerstone of the game -- Joel and Ellie's complicated relationship -- functions because good work was put into the cutscenes and the ambient dialogue between combat encounters. Combat, stealth, and scavenging encounters themselves, though, function mostly as a fun distraction, something to fluff the length of what could've been a compelling miniseries into a sufficiently-long clump of Video Game Content. The dozens, if not hundreds, of zombie and human bodies Joel and Ellie leave behind over the course of this game only makes it feel immature and insecure in its desire to give us a tender and personal story about relationships.
Equally immature is the theming. I feel that the game wants to make SOME kind of point regarding toxic parenting and trauma, but fails to articulate it and most of the story feels like a simple relationship being played very straight, with a twist existing more so to shock the player than to make a cohesive point. Again, I must say that the relationship is well done, but I expect more out of games, especially games lauded as breakouts in narrative design.
TLOU is what it is: a very engaging and well-made blockbuster, and nothing more, nothing less.