The Last of Us is well-executed for what it is. Effectively the first of its kind in a generation of gaming rewarding cinematic narratives delivered in prestigious AAA realism, the harsh post-apocalypse puts on the pressure with a linear but immersive and distinctly survivalist experience. But perhaps as a consequence of the hype and awards it received over the last decade, it turns out I am not the audience for the exact way it tries to blend gameplay and story–it feels like oil and water to me.
I love video games as a storytelling canvas, for the unique language they are able to take advantage of. I love Psychonauts, Half-Life, and Undertale for trusting the player to engage with the depth of their worldbuilding when it is baked deeply into the game design itself. You don't really get enough in The Last of Us that utilizes the gameplay language meaningfully for narrative effectiveness like those games do. The game’s story IS good, that much is fact. Rarely, however, can TLoU deliver any piece of it in a way only a video game can.
Outcomes are all predetermined by TLoU’s set path, dampening its themes about the cycle of violence (a topic Undertale’s player freedom engages with more intimately since you can affect the narrative by choosing murder or mercy for yourself.) Extraneous worldbuilding is typically found only in written notes, a far cry from Psychonauts demonstrating who its side characters are with the intramental level designs that represent them, right down to even the collectibles therein. Ellie is typically invincible, taking away from the stakes of protecting her as you bring her across America. Compare that to Ashley from Resident Evil 4, who isn’t even close to being as much of a character, yet you feel more need to actively defend her since she has a health bar and a failstate for it dropping to 0.
All these simpler decisions TLoU makes lend to it having broad appeal, but in trying to please the many, it fails my expectations about what video games are truly capable of. I enjoyed subversion of numerous established functions in the late-game, where you're made to think you'll be going through the motions, but enlightened by character-informed twists instead. But it feels like too little too late. I dunno. Frontloading the game with status quo and saving subversion for the eleventh hour could be genius, actually, but it doesn’t come across that way after the gameplay basics got repetitive and eventually felt like a slog.
I hear the HBO show is a good adaptation! Looking forward to watching that with my mom. Having a version of this story that doesn’t bog itself down for me by falling short of expectations of its artistic medium ought to be nice.
I love video games as a storytelling canvas, for the unique language they are able to take advantage of. I love Psychonauts, Half-Life, and Undertale for trusting the player to engage with the depth of their worldbuilding when it is baked deeply into the game design itself. You don't really get enough in The Last of Us that utilizes the gameplay language meaningfully for narrative effectiveness like those games do. The game’s story IS good, that much is fact. Rarely, however, can TLoU deliver any piece of it in a way only a video game can.
Outcomes are all predetermined by TLoU’s set path, dampening its themes about the cycle of violence (a topic Undertale’s player freedom engages with more intimately since you can affect the narrative by choosing murder or mercy for yourself.) Extraneous worldbuilding is typically found only in written notes, a far cry from Psychonauts demonstrating who its side characters are with the intramental level designs that represent them, right down to even the collectibles therein. Ellie is typically invincible, taking away from the stakes of protecting her as you bring her across America. Compare that to Ashley from Resident Evil 4, who isn’t even close to being as much of a character, yet you feel more need to actively defend her since she has a health bar and a failstate for it dropping to 0.
All these simpler decisions TLoU makes lend to it having broad appeal, but in trying to please the many, it fails my expectations about what video games are truly capable of. I enjoyed subversion of numerous established functions in the late-game, where you're made to think you'll be going through the motions, but enlightened by character-informed twists instead. But it feels like too little too late. I dunno. Frontloading the game with status quo and saving subversion for the eleventh hour could be genius, actually, but it doesn’t come across that way after the gameplay basics got repetitive and eventually felt like a slog.
I hear the HBO show is a good adaptation! Looking forward to watching that with my mom. Having a version of this story that doesn’t bog itself down for me by falling short of expectations of its artistic medium ought to be nice.