The Last of Us

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

A game I never played because I haven't had a Playstation since high school, and it has been on my list forever. The game is definitely a masterpiece of storytelling, in a post-apocalyptic zombie America where a grizzled older man has to protect a young girl who is the only hope for a cure. It feels like these story beats have been copied a million times, and I am not sure this is the original, but it nails every moment without being overly sappy or on-the-nose.

For an older game I was genuinely scared many times, and delighted by the variety of environments you explore along the way. You meet memorable allies and even more memorable villains, the game constantly putting you in new situations to navigate.

I loved the way resources work in this game, constantly feeling like I barely have enough, probably what it feel like if this actually happened. In most games I end the game the richest man alive, but even by the final stages I felt like I needed to be careful with what I crafted and strategic in my approach.

Speaking of the ending, what a gut punch. The final cut to black moment was a shocking cliffhanger, but the final action scene forced my into a situation where I felt morally conflicted as the player. Pretty powerful stuff.

The game also leans on the environment to tell a story. The notes people have left behind are chilling, but often I found rooms with no notes told the richest stories. For an older game every room in every abandoned house felt unique. You see a house that is perfectly maintained but a corpse is in the bathtub. A school with the remnants of the violence that occurred at prom. A community that has survived but does unspeakable things to do so. I often found the exploration of this world more compelling than the main story, and the darkness of it still haunts me with the reality of desperation in a world like this. Again, its super powerful, and in no way glamourizes the violence or gore of it all.

All the gloom also leaves space for memorable hopeful moments that resonate long after the game has finished, and I can't wait to play the sequel in 10 years and have that hope squashed.

I can't give this a 10 because I didn't realize this is actually a Nintendo Wii game that relies heavily on being able to shake your controller to recharge your critical flashlight, something that didn't work for the way I was playing it. Just kidding, that actually made the game scarier for me, having to really pick and choose when to use the flashlight in those scary moment.

My actual reason for no 10 is just a lack of variety in the things you fight. You see all the possible enemies a couple hours in, and while this game isn't based around dungeons or boss fights I wanted just a bit more. Don't get me wrong, it has great situations that switch things up (hanging from a chain, taking out a tank, stealth in a burning building), but I do think the gameplay just didn't engage me as much as the story.

A long review, but this game warrants it. A true gem that I think can only be told through video games, immersing you in a way no other medium can and forcing actions the heighten the reality of the situations, leaving a pit in your stomach and a tear in your eye.