Survival, Heartache, and Hope: A Deep Dive into ‘The Last of Us

The last of us feature image

“The Last of Us,” developed by Naughty Dog, is an action-adventure game that’s without question one of the world’s most popular games. It careened from the massive success of the cable network show by the same name into a gaming masterpiece. It’s graphics, storylines, and immersive experience all make it a critically acclaimed video game.

Let’s dive in.

What’s The Last of Us About?

The Last of Us embodies one of the great post-apocalyptic gaming experiences today. There’s both survival and horror.  The storyline is a big part of why people tend to get entranced, or dare we say, addicted, to the game.

There are two installations to the series, the original from 2013 and the follow up released in 2020 (yep, pretty timely).

The series is based on a disease that turns humans into evil zombies. This creates a lot of internal, emotionally charged dilemmas.

In the early days, or series 1, the story focuses on Joel, a survivor that turns into the main character. Joel must help a girl named Ellie travel across the United States. Their developing relationship that evolves under some rather turbulent conditions is a main part of the storyline.

The follow up is a much darker experience. And within this darkness, Ellie becomes the focal character.

The narrative across the board is non-linear allowing for a variety of perspectives.

The Last of Us is well regarded as an emotional exploration and some pretty cool storytelling. There’s love, loss of love, survival, and fear.

Graphics

The Last of Us features rich graphics that add to the game’s overall immersive experiences. At times, it appears like your watching a cinematic masterpiece. And really, you are.

The game utilizes visual realism which pushed the boundaries of Playstation. It was a marvel for not only its time, but for today.

The animations, virtual worlds, and even facial expressions are incredible video game achievements. The attention to details are truly insane, this includes interior walls or random objects which many video games may look past.

The Last of Us is one of the great games of all time. From it’s amazing, emotionally charged storylines to it’s insanely wicked-cool graphics, The Last of Us 1 & 2 currently stands as one of the best games ever.