The Last of Us

Not owning a PS3, I've only played about three hours of The Last of Us. I've already written about the length needed played before discussion can be covered. And whether I look at the game as an unintended statement of video games and their current state (and prospects), the perfect fulfillment of Naughty Dogs dreams or a good example of what needs improvement in video game design, changes whether this discussion can seem like either a completely necessary assessment or an unnecessary, and unnecessarily cruel, collection of nitpickings.

TLoU is a "classic" shooting game wrapped in the narrative of Children of Men. It comes with one unique mechanic and one play-style changing ideal.

The mechanic is the player's ability to focus his or her listening and spot noisy enemies across distances and through walls. This greatly enhances the pacing of combat where the camera's placement and rigidness mostly obscures the player's ability to get a good orientation and stealth is the most rewarded play-style.

The play-style changing ideal, is the scarcity of improvements and ressources. Granted, I didn't play far enough to see how much this matters further in the game, but I've been asking for such an ideal in a game for 6-7 years now, and it really made me play different. Furthermore, it seemed like a great way to make the player play the desperation of the narrative.

These two elements are unique and go very well together with a game about human desperate struggle for survival and common decency in extreme situations. But Naughty Dog didn't seem to to let me want play its themes. I was exposed to them through video sequences and then played combat sequences, as if Naughty Dog was afraid be quiet and let me figure out my own desperation.

I talk about TLoU because it feels like I understood its core values and had the enjoyment of them. Not the full enjoyment. Experiencing the full story and playing the entire journey through would definitely make me more engaged with the characters amd their problems, and make the experience more important in my own life.

Two issues become apparent: TLoU should have been braver and more daring in the way it lets the player experience the world and its themes. The other issue on the other hand, is that someone at Naughty Dog probably really wanted to make this game and I don't see any way how this work could come into existance right now, if not in its current form. So hats off to TLoU, your wonderful but I wish you were someone else.