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Hayden Miller

Carey Perkins

ENG101

23 June 2023

The Last of Us: What A Video Game Should Be

The Last of Us for the PlayStation 3 is not just everything a video game should be, but

everything a good story is too. Imagine for a second you are trying to tell an effective story; you

want the audience to be engaged, think about your themes, truly examine situations from a

different perspective, and form their own opinions on the subject. One of the best ways to do this

is to have the audience become a character. The Last of Us is a perfect example of this. This is a

game that not only tells an incredible story, but uses the ability to play as the main character to

enhance the way the story is told. One thing to know about this game is that it was one of the

first real examples of video games being able to tell a compelling story through the medium of

video games. The Last of us is an incredible video game that everyone should have the

opportunity to play because of its combination of excellent storytelling, engaging gameplay, and

incredible soundtrack.

One reason why The Last of Us is such an incredible game is because of its phenomenal

story. Without spoiling anything, the player must take the role of Joel, a callous old man who

must safely take a young Ellie across the country to a resistance headquarters. Remarkable

storytelling might not come to mind when thinking of a zombie video game, but for The Last of

Us it should. The main focus of the game isn’t zombie fighting, it's the story, or as the video

game review from Kotaku puts it:

The Last of Us's fungal pandemic is really just table-setting for a much more

intimate, human story. Like last year's The Walking Dead game, this isn't actually
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a tale of zombies and bandits and the end of the world. It's a tale of loss and hope

and friendship and family that just happens to feature zombies and bandits and the

end of the world. (Hamilton)

Another unique aspect of the story is that the player will play as Joel, this aspect also makes it

easier for the player to participate in his character development and gives the player an

understanding of his actions. The game’s ability to have the player's actions affect and change the

character is something that is a rewarding thing to experience. This game’s story is one of its

strong suits but the gameplay is not something to be overlooked.

One thing that helps The Last of Us be such a memorable experience is its engaging and

fun gameplay. The combat is difficult in a way that it challenges the player and their ability to

make good decisions on a dime:

The Last of Us constantly reminds you of your vulnerability. Stealth is the key to

your survival, as overwhelming odds often encourage you to remain in the

shadows before leaping out to perform graceless executions with blunt

instruments like shivs. If events escalate into melee or gunplay, you are forced

into tense, harried battles that leave you breathless. (Helgeson)

While most games give the player a gun or make them almost invincible, The Last of Us forces

the player to get creative because resources are scarce. Charging blindly into a fight will end up

with a game over screen. The player must approach battles with a plan. This makes winning

every encounter that much more satisfying. Another great aspect of the gameplay is that the

whole combat system is well thought out and structured. The balance between the different types

of weapons and the scarcity of their ammo makes every fight different, as a Kotaku review puts

it “Each scenario in the game feels distinct and carefully assembled, and the skirmishes evolve

with fluidity. For the most part Naughty Dog avoids the repetitive, copy-paste gunfights”
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(Hamilton). This allows the game experience to be different every time, that’s part of the reason

why I've played the game 7 times. This game just has the ability to keep the player coming back

and one reason I keep playing the game is because of its soundtrack.

A part of what makes The Last of Us so great is its incredible soundtrack. Whether it be

the quiet melancholy background music of the game’s slow and peaceful moments, the almost

deafening drums banging when you’re caught off guard and thrown into an intense battle or the

moving instrumentals over the game’s most emotional scenes, they all bring the game together in

a way that puts the games story and themes into the medium of sound. Because of how well the

game’s sound design was, The Last of Us won the award for best overall sound. The best

articulated reason for this award was given by an IGN in an article where they say, “As great as

the settings and animations are in The Last of Us, nothing drives the overall sense of tension and

atmosphere quite like its sound design” (Stapelton).

These elements of the game are some of the most important aspects that make it so good.

It goes above and beyond all expectations for the game it promised to be, it is a treasure in the

form of a disc. The Last of Us’s story, gameplay and soundtrack make it one of the best video

games of all time that everyone should be able to play.

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Works Cited

Hamilton, Kirk. “The Last of Us: The Kotaku Review.” Kotaku, 29 July 2014,

https://kotaku.com/the-last-of-us-the-kotaku-review-511292998

Helgeson, Matt. “The Last of US Review - Naughty Dog’s Grim Masterpiece.” Game Informer,

5 June 2013,

www.gameinformer.com/games/the_last_of_us/b/ps3/archive/2013/06/05/the-last-of-us-r

eview-naughty-dogs-grim-masterpiece.aspx.

Stapleton, Dan, et al. “Best Overall Sound - IGN’s Best of 2013 Guide.” IGN, 10 Jan. 2014,

www.ign.com/wikis/best-of-2013/Best_Overall_Sound.