I just don't like The Last Of Us

[Casual Shinji]

Well I can kinda understand the dropping of the obligatory part, though I do get the impression that you are supposed to venture through these houses, especially because most of the game's storytelling comes from the world building rather than the actual character interaction. The ice cream truck thing does have Joel involved (albeit for one, maybe two lines), but I'll leave that aside as I did notice it on my play through regardless as I had finished investigating a nearby house. It still left me a bit cold, especially because of that scene you mentioned which did such a good job at closing off that cycle of new characters (mostly).

Spoiler

I feel like Sam's last scene with Ellie was perhaps a highlight of the game. I saw it not as say the ending of the love triangle immediately before the death, but rather a scene which would later give him some dignity posthumously. The kid exited the story in the best possible way without ruining the whole family thing they had building. A better way of handling his character I'd say than giving us a very brief character moment before Zombie Zombie Growl Bite.

We'll leave aside how silly the post-death cutscene is.

Spoiler

I will give you that the whole 'Henry commiting guilt ridden suicide' bit felt forced. It just seemed like the game tried to tie that chapter up in a neat little bow. I would've liked it better had Henry just walked off with Sam's body to an unknown fate, similar to Bill. It would've added to the theme of every character in the game being lost and directionless.

 

[Ishal]

I've never played the game, except for a few minutes at a friends house. He was absolutely enamored with it. Me? not so much.

It's a Naughty Dog game, just like KOTOR or Dragon Age is a Bioware game. If you played KOTOR you know what to expect from Dragon Age. Likewise if you played Uncharted you know what to expect from TLOU. It's got that feel to it.

TLOU represents a bit of a problem for me. It's another one of these games that just doesn't seem to want to be gamey. Yeah yeah I know, roll your eyes. That's an eye rolling statement, I'm aware. But I followed the production of this game. I read it's articles, I watched dev interviews, and I listened to Druckmann. Nearly everything was about the story, characters, and acting. Such great mo-cap. Such great performances from the actors. Such daring and provocative attitudes by fighting to keep Ellie on the front cover. Such grit in the characters. All that is well and good, but... we're still talking about a game... right?

Yes, I know games can tell stories, and if they really want to focus on those things, fair enough. But there are such limitations. I'm really happy that people enjoy this game. Though it apparently has a host of flaws, it's not at all a bad game. It's just not a game for me. Perhaps a few years ago it would have been, but somewhere along the way... March 6 2012 I just began to rapidly lose interest in story driven games. I don't understand playing through something where gameplay is little more than padding, added as second fiddle to the mo-capped cutscenes carrying out the story. A story which is hamstrung by the fact that gameplay and player interactivity still needs to happen.

It's just confusing. Apparently they are making a movie now. Why didn't they just do that in the first place? I'm being sincere here. Every draw to this thing seems to be elements that are better suited to a different medium. Serious dramatic acting, a compelling story, good writing and characterization, directing scenes with actual actors. Seems it would benefit both the people making the game, and those who had serious criticisms about the story. A win-win.

 

[default]

I've never played the game, except for a few minutes at a friends house. He was absolutely enamored with it. Me? not so much.

It's a Naughty Dog game, just like KOTOR or Dragon Age is a Bioware game. If you played KOTOR you know what to expect from Dragon Age. Likewise if you played Uncharted you know what to expect from TLOU. It's got that feel to it.

TLOU represents a bit of a problem for me. It's another one of these games that just doesn't seem to want to be gamey. Yeah yeah I know, roll your eyes. That's an eye rolling statement, I'm aware. But I followed the production of this game. I read it's articles, I watched dev interviews, and I listened to Druckmann. Nearly everything was about the story, characters, and acting. Such great mo-cap. Such great performances from the actors. Such daring and provocative attitudes by fighting to keep Ellie on the front cover. Such grit in the characters. All that is well and good, but... we're still talking about a game... right?

Yes, I know games can tell stories, and if they really want to focus on those things, fair enough. But there are such limitations. I'm really happy that people enjoy this game. Though it apparently has a host of flaws, it's not at all a bad game. It's just not a game for me. Perhaps a few years ago it would have been, but somewhere along the way... March 6 2012 I just began to rapidly lose interest in story driven games. I don't understand playing through something where gameplay is little more than padding, added as second fiddle to the mo-capped cutscenes carrying out the story. A story which is hamstrung by the fact that gameplay and player interactivity still needs to happen.

It's just confusing. Apparently they are making a movie now. Why didn't they just do that in the first place? I'm being sincere here. Every draw to this thing seems to be elements that are better suited to a different medium. Serious dramatic acting, a compelling story, good writing and characterization, directing scenes with actual actors. Seems it would benefit both the people making the game, and those who had serious criticisms about the story. A win-win.

Because there is more to it than that. There is serious potency to taking part in the actions of the story rather than just watching it. The medium is still growing and experimenting. Some games are going to focus on this different kind of stuff more as we all learn and develop. To write it off completely for a slightly skewed focus is silly.

 

[Ishal]

Because there is more to it than that.

If you say so. Taking part in a story by setting down my controller while the cutscenes play out seems to defeat the purpose of holding the thing in the first place. But that's my own unpopular opinion, especially around these parts.

There is serious potency to taking part in the actions of the story rather than just watching it. The medium is still growing and experimenting. Some games are going to focus on this different kind of stuff more as we all learn and develop. To write it off completely for a slightly skewed focus is silly.

I'm only writing it off as potential entertainment for myself. If others want to enjoy it, great, and I'm happy for them. I said as much in my post.

Yes, I know games can tell stories, and if they really want to focus on those things, fair enough.

I'm aware the direction that games are taking, and I'm in agreement that they have potential. I even agree that they can and will get better. Where I disagree is that they will approach the level of other mediums more suited to storytelling. They will get better, but there is a plateau. And that plateau will keep them from what other mediums have achieved.

The gamer is an obstacle for storytelling. When the story is being shaped, the player must always be taken into account. It's an element that other writers of scripts and books need not worry about. Why is Nathan Drake called a serial murderer? Because he is... he's killed hundreds of people. More than professional soldiers kill in their entire careers. Why? Because he's the protagonist in a video game. The player takes control of him and the gunplay and killing is the gameplay that pads out the experience. That's all. Situations like this are not going to stop in games. From what I've seen, there appears to be two ways around it. 1) change how you tell your story to incorporate the gamey aspects such that it isn't jarring. In doing so limiting that oh so popular word... Ludonarrative Dissonance. 2) Remove so much of the gamey aspects that it's no longer a game at all.

I'm in agreement with Yahtzee. "One of the best ways for a game to tell it's story is to not tell it at all." Except one little difference. I don't think it's one of the best ways, I think it's the best way. I'm aware this is an unpopular opinion. But's it's how I feel and I've seen little that would change my mind.

 

[FoolKiller]

The controls are the worst though. I'm trying to control Joel but I feel like I'm just completely disconnected from the character. He's sluggish, slow and can't aim. It's like a big wall has been erected between me and Joel to prevent me from controlling him. It doesn't help either that I don't feel the stealth is particularly tight or well designed. I don't have a clue how the clickers work, apparently they're blind but they can see you anyway? It's all very confusing.

If you're having trouble aiming then put skill points into your aim. Putting one point into accuracy solves 80% of people's aiming problems.

Interesting, but that's where it drops the ball completely.

Here is a story driven game but the gameplay pulls you out every single time. Let me explain:

1. The Upgrade System
You're talking about aim. The whole skill system is crap. You're a survivor of 20 years during a zombie apocalypse. How do you not have all of the upgradable skills already? Also, how are these skills upgraded by really random and scarce drugs? Why is your aim not improved by... shooting?

2. Limited Storage
If I remember correctly, there are backpacks on both Joel and Ellie. Why can they only carry 3 shivs, 6 bullets for one gun, 9 for another. The restrictions of the carrying capacity of two backpacks is ridiculous. I'm not saying it should be like old school shooters where you're carrying 10 guns and thousands of bullets but this is too far in the other direction.

3. Infinite Bullet Disparity
I understand that they want to encourage stealth, but this is another idiotic measure. I get into a firefight with some people (for which some encounters are unavoidable) and they keep shooting and shooting. I kill them all expertly with headshots (as I have almost no ammo) and what is my reward? 2 bullets. I kill more than half a dozen enemies and there are 2 bullets to pick up. What were they shooting at me with? Mana?

4. Breakable Weapons
While some of these make sense (such as a rotted 2x4), I will never understand how a steel pipe *breaks* after a few hits on soft fleshy objects. If you've ever swung a steel pipe (I have) you'll know that before the pipe breaks it is 100% more likely that your arms fall off from fatigue and strain than the pipe breaking.

5. Save System/Unclear Checkpoints
I found a clever path in one area. I hopped in from a roof to slowly take out each enemy one at a time. I saved my progress because I had to go. Upon restarting the game, I was in the middle room with all adjacent rooms occupied by the things I had killed. I didn't even mind the fact they respawned as I obviously didn't pass their invisible checkpoint barrier in the section. What I am upset about is that they put me into a much more difficult scenario as I spawned in a location I was never in.

6. Forced Stealth
As a stealth afficianado, I have played many games where stealth is key element and this is the first one in a long time that I've absolutely hated. This game is less about stealth and more about trial and error pathfinding. When you're in a game with stealth done correctly, there are options. This game doesn't have that. It is shoehorning you into stealth in many instances. Stealth which wouldn't be required based on the rest of the mechanics if it weren't for the issues I have already mentioned.

In conclusion, while the story is something I really liked, all the gameplay mechanics worked directly against my enjoyment of the story.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Forced Stealth
As a stealth afficianado, I have played many games where stealth is key element and this is the first one in a long time that I've absolutely hated. This game is less about stealth and more about trial and error pathfinding. When you're in a game with stealth done correctly, there are options. This game doesn't have that. It is shoehorning you into stealth in many instances. Stealth which wouldn't be required based on the rest of the mechanics if it weren't for the issues I have already mentioned.

You're never forced into stealth, ever. The only thing forcing you to stealth is the danger of an enemy spotting and killing you. There's never an instance where breaking stealth results in an immediate game over á la Assassin's Creed. Even the hardest stealth section, which is arguably the escape from the Boston QZ you can just run while military forces are shooting at you.

The one real Boss fight in the whole game requires you to stealth, where one melee hit will instantly kill you, and even there you can break stealth, run and hide, and go back into stealth again.

I've played a lot of stealth games and TLoU is probably the most lenient in the genre.

 

[Xerosch]

I just can't enjoy the game at all. It's not fun for me. I've heard the story is amazing but so far nothing has really grabbed me and I can sort of guess how the story is going to go from what has happened so far.

I have played the PS3 version a bit and bought a second hand version of the PS4 remaster. After playing about half of the game (just started chapter 3) I don't get the praise either. It's an OK game with the occasional professional cutscene thrown into the mix, but I simply don't get invested in anything that's going on. I asked in a thread if I simply missed an emotional entry point, but it dawns on me that my dislike for children may factor into this. Someday, I'll finish the game just to see how the story turns out.

Where already mentioned games like 'Bioshock Infinite' and 'The Witcher 2' grabbed me after a few minutes simply by being outlandish, the realism in 'The Last of Us' turns out to be a hinderance for me.

So, as always, it comes down to personal taste. No harm done in liking some games and not enjoying others.

 

[Captain Sunshine]

Good! It'd be very disappointing for everyone if we had reached the best game ever already.

I personally didn't find Last of Us's stealth and combat system a negative, but I can totally see why people do. The Last of Us doesn't play like an action game. It plays like a survival horror. Your character feels tank-y, ammo and items are scarce, when you mess up and have to improvise you FEEL like you are scrambling around desperately to survive. Most fights I won genuinely felt like a draining struggle.

But oh yeah, those controls would be easy to hate, I can totally understand that. And as for people who didn't enjoy the story... Last of Us takes very familiar elements and does them with all the quality Naughty Dog can offer. If you find any of those elements tired, it's hard to forgive. And the story only has the 'take Ellie to the Fireflies' hook so I imagine if you aren't hooked early, you'll find it hard to slog through 12 hours of it.

I found the game actually one of the great examples of the year for immersion and story-telling that would only work in games. And it is a clever story, even if it seems tired. The amount of different reactions to the ending is, I think, fantastic and sort of shows this. The kind of ending that inspires different ideas and thoughts, feels like a summation of each player's experiences whether good or bad...now that is a REAL clever ending. I was actually pissed off for the first minute, and it stuck with me for hours and hours, and I grew to love it.

So yeah, it's good you didn't like it! There's better games and stories to come. Can't wait!

 

[GundamSentinel]

As for the story, your engagement hinges on whether or not you like Joel and Ellie. If you don't, the story won't do shit for you.

That's basically it when it comes down to. It's both the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of The Last of Us.

Most of the mechanics are good, or at least serviceable. But in this case they really don't make or break the game. The story, the characters and the setting do.

I liked all three, but for people who don't, this game just isn't anything special.

Also, this is one of very few games I've played since Half-Life 2 that absolutely nail pacing.

 

[sXeth]

Its a decent game, I wouldn't put it on probably any top lists. Good characters (primarily due to good voice actors). A very stale premise and warmed over rehash of The Road/Children of Men (take your pick, or any of the other hundreds of similar post-apocalypse stories). With that whole Pittsburgh(? I forget. The second city anyways) segment that went absolutely nowhere before a time skip where they inexplicably cross half a continent apparently unhindered after having to fight every six feet previously.

The mechanics aren't terrible, but could use more explanation (particularly telling people the shaky aim is an intended flaw that can be upgraded and not your terrible controls, and the stealth mechanics). It also suffers from the (not unique to it) Third Person Every Genre game. Trying to hodgepodge stealth/shooting/survival/crafting/puzzle all into one pile that really doesn't mesh well. You get shooty sequences (and boss fights) that are totally at odds with the idea of stealthily scrounging for ammo and supplies. You get mediocre puzzles that just show off how linear the level design really is that you have to use that ladder/bridge/wood slab instead of having alternate routes.

Its playable, if you take the time to sort out its unique quirks, and the acting is superb, but its a hefty rehash of better things both mechanically and storywise.

 

[drummond13]

The Last of Us deserves all the praise it got, in my opinion, but as with all games that get a lot of praise the people who weren't into it were especially vocal about it. There are plenty out there.

No game is universally beloved. Just the way it goes.

 

[Ravenbom]

Good game design always moves you and keeps you moving forward, but The Last of Us has a game design that hurts forward progression which made me lose sight of the characters and their motivations.
This is something that Dragon Age Inquisition has a problem with as well. If you try and finish all the quests in the opening area you'll never see the larger epic and the game will lose all it's momentum.

I feel like when I'm able to play a New Game+ in The Last of Us I will be better connected to the story and characters and won't lose sight of forward progression so easily.

Half the fun of the game though is scrounging around the environment, looking not just for supplies, but for notes and stories of other survivors and soaking up the history. This is what fleshes out the world so well. Finding the diary of a boy and following the entries from the moment the infection becomes public and him just being glad there's no school tomorrow, to the final one where he has to leave his dog in the wild and his family is forced into a quarantine zone. Heck, one of the best characters in the game is Ish, who is basically just a bunch of notes scattered throughout the sewers.

The area right after the sewers is specifically designed just for walking around empty, abandoned houses and salvaging what's left. It's probably the best part in the game and you don't do much of anything except watch Ellie and Sam discuss an ice cream truck and play darts.

All these down times is what helps you get to know the characters and their motivations.

Yeah, I did really enjoy all notes and scraps that give you back story and insight into the larger world, like with Ish. I thought that part after the sewers was going to be a combat portion and kept waiting to trigger something so I didn't really enjoy it, I kept thinking this is going to trigger a sudden all hell breaks loose moment.
I really did like Ellie's dumb joke book as well and wanted to find her stupid comics because I was curious how the comic book storyline went.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I really did like Ellie's dumb joke book as well and wanted to find her stupid comics because I was curious how the comic book storyline went.

It's no surprise that initially after the game was released there were rumors of Naughty Dog's next (-gen) title maybe being Savage Starlight. Because for what was essentially a joke comic -- of which you could only read the back cover -- it was pretty elaborate.

 

[Pete Oddly]

Not all games can be everything to everyone.

Personally, The Last of Us is my favourite game narrative-wise. No game has ever captured me as thoroughly as The Last of Us did. The only game which comes close is Telltale's The Walking Dead.

However; I know full well that the reason for this is simply that The Last of Us pushes all the right buttons for me. I love tragedies, I love bleak storylines, and I love deep character development. The Last of Us has all that in spades.