Board 8 > Rate the VG Story Day 17: The Last of Us

(+) Yeah! (+)

Again sorry for the late topic, was really busy today! Todsy its time to rate The Last of Us, that is the first game and NOT Left Behind or the sequel. How would you rate the story on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest?
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Previous Results:
Outer Wilds - 9.86 (18 votes)
Omori - 9.6 (5 votes)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 8.64 (23 votes)
Disco Elysium - 8.58 (12 votes)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective 8.35 (18 votes)
Final Fantasy X - 8.24 (46 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 8.12 (34 votes)
Celeste - 7.46 (22 votes)
Super Paper Mario - 7.23 (15 votes)
Death Stranding - 7.23 (11 votes)
Tales of the Abyss - 7.17 (24 votes)
Dark Souls - 6.75 (16 votes)
Chrono Cross - 6.61 (14 votes)
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune - 5.5 (24 votes)
Final Fantasy IV - 5.41 (23 votes)
Fallout 4 - 4.53 (13 votes)

You can still rate previous days games if you missed them, just write <game name> <rating>. If you want to change your rating you can just specify that you are changing your rating. Nominations for future days are also welcome, nominate as many games as you like and I will get to all of them.

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6

Much better than the gameplay
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8

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9.5/10

I fully expect this to do worse than it would have pre-TLOU2 though

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8.5

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Hmm...

6/10

The story doesn't really grip me until the end of summer, and then it completely loses me with the ending. It's a well told story, but it's not necessarily a story I enjoyed (which some would argue is the point, but whatever). Joel and Ellie are really well done characters (again, not necessarily in a way I enjoyed, especially in Joel's case) and the voice acting for them is top notch, so I give the game credit for that. TLOU tells the story it wants to tell, whether I like it or not.

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I once heard TLOU described as 'the video game equivalent of Oscar bait', I think that's a fair descriptor. Of course the production values are top notch, and it's a pretty well-crafted story, but it's not as smart as it thinks it is and often takes the easiest 'edgy' narrative route forward.

I don't think the narrative interfaces well with the gameplay at all, which does hurt it pretty significantly for me. There's a wild disconnect between the message the story is telling and the mountain of bodies the game forces you to build, it's as if they were trying to make a movie rather than a game sometimes. That said, there are some great moments and the cutscenes at least largely succeed at what they're attempting to do, so uh... 7, sure.

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5

Like every Naughty Dog game starting with Uncharted, The Last of Us is ultimately just bland and forgettable.

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andylt posted...

it's as if they were trying to make a movie rather than a game sometimes

yeah that's kinda what Naughty Dog does these days

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9.5

A fairly simple story but told in an immensely engaging way

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As a VG story - 9/10

It's not going to compete with the greatest stories of all time but it's effective and compelling. It was engaging enough that I kept wanting to continue all the way to the end just for the story, which is quite rare in games.

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9/10

Improved by the sequel

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9.5

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6

Decent, but super overrated like everything Naughty Dog does these days.

Better than the gameplay at least!

8.5

I did call this an average story told in an extremely good way before this series started so I guess I'm awarding +3.5 points for presentation but man. The game really does sell the hell out of itself in a way that sticks with you.

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5

10/10

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9.5/10

Though on the surface it's a fairly standard zombie apocalypse scenario, the budding and ever-evolving relationship between Joel & Ellie is some of the best written character development in gaming. The game forces you to embody Joel, to be both the violent murderer and the caring father, sometimes all at once. Just as much as looking at a herd of giraffes in the final stretch of the adventure is a culmination of your time with Ellie in a satisfying and totally bonding way, you're also the one who has no choice but tear that moment away and continue on with your mission, knowing deep in the back of your mind these moments are fleeting now and every step you march on to the conclusion is one driving you further into darkness. The game steadily builds up this theming, embodied in small interactive moments you can easily miss, like Ellie's joke book, just as much as in the game's giant set-pieces like a raider ambush while Ellie reads her dirty magazines. I love how the game structures itself around seasons, offering ample opportunity for environmental storytelling, strong directorial flexing and an anthology type format that allows supporting characters to not only be memorable on their own, but also work as foils to Joel & Ellie. Speaking of environmental storytelling, the way The Last of Us realizes differing ways of living in a post-apocalypse is as frightening as it is beautiful, Ish and the sewers is a particular highlight of course. You can picture yourself living here blissfully, working around particular rules & routines, just as much as you can picture yourself succumbing to the unfortunate terrors of the outside world after just one slip-up, and it's all conveyed excellently through wall drawings, notes, gameplay scenarios, and character comments with seamless efficiency. Balancing equal parts horror, comedic relief, drama, & moments of pure heart-warming humanity, The Last of Us is an experience unlike any other, executed with style and panache, a culmination of experienced developers knowing how well to pull off storytelling in gameplay as well as having cutscenes that are well-acted and directed to convey the story's most hard-hitting moments. And, I couldn't think of a better ending for this game to conclude on.

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9

Stellar character interaction, very good plot and a completely relatable ending for me, being a father of two. Granted I wasn't a dad back then when I played it and even then I thought the ending really resonated with me.

The sequel in my opinion is better in every single way though and I'll get to that when the topic is about TLOU Part II.

7

Walking Dead is better

7/10

10/10

Dont think any other game will be getting this score from here on.

9

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9.5

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10

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let's go with an 8.5. think the beginning is fairly standard zombie fare, but it does develop and is told very well.

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10

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8

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8/10

Metal Gear Solid 2 - 9
Super Paper Mario - 7
Final Fantasy IV - 6

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Oops, forgot to rate it. 7.5 for me.

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