Launching a game towards the end of a generation’s cycle is
often a very risky move. See, gamers are often fickle creatures; they want
what’s new and, if it’s pretty close, they’re not so likely to give a shit
what’s immediately in front of them, instead choosing to look right through it
to whatever it is they can barely see on the horizon, that new shiny beacon.
The end of a console’s cycle is usually reserved for those games that companies
want to sell double the number of, by releasing it on the old generation and
then again on the new, or pieces of crap they want to get out without anyone
making a big hoo-ha about how bad it is. Leave it to Naughty Dog, then, to buck
all trends going and make one of the most emotionally rich, exciting,
heart-pounding, and investing video games of the year, nay, of this generation.
Naughty Dog have, since the mid-90s, been about delivering
some of the more memorable platforming games. From Crash Bandicoot, to Jak
& Daxter, to, heck, even Uncharted in a way, they’ve carved their path as
the go to developer for fun, often pulpy, action games. The Uncharted series is
the one that left a real mark in the gaming psyche. A mix of great level
design, characters, and far-fetched storylines, every single instalment was
just a blast to play; not stupid and mindless, but not exactly cerebral either,
a lovely middle ground. So when word got out that Naughty Dog were creating a
new IP set for release towards the end of the PS3’s cycle that was unlike
anything they’d done before, there was some caution and hesitation. Why not
just make a fourth Uncharted which could then be ported over to the PS4? But
Naughty Dog wanted to take a risk, and it’s one that well and truly paid off
for them.
Of course, on paper, The Last Of Us should succumb to every
Hollywood cliché going, something Naughty Dog even cheekily acknowledged when
hosting the UK launch of the game at a cinema also screening I Am Legend and
The Road that same night. A tale of two survivors, Joel and Ellie who would be
unlikely to get a long in any other situation, are thrust together by a series
of twists and turns, including one of the most heartrending opening sequences
which really lets you know things in this spore-filled world are completely
fucked up. And so, it’s a credit to the writers and designers, as well as the
stellar voice cast, to completely forego expectations and creates something
that prefers subtlety and nuance to outright feeding you backstory and so-on
with a silver spoon. Even the causes of the gorgeous apocalyptic scenes around
you is not entirely clear, and the motivations behind why Joel and Ellie are
travelling across the wasteland, which twist and turn as the story progresses,
becomes more and more difficult to pinpoint. What begins as a simple trip to
another city in order to deliver Ellie, whose blood could create a cure (huge
throwbacks to Children of Men here), turns into two characters that begin to
rely on one another to live.
It’s a mature story told in an incredibly mature way.
Videogame tropes usually mean that everything is outright explained to you,
think the literally hours and hours of exposition that sit on the Metal Gear
Solid series. Here, however, what isn’t said is often way more powerful that
what is; a piece of information received with merely a facial expression.
Gameplay wise, the game feels equally weighty. There’s no bounding around like
a springbok on speed here, you’re instead limited by what an actual human can
do. You’re constantly seeking ladders to reach higher places or planks of wood
to cross gaps and it’s this that keeps the game grounded. Snapping an enemy’s
neck is not a quick twist and you’re done deal, it’s a struggle; grotesque and
drawn out as your enemy gurgles and spits. Punches are slow and often stupid,
not fast and pretty. By choosing to scramble around the scenery, it feels a lot
more immersive. Yet, while the idea of exploration and collecting everything in
sight which is so ingrained in the gamer’s psyche works here, seeing as in a
post-apocalyptic world you need to collect everything in sight to survive, the
more game-y aspects do draw you out from the experience a little, particularly
Joel’s “X-Ray” hearing. It’s something you’d expect from a game, but when the
rest of the experience is so expertly realised, it becomes all the more obvious
to spot the chink in the armour.
Still, The Last Of Us is a game that never treats its
audience as anything but adults. It’s superbly paced, with emotional beats
coming at almost perfect moments without feeling heavy handed or over-the-top.
That giraffe scene, perhaps the one scene that will most stick in my memory, is
an absolutely perfect breather, the quiet before the big storm that feels quite
similar to the march of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Everything here feels
like it belongs, from the characters who have managed to survive be it due to
their wiles or their strength, to the debris in the cities. It never really
holds your hand, instead allowing you yourself to get your bearings and explore
abandoned houses to understand more about the world. Most importantly, it feels
like an AAA title actually deserving of its blockbuster status, with adverts on
the side of buses and on TV.
The Last Of Us is essentially what video games have been
trying to achieve since they matured into a storytelling medium. While
individual parts have obviously been taken from other places, as a whole, it’s
an extraordinary exploration through melancholic lows and the occasional high,
a study of hope and loss, and proof enough that video games do have the
potential to knock Hollywood’s crown. It’ll take a few more shoves, obviously,
but The Last Of Us is a hell of a first push for that crown.
