By Sam Coles:
Storytelling in the video game industry has come a long way,
from rolling text, narration and fully acted scenes. In 2013 a game changed how
story in games were told, where emotions within a video game narrative were genuine
and you could connect to. Now I know the style of story with The Last of Us is
rather standard now, but why is that the case? Let’s talk about it, which is
rather fitting when the sequel is out soon (at the time of writing).
First announced at E3 of 2012 The Last of US was a radical
shift in tone for Naughty Dog, at this point they were known for child friendly
platformers and the bombastic Uncharted series, then they showed off The Last of
Us. The brutality being shown off in the gameplay demo did not give me vibes of
Naughty Dog; however one could argue that this is another step for the studio
in the direction of maturity. A year goes by and The Last of Us releases on the
PS3 in June of 2013, and it was the perfect swansong for the system. It
garnered praise from both critics and gamers alike, and to this day people
still tout it as one of the best games of last generation.
The narrative is something that instantly grabbed players
from the start, the characters acted like well… human beings. This was when
full body performances were being utilised properly, not the first game to do
so as Halo 4 did it the year before as well as Max Payne 3 but I digress. The
characters movements synced up perfectly with what they were saying, emotions
had added weight and depth, and it didn’t feel like they were reading off a
script but where channelling their own inner demons in the role to bring these
characters to life.
Joel was a refreshing protagonist, as he wasn’t a hero or “good
guy” in the traditional sense; he did what he did to survive. He comes across
as a very nasty person sometimes, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got a
sensitive side as Ellie sparks the humanity within him back up again. Ellie is
the other side of the coin as she fills in the daughter role that Joel hasn’t
felt for 20 years at that point, she tries to make him see some form of
normality and lighten up in certain situations when it is needed. On the other
hand Joel eventually warms up to Ellie, becoming the father that she never had
where he teaches her basic aspects of life to help survive. It’s this dynamic
relationship between the two that keeps players hooked, as it is such a
believable performance from Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker where you can feel
the chemistry between the two works really well.
Now the gameplay can be a bit of a contentious sticking point
for some, I use to think that it was somewhat unremarkable however over the
years of examining this game I found that it works in the grounded setting.
Everything from the combat, movement and even the user interface feels diegetic
and not for a lack of better terms video gamey. Everything from switching
weapons where Joel will rummage through his backpack, as well as picking up
items from tables without feeling laborious (looking at you Red Dead 2), to the
shaky nature when you aim weapons feels great and part of the world.
Yes when I first played this I thought the shooting was
clunky, but these days I understand why you can’t hit a light switch in one
shot from 100 yards away. It’s because you are a normal person, most people don’t
tend to operate firearms every day and The Last of Us shows this as Joel’s aim
isn’t always precise and shakes as an enemy gets closer and closer. His actions
feel somewhat clumsy, but this is intentional as humans we tire over time and
this game shows this through Joel’s heavy breathing in gunfights, hand to hand
as well as throwing someone or something off him when he is caught off guard.
It gives an immense weight to the situation, as a few shots can put you down as
you are not a super soldier.
Now the presentation was something that was and still is
something to behold, this could have been a launch title for the PS4 it really
pushed the PS3 hardware to its limits. So much so it would stutter in parts,
but it did get an eventual re-release on the PS4 as a “remaster”. The game
looks beautiful, it makes a destroyed world look peaceful a world you want to
live, with forest areas rich with vegetation to crumbling cities that once had
a thriving community. Characters look believable as I said before animate in a
convincing manner which includes combat encounters, where they clutch at
certain wounds. For a game that is nearly 7 years old, it has aged extremely
well.
The Last of Us is a landmark title that really set the trend
for the Xbox One and PS4 generation for singleplayer games, with its well performed
and written story that will have you hooked. Even 7 years later it still stands
the test of time, and with this generation wrapping up once again Naughty Dog
is sending off another PlayStation console with The Last of Us Part II.
No comments:
Post a Comment