Reviews VideoGame / The Last Of Us

Character Interaction Is Where It's At

Plain and simple, the only thing that really stands out in The Last Of Us as being good and interesting is the characters interacting with each other.

The plot is pretty standard Zombie Apocalypse, even if they call them something else, and nothing in it is something that hasn't been done before. The characters themselves are pretty much their stereotype with Joel being the loner guy who turned tough when he lost someone close to him, but ultimately does open up his heart to someone again and Ellie is basically a kid character that grows up to be more independent, as it is necessary in a world like this.

And the gameplay is pretty basic. Shooting, with a lot of stealth sections. Those parts aren't even important, because the main things happen in a lot of cutscenes. It's like a movie was spliced and got videogame parts shoved into it.

But the interaction is good. Several of the cutscenes, particularly during the second half of the game, are quite interesting. Joel and Tess have a relationship difficult to define by what's going on in the game, with implications in various directions. Joel and his brother talk to each other with joy of seeing each other again, but both still having their past as emotional baggage to deal with that has strained their relationship.

Ellie and Joel have the most interaction and how things change between them, going from having to travel together, to eventually relying on each other for mutual protection, trying to keep a professional distance and failing at that, leading to them coming close enough to view each other as family.

That's the only thing in the game that is really worth while. I wouldn't even suggest one to play this game themselves. Go watch a Let's Play or similar, just to see what is going on, without having to waste money on a glorified game-ish-movie.