IGN: How The Last of Us Remains a Masterpiece 5 Years Later

Everyone saying "of course it's still a masterpiece it's only been five years" is forgetting that the gaming medium evolves rapidly and gamers are very fickle; unanimously acclaimed games are often deemed overrated (sometimes rightfully, sometimes not) within months of release, much less years. Sometimes gaming critics and gamers themselves get swept up in the hype cycle and find themselves questioning their original opinions.

As an example: The Last of Us was released two months after a similar game, BioShock Infinite, that was likewise universally acclaimed as one of the best games of the year and of all time. Yet five years later BioShock Infinite is perhaps the best known example of hype backlash; the game is now widely criticized for its story, themes, political subtext, and ludonarrative dissonant gameplay and, while I still really enjoy it, I'd probably be laughed off ResetERA if I called it a "masterpiece." Hype backlash can and does occur regularly in this industry and as demonstrated by several people in this thread, TLOU is another game that has a somewhat polarized legacy (albeit nowhere near as bad as BSI).

Honestly, the revisionist history that seems to come around for a lot of Sony titles is always funny to read. God of War will be next.

It's no masterpiece to me, i liked it alot tho, but was very predictable and generic in terms of story, but the presentation is top quality, gameplay was great but nothing special as well.

you want a masterpiece? it's resident evil 4, that game changed everything.

I stll play the multiplayer every now and then. its still alive and thriving. amazing game. masterpiece

Just finished watching the video. That was great. Can't believe Bruce hasn't played the game since it shipped (though he states he's played it a thousand times at the studio). It must be weird when you're a developer playing your own game, I guess you really must see bugs and issues where ordinary players wouldn't lol.

Im just glad video games as a whole are getting to this level of emotional, narrative and character resonance now. I found my playthrough of the game genuinely emotionally moving and weighty, at a level which was just extremely rare or unheard of for me to experience in a video game.

When I look back to my favourite games over the last three decades, I realise that a lot of the characters, narratives, story moments etc that I loved, I did so because I inadvertently evoked copious amounts of suspension of disbelief, in order to buy into them. Most AAA games historically speaking (and even today), don't actually have particularly realistic, relatable or consistently well acted or written narratives and characters, instead they're often filled with constant exaggerated caricature levels of cheese and dialogue, that we sort of just accept as the norm. That's fine for many games, especially ones that are less serious in tone, but the industry as a whole needs to get better with this stuff, especially for the games that are trying to be more grounded, emotionally resonant, and narrative or character poignant.

In that sense, I really do believe TLOU raised the bar for other studios to follow in those aspects, and the fact that they were able to do so whilst simultaneously offering compelling gameplay, combat, polish and attention to detail, really just sealed it as more of a complete overall package.

It's one of the very few games deserving a 10. Part 2 will struggle to reach it's greatness.

AzureFlame said:

It's no masterpiece to me, i liked it alot tho, but was very predictable and generic in terms of story, but the presentation is top quality, gameplay was great but nothing special as well.

you want a masterpiece? it's resident evil 4, that game changed everything.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

both are masterpieces and in my personal top 10.

M1chl said:

Hmm I though the inspiration was movie The Road. Don't see any resemblance of No Country for Old Men. Anyway, masterpiece....umm, no not really, just an opinion.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

You're only seeing plot and lore which, yes, was inspired by The Road.

The intensity and tone of TLoU's action is all No Country for Old Men.

Paraside said:

You're only seeing plot and lore which, yes, was inspired by The Road.

The intensity and tone of TLoU's action is all No Country for Old Men.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yep. Quiet, often serene stretches punctuated by extreme violence.

The GOAT.

The only game on the horizon that has a chance of topping it for me is Part II.

The TLOU is still so ahead of its time in regards to storytelling and characters that obviously is still a masterpiece. If people think its shallow then that speaks wonders about all other games.

It's a good movie, but a mediocre game. I found the moment-to-moment gameplay quite bland, tbh. Then again, I'm not much of a stealth lover, so there's that.

yeah it is a fantastic game.

Troy and Ashley did an amazing job.

It wasn't for me, but at least good to see a new IP succeeding.

But how about a Jack & Dexter sequel ND!?

Frostman said:

I agree, and I also believe this will be a great thread to read.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Why?

Pretty good film. I heard that if you play it in grounded mode it's a much better game? Maybe I should try that

Edit - genuine question that no one answered

Five years is nothing. Of course the game is still going to be a masterpiece five years after release.

Call me when we're at forty years after its release.

Is bruce coming back

It's a heavy experience that's meant I think to be played once and left as is.

I certainly would not go back to it, that's how draining it was but damn it its the best game of the last generation.

It's one and done nature is its greatest strength and greatest weakness. Which was what made the announcement of a sequel really bewildering to me.

Still can't wait though.

Wouldn't call it a masterpiece but it was a very good game.

jiggle said:

Is bruce coming back

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

No.

takriel said:

It's a good movie, but a mediocre game. I found the moment-to-moment gameplay quite bland, tbh. Then again, I'm not much of a stealth lover, so there's that.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I know we can't really expect much less from a poster like yourself, but you really ought to stop with this reductive, and frankly immature attempt at re-defining what constitutes a game, in order to troll or criticise it, or fit your extremely narrow minded point of view.

TLOU is not a good movie, because it's not actually a movie, full stop, it's a video game. You can say you enjoyed the story in the game, but enjoying the story whilst not enjoying the gameplay, does not magically change the genre of the medium from a video game to a movie. It just makes it a game in which you enjoyed the story but not the gameplay.

Ironically, the vast bulk of any players playthrough of the game will be gameplay orientated, since there is actually only an hour and a half's worth of cutscenes in the game, whilst an average playthrough takes 15-16 hours.

Then again, I suppose these types of posts fit your self admitted modus operandi.

takriel said:

I like to strike a balance between joyful trolling and thoughtful discourse.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

i was really ready to hate the game when i first played it. playing as the daughter was awesome. the feeling of helplessness, of being a kid as the world is going to shit - that could have been the game. i really feel there was something there. the designers instead go for cheap manipulation of killing the weak little precious thing to give us the sads and make us feel bad for joel. boring.

and then one of the first game's cutscenes in the future has you walking into a room with tess, a couple guys, and chest-high walls. that one i can blame on my designer sensibilities a little more because i knew what to look for - but damn if it didn't stand out to me like a thousand red alarms going off that we were about to enter a gunfight.

after that, it picked up considerably. once ellie joins and her, tess, and joel escape the city, the game starts to come into its own. i think the greatest thing the last of us does is it does so much to connect the player to the character and the character to the world. joel is a survivor. he has story reasons for doing his gameplay stuff that is a lot more understandable (unlike uncharted 1-3 nathan drake). the focus on stealth and crafting was one of my favorite aspects. it forces the player to look for items and in the meantime, they might run across notes from the world of old to give some backstory of the surroundings or other characters. the stealthy aspects and the act of searching for things gives the player more of a chance to notice and appreciate the aesthetic details in the world. it helps a lot to make the player feel connected to what the characters are doing and the world they inhabit.

i'm also a big fan of the ending. i was incredibly prepared for joel or ellie to not make it through to the end, but instead the game finds another way to be tragic and bittersweet that i had not expected.

if i was to find a reason to complain about the story, it would probably be how none of the story persons of color survive. sam, henry, marlene and even dlc character riley are all killed off. there's a bit of overlap with female characters here because in addition to marlene and riley, tess and sarah also get killed off - but at least ellie and fan-favorite, maria, do survive to the end. it's not stuff that i think ruins the game, but it does make me think damn - did naughty dog ever just sit back and take a second look at what they were making?

overall i liked the game though - especially when it connected more of the story to the game world. gone home coming out later in 2013 fulfilled a lot more of what i was appreciating in the last of us though - so if anything that's probably what has dampened my enthusiasm for the game since.

Why are TLOU threads consistently hot-take-city? It's like some people are trying to earn their "pretend an almost unanimously critically acclaimed video game by both critics and players alike is actually nothing more than a generic movie with bland gameplay" boy scouts merit badge or something.

I played the game at launch and then again when the remaster came out (for 60fps). And honestly, the game never did anything for me, to me it was just a zombie game with a story that mildly interested me. But at the end of the day I just saw it as a better version of a Walking Dead story. I never got any "feels" while playing it which is why I always avoided discussion about this game because the general opinion is that it's a masterpiece.

TLOU is one of the best games I have ever played and a true masterpiece of gaming for me.
I am replaying the game right now again, and not only has the gameplay held up very well, but the feels man.... The feels.

Just amazing.

I'm currently replaying it so my girlfriend can watch it.
She's not into video games at all but she is absolutely loving it. She's really invested in the characters, says she cares about them more than she cares about characters in most movies.

I'm loving it too. There's not many games I can play through 5+ times and still love every minute of it but The Last of Us is one of those games.

Paraside said:

You're only seeing plot and lore which, yes, was inspired by The Road.

The intensity and tone of TLoU's action is all No Country for Old Men.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

This is helpful, yeah I saw that in way you put it.

I bought a PS3 in 2009 not really knowing anything about the Last of Us. I basically ignored the game until I purchased a PS4 in 2014. I bought the code for 15 dollars when it was on sale because I just wanted a game to test out on my PS4. I was amazed just hot great the game was, and it eventually became one of my top 3 games of all time.

I beat the game twice twice and I decided to take a look at the multiplayer and I was instantly hooked. This is probably my most played multiplayer game this entire generation.

An accomplishment in realistic, cinematic narrative in games. It's also a good game with memorable encounters, fights and even bosses.

A masterpiece? I hesitate but it really depends on how much of a snob you are of giving anything such a title. Sure, I can slip it in. TLoU is a masterpiece.

Is it industry defining? Objectively yes. Have you seen God of War? Resi Revelations 2? Have you seen Sony's approach in general the few years after realizing what a success it had been? Everything is all "grounded" with desaturated colors, over the shoulder and paternal figure narrative arcs now.

But that felt more like a phase. And to be fair TLoU wasn't the biggest innovation here. Its narrative kind of is, but TLoU's gameplay is an iterative evolution of RE4 as the Survival Horror playstyle and after TLoU both Revelations 2 and The Evil Within actually cannibalized its game design to various degrees but all in all they both give and take from each other as games and stories.

The best game ever made no doubt.

Bring the sequel!

Yeah, I'm replaying it right now and it's still a masterpiece and one of the best games I've ever played.

Is the multiplayer still populated on PS4?

I miss you Bruce

Approaching my yearly replay. Forever in my top 5, such a masterpiece.

Night Hunter said:

Honestly, the revisionist history that seems to come around for a lot of Sony titles is always funny to read. God of War will be next.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Are you sure you're not confusing honeymoon period with revisionist history? God of War did many things well, but it wasn't a masterpiece. Many of its systems felt way too "me too" as well and almost tacked on just because they were mechanics that happened to be popular in every other game a the time. Take out the production values and what does it have that truly stands out? An above average combat system. But in a world where right now the "average" combat system is already at a low bar, does that really mean much?

Sanctuary said:

Are you sure you're not confusing honeymoon period with revisionist history? God of War did many things well, but it wasn't a masterpiece. Many of its systems felt way too "me too" as well and almost tacked on just because they were mechanics that happened to be popular in every other game a the time. Take out the production values and what does it have that truly stands out? An above average combat system. But in a world where right now the "average" combat system is already at a low bar, does that really mean much?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

That's like your opinion, reviews and the general thought around the game calling it one of the best of all time.

bruce is daddy af

High Quality Story Game? Sure
Masterpiece? Lol no

The gameplay is relatively mundane and uninspiring, the forced escort sections are poor and the combat is average. The story is neat. It's a nice cinematic ride. I think God of War outclassed it in ever department.

I think the unsung champion of the Last of Us is not the campaign, which shows it's age but the incredible multiplayer. Usually nobody mentions it when talking about the Last of Us but what an amazing multiplayer mode it had, petty it loses points because of the insane microtransactions that plagued it.

I really don't get how people can think that TLoU is mediocre. Not every game needs to be incredibly complex with its systems and The Last of Us had just enough. It's called focus. That's one thing the Tomb Raider devs could learn from ND.

Narritve wise it is obviously one of the best games ever I don't even think we need to have a discussion about that. If you think the story is too simple there are a lot of videos going deep into it and showing how it isn't (I recommend the one from games as literature 101).

So yeah, it's still a masterpiece. If you like it or not.

Playing on grounded difficulty is one of the best experiences I've had in all my years gaming. Knowing you have to make what little you get count, planning ways out then being shocked and happy when it actually worked.

Only thing stopped me platting it was the two multiplayer trophies. I tried but had to start again when everyone died. So that put me off.

It definitely aged way better than Uncharted, imho.

For me it's a masterpiece (inside the medium), love the beggining and the ending.

Sherlocked said:

It definitely aged way better than Uncharted, imho.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

How so? Uncharted 2+3 are still amazing games and I like them even more than TLOU. Perfect playable pulp-action-adventure-fun-movies.

Still TLOU is a 10/10 game and will remain a master-piece even in 50 years.

Saint-14 said:

That's like your opinion, reviews and the general thought around the game calling it one of the best of all time.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

And the majority also used to believe the Earth was flat, so? Doesn't really matter how many believe what. Opinions aren't facts, and enjoyment of any given medium is entirely subjective.

M1chl said:

Hmm I though the inspiration was movie The Road. Don't see any resemblance of No Country for Old Men. Anyway, masterpiece....umm, no not really, just an opinion.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

With that wonderful analogy I guess nothing in existence can be a masterpiece then.

The best game ever made.

Blind Deaf & Hung said:

Funny. I've seen nothing but people grow increasingly of the opinion that "No, yeah. It's actually really okay in retrospect. Not the masterpiece we said it was." Like, the gameplay and generic zombie story haven't aged well imo. But neither were really great in the first place. The ending was nice, but there's so much about that story that comes off as super shallow. Joel gets a lot of development, but it comes at the cost of Ellie's character just being a snarky personality with no depth. She's been there for what happens in a lot of other's lives, but nothing really for her own.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It definitely starts as Joel's story, but Ellie gets to grow as the game goes on. So I feel like her character is quite well developed across the whole story.
Then Left Behind added another tragic layer to her characters arc in the main game.

Sanctuary said:

And the majority also used to believe the Earth was flat, so? Doesn't really matter how many believe what. Opinions aren't facts, and enjoyment of any given medium is entirely subjective.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

We have truly gone through the looking glass here, folks.

The best game ever made. And nothing comes close to it. A big Thank You to Naughty Dog.

To me the third person action was as good as it was going to get at time, but the gameplay concept felt a bit dated. Ultimately I was not very impressed by the game as the gameplay and the story felt a bit separated. It was just too safe and too familiar and I wanted to be challenged by something more than emotional story writing (which was superb).

I'm also one of those strange persons who were more impressed with the multiplayer. It's one of my favourites over the year and I can't wait to play it in TLoU 2!