bananafactory
Banned
Before I get accused of fanboyism, I'm not saying The Last of Us is perfect. I'm not saying it's without flaws, or that it's objectively the greatest game of all time.
That said, it is a game that has immensely affected me over the year and a half since I first played it. I've played through it twice on PS3, and am on my 2nd playthrough on PS4. When I first completed it, I knew I had played something special, but I was so overwhelmed that it took a while for my thoughts on it to become clear.
Over the last year, upon each subsequent playthrough, each time I saw a screenshot or hear some music or think about Joel and Ellie, it slowly crept up the ranks of my favourite games of all time. First it surpassed Half-Life, then Final Fantasy VII, and on and on it went until games that I had held among my most special experiences for 15 or 20 years were knocked down in favour of this absolute gem. Not a week goes by that I don't think about it, browse through my art book, or throw on the soundtrack.
So why has it ruined games? I'm not a big multiplayer guy, aside from sports games and a couple of shooters. I play games for the story, to get immersed and lost in a unique and exciting world. I play games to fall in love with characters and become invested in who they are and where they go. There's many games I've played where I would have been fine without any combat simply because I just want to experience the story (spare me your "just watch a movie" campaign. It's not the same thing).
Anyways, The Last of Us is simply my favourite game of all time, and has set the bar so high for me in terms of story, characters, and performances that everything I have played since feels hollow. I finish a new game and sometimes I know that it's great, but in the end I always find myself wanting to take another stroll with Henry and Sam through the Suburbs, or ride a horse back into the University.
I'm wondering if anyone else here has a game that stands so tall above everything else that it sometimes makes it difficult to enjoy games you normally would have, if that game didn't exist?
That said, it is a game that has immensely affected me over the year and a half since I first played it. I've played through it twice on PS3, and am on my 2nd playthrough on PS4. When I first completed it, I knew I had played something special, but I was so overwhelmed that it took a while for my thoughts on it to become clear.
Over the last year, upon each subsequent playthrough, each time I saw a screenshot or hear some music or think about Joel and Ellie, it slowly crept up the ranks of my favourite games of all time. First it surpassed Half-Life, then Final Fantasy VII, and on and on it went until games that I had held among my most special experiences for 15 or 20 years were knocked down in favour of this absolute gem. Not a week goes by that I don't think about it, browse through my art book, or throw on the soundtrack.
So why has it ruined games? I'm not a big multiplayer guy, aside from sports games and a couple of shooters. I play games for the story, to get immersed and lost in a unique and exciting world. I play games to fall in love with characters and become invested in who they are and where they go. There's many games I've played where I would have been fine without any combat simply because I just want to experience the story (spare me your "just watch a movie" campaign. It's not the same thing).
Anyways, The Last of Us is simply my favourite game of all time, and has set the bar so high for me in terms of story, characters, and performances that everything I have played since feels hollow. I finish a new game and sometimes I know that it's great, but in the end I always find myself wanting to take another stroll with Henry and Sam through the Suburbs, or ride a horse back into the University.
I'm wondering if anyone else here has a game that stands so tall above everything else that it sometimes makes it difficult to enjoy games you normally would have, if that game didn't exist?