The Last of Us has ruined gaming for me

It is a little unfair how much better the writing is in TLOU than any other game in existence. The only contenders are an RPG that came out fifteen years ago and a couple Rockstar games.

That said, other games offer different experiences. I don't always want to shoot zombies or beat dudes with lead pipes. Sometimes I want something turn-based, sometimes I want something thoughtless like CoD or FIFA, it goes on. If you play games for story I can see how TLOU might make gaming seem a lot less cool thereafter, but that's also the case if you read a lot of great books or watch a lot of great movies. Games just suck at stories.
 
pastrami said:
I think you do. For example: http://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/16feya/is_there_a_name_for_this_feeling_after_finishing/

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend." ~Paul Sweeney (lifted from that reddit link)

I think the same can apply to games and film/tv, and I think what bananafactory is feeling is just an extended version of this.
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That applied to me when I finished Mass Effect 3. Was a little jarring that I had finished my last mission with all of those characters together.
 
Manu said:
Dude, no.

That's like saying you only eat your favorite food, or watch your favorite movie, or listen to your favorite album.

Variety is the spice of life.

And TLoU is one of the two games from last gen that entered my all time top 10.
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I think the reason this doesn't apply to other mediums for me is that, there are many, many foods I consider of equal quality. I would have trouble even making a top 50 films list because there are so many movies I consider equal in quality.

I think, when talking about SPECIFICALLY writing and acting in games, there's definitely a very tiny amount of titles that stand on another level when compared to 95% of the medium. That is not the case for things like books, music, film, etc.

The rest of the industry really needs to catch up.
 
It's the best cinematic game (either that or SotC, but that's a little less "cinematic"). TLoU has the rare combination of not tripping over its own story, good gameplay, and strong cinematic qualities throughout.
 
akidnamededdy said:
Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 ruined gaming for me on the same way but those were actual games so.

I liked TLoU but I can't help but roll my eyes at this topic. Tell me what you've got in your collection for sale since you don't need it anymore OP.
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what does that even mean ?
 
NIGHT- said:
Have you played Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver, silent hill 2, or Metal Gear Solid 1? They all have superior story lines imo
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I'm a big fan of the original Soul Reaver (the poor man's OoT imo) but I always thought the first Blood Omen had the superior story. I'd contend that some of the most interesting and pivotal stuff in Soul Reaver's, most notably the end portion, is contigent upon what Blood Omen accomplished.
 
Super quality games will make it harder for other games to make a good impression. But i can safely say there are other games that have amazed me. In other ways than TLoU though.
Wolfenstein for instance in variety, gameplay and level design. Pikmin in level design, Donkey Kong, also in level design and gameplay, and lately, The Order 1886 kinda ruined graphics.. Cause now the shimmering and jaggies have become extra aparent in other games.

The Last of Us is amazing in telling an immersive story. There is so much talent coming together in that game.
I can't wait for the next Naughty Dog game.

But no, it hasn't ruined gaming completely for me :p.
 
Honestly after having played it twice its a meh game to me. Naughty Dog has a fantastically realized world and the art direction is fantastic, however the gameplay varies from spot on to so so. Also the story is so run of the mill zombie story that the only reason I could be bothered to care to finish it was at least Joel And Ellie were interesting and well acted.

But OP if you love it all the power in the world to you, it's all subjective and as long as your having fun that's what matters
 
DidntKnowJack said:
I think I know what part you're talking about. Keep in mind that sometimes killing everything isn't always the best option. If you're in a situation where there's one or more clickers closing in on you, you're probably going to die. Sometimes its a good idea to just RUN.
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Yeah I tried that, but if I run, then Ellie dies. Oh well, I'll just keep trying. And no, I've never had a game that was just so good that it ruined all other games for me, though I have had certain games somewhat ruin sequels for me. As much as I loved Half-Life 2, I couldn't help but feel a bit letdown at the lack of great boss fights/events like in the first one.
 
Great OP.

I adore The Last of Us. I was very sceptical before I tried it and thought it would be a predictable hero redemption story. My first playthrough was on Hard and I enjoyed the gameplay and found the story incredibly moving, but I didn't think it was quite as good as others had said.

However, I left it a while and have just finished a playthrough on Survivor and it was without 'listen mode' that the game came alive. I'm currently absolutely loving the multiplayer - the game mechanics are just so satisfying and flexible.

So, in short, I sympathise!

I don't think any game has 'ruined gaming' for me like you say, though. The closest would probably be Dark Souls. The game became an obsession and made so many other games look shallow and "casual" (I hate that word, but I can't think of another to describe what I mean).
 
NinjamicWZ said:
Which is invariably going to turn into discussion and opinions about any games mentioned ITT. ie:
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Wow. Way to take things out of context. I was relating a similar experience that I had with the game, because he was asking if other people had experienced similar things (and not specifically with TLOU).

But people are just...talking about TLOU. That's NOT what this thread is about. It would be like someone talking about how eating ice cream makes them happy. Then they turn to you and ask what foods make you happy. I don't think "Eating ice cream makes me happy too" is an unreasonable response. But is "Naw, ice cream isn't that good" a reasonable response?
 
I don't get how people dislike the gameplay.

The gameplay was fucking awesome. The way the camera zoomed in when you get into a boxing match. The stealth is also incredible IMO.
 
If TLoU were made into a movie, it would be quite average.

There are a few games I've played that would have a chance at winning awards if they were made into movies.
 
Tidus_Great said:
mindless fun to kill an hour.
those genres will never have a meaningful experience like the last of us or MGS3
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I dunno, people that get good and participate in E-Sports/tournaments can win a ton of money, that's a pretty meaningful experience.

I honestly doubt you play or experiment with a lot of games with the mindset you have.
 
bananafactory said:
I think the reason this doesn't apply to other mediums for me is that, there are many, many foods I consider of equal quality. I would have trouble even making a top 50 films list because there are so many movies I consider equal in quality.

I think, when talking about SPECIFICALLY writing and acting in games, there's definitely a very tiny amount of titles that stand on another level when compared to 95% of the medium. That is not the case for things like books, music, film, etc.

The rest of the industry really needs to catch up.
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You could say then that it's not TLoU that ruined gaming for you, it's your own obsession with story over everything else that did.
 
To me TLoU was nearly perfect (
the sniper section really took me out of the moment and to me is the only thing preventing this game from being perfect in my eyes
). But while I somewhat agree with the OP I can't say it's ruined gaming for me. To me The Last of Us set a new bar for what video games can be and I don't expect anything else to raise that bar for some time. But for now I still fully enjoy most of the video games I play :)
 
MJFJD said:
That applied to me when I finished Mass Effect 3. Was a little jarring that I had finished my last mission with all of those characters together.
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I'd say the Mass Effect series as a whole qualifies for me. I'm not sure I'll ever become that invested in a cast of characters again. It was the perfect storm of great characters and longevity (playing three games with these characters over a period of 6 years).

Finishing the Citadel DLC was just like....this is the last piece of new content with these guys. Had a lump in my throat for sure.
 
The story, it's decent.

The characters? Pretty good.

The gameplay? 90% of it was opening draws, cabinets scrounging for scraps. The other 10% was nothing new.
 
pastrami said:
I think you do. For example: http://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/16feya/is_there_a_name_for_this_feeling_after_finishing/

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend." ~Paul Sweeney (lifted from that reddit link)

I think the same can apply to games and film/tv, and I think what bananafactory is feeling is just an extended version of this.
Click to expand...


When I beat the game, I missed the characters and couldn't think about anything else for weeks.
 
When I played The Last of Us I expected the breakthrough in video game story telling that everyone was claiming it to be. It's certainly got a very good story, but it's a breakthrough by no means. The best games in my opinion tell a story in ways only video games can. The cutscene storytelling only really created a separation between the gameplay and the story, to me.

Some of my favourite parts of the game were when you were exploring the world, Joel and Ellie would just be having a conversation, those were the highlights to me. The actual gameplay has its ups and downs. Parts like Winter and that dark flooded room, after the elevator fucks up, create an incredible tense feeling which suits the gameplay perfectly. Parts where your aims are to just continue through an area and take out or sneak past, the enemies on the way really didn't work very well, which is a large amount of the game to be honest. I also liked the fight with David as it kinda changes things up while also being really tense.

It has some really good moments but overall the game isn't anything revolutionary. For what it's worth, I don't think the game will age very well either, plenty of games will come along and do what The Last of Us does, but better.

I played on hard mode with listen mode off, by the way.
 
sploatee said:
Great OP.

I adore The Last of Us. I was very sceptical before I tried it and thought it would be a predictable hero redemption story. My first playthrough was on Hard and I enjoyed the gameplay and found the story incredibly moving, but I didn't think it was quite as good as others had said.

However, I left it a while and have just finished a playthrough on Survivor and it was without 'listen mode' that the game came alive. I'm currently absolutely loving the multiplayer - the game mechanics are just so satisfying and flexible.

So, in short, I sympathise!

I don't think any game has 'ruined gaming' for me like you say, though. The closest would probably be Dark Souls. The game became an obsession and made so many other games look shallow and "casual" (I hate that word, but I can't think of another to describe what I mean).
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I was also skeptical, not in the sense I thought it would be bad, but just that it would be good and not much more. I had only pre-ordered the regular bare bones version, but after I played it I went online and bought the steelbook, then the artbook, firefly keychain, soundtrack, strategy guide, everything I could find related to it. I must have spent $150-200 on those things.
 
kaioshade said:
The Last of Us is a damned good game, but i only felt the need to play through it once. Once i experienced the game, i didn't feel a need to revisit it multiple times.
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Pretty much how i feel. I really enjoyed my time experiencing the game. i feel like if i play it again it won't be the same. I will however watch others experience it for their first time. no other game has made me reflect on it as much as this game has.
 
Narrative isn't very important to me; so LoU had no such affect on me.

I feel like people who think narrative is important or paramount to gaming tend to be overly hyperbolic about the games they enjoy. Just how it feels from my perspective. I love a good narrative.. I read lots of books.. watch lots of films of a wide variety... never found any game narrative all that interesting and that includes The Last of Us. The characters are so simple and forced.. the story is just simple emotional manipulation.. I mean it opens with
a little girl being murdered in front of her father before you have a chance to know any of the characters involved
... it's just not amazing story telling to me. Quite cliche really.
 
Molemitts said:
When I played The Last of Us I expected the breakthrough in video game story telling that everyone was claiming it to be. It's certainly got a very good story, but it's a breakthrough by no means. The best games in my opinion tell a story in ways only video games can. The cutscene storytelling only really created a separation between the gameplay and the story, to me.

Some of my favourite parts of the game were when you were exploring the world, Joel and Ellie would just be having a conversation, those were the highlights to me. The actual gameplay has its ups and downs. Parts like Winter and that dark flooded room, after the elevator fucks up, create an incredible tense feeling which suits the gameplay perfectly. Parts where your aims are to just continue through an area and take out or sneak past, the enemies on the way really didn't work very well, which is a large amount of the game to be honest. I also liked the fight with David as it kinda changes things up while also being really tense.

It has some really good moments but overall the game isn't anything revolutionary. For what it's worth, I don't think the game will age very well either, plenty of games will come along and do what The Last of Us does, but better.

I played on hard mode with listen mode off, by the way.
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The Last of Us works so well because you have 10+ hours to get to know these characters. You can't do that in film. TV is the only comparable medium.
 
MJFJD said:
Whenever i feel like I am not enjoying gaming as much I turn to Mario and Zelda. To me it is like going on a gameplay pilgrimage lol.
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I learned not to do that when i booted NSMB Wii.

Never again.


On topic: though i was never one for third person shooters, this game is such a masterpiece that i fell in love with it and finished 3 times. For me, it captures some of the magic i had when i played games as a child. Just good, strong memories. Visually and musically exceptional, and a solid gameplay and mechanics.
 
It was definitely a great game for me, but ruining gaming, at least for me, no way.

It had some great set pieces and great environments, but the gameplay itself really wasn't memorable to me.

Note I only played the single player side of the game and never dabbled in multiplayer.
 
This is an unfortunate way to go through life. Not being able to enjoy something because you have a favorite and you don't think other things are as good? That's just...well it takes a lot of the enjoyment out of everything.

I have a favorite book, comic, game, movie, music, etc but I still let myself enjoy things that don't quite meet that bar.
 
Molemitts said:
When I played The Last of Us I expected the breakthrough in video game story telling that everyone was claiming it to be. It's certainly got a very good story, but it's a breakthrough by no means. The best games in my opinion tell a story in ways only video games can. The cutscene storytelling only really created a separation between the gameplay and the story, to me.

Some of my favourite parts of the game were when you were exploring the world, Joel and Ellie would just be having a conversation, those were the highlights to me. The actual gameplay has its ups and downs. Parts like Winter and that dark flooded room, after the elevator fucks up, create an incredible tense feeling which suits the gameplay perfectly. Parts where your aims are to just continue through an area and take out or sneak past, the enemies on the way really didn't work very well, which is a large amount of the game to be honest. I also liked the fight with David as it kinda changes things up while also being really tense.

It has some really good moments but overall the game isn't anything revolutionary. For what it's worth, I don't think the game will age very well either, plenty of games will come along and do what The Last of Us does, but better.

I played on hard mode with listen mode off, by the way.
Click to expand...

You described exactly how I felt with this game. You have my thanks
 
rschauby said:
The story, it's decent.

The characters? Pretty good.

The gameplay? 90% of it was opening draws, cabinets scrounging for scraps. The other 10% was nothing new.
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how many games these days have innovative or new gameplay?
Was Dragon Age inquisition last years GOTY anything new? not really but it told a good story and had a nice presentation.
 
Yeah, TLoU is one of those games for me where I constantly think back to my initial playthrough and get that warm feeling—the feeling of wanting to be caught in that moment forever. I recall really fond memories playing Super Metroid as a kid, or Ocarina of Time and Skies of Arcadia. They're little murmurs in time that you can never quite forget; moments that recur in my mind when I come across a musical piece or art work, for example. They're like little time capsules that you cherish and want to keep revisiting just to relive a part of it, even if a very small fraction.

Such experiences can definitely lessen the impact of other games and even trivialize the narrative and character interaction of many other works. Video games are a unique medium where you get to make decisions, even if ultimately inconsequential, and take control of a character through an engrossing journey that may as well be some alternate dimension once you're immersed. To comment on something that's off-topic here for a second, it's the reason why watching someone else play through a game on YouTube will NEVER replicate the feeling of having complete agency over an experience. Even reading/playing a visual novel with absolutely minimal user input doesn't feel the same if I'm watching someone else's recording. It feels completely different to me when it's my own copy and I'm doing things at my own pace, with no loss in fidelity or disconnect.

Sorry for rambling a bit, but yes, I understand where you're coming from, OP.
 
well, I'm still thinking way too often about Diablo1 and Fallout 1/2. Thinking that I've enjoyed these games more than anything afterwards. Well, I replay Diablo1 every once and then because it's just so ingrained in my mind. Same goes for some SNES games like Super Mario World or Super Mario Kart. Also, I can argue quite well that this isn't just nostalgia but also that these games offer things gameplay-wise that I don't see in newer games (although I gotta admit I still have to catch up with the renassaince of the classic rpg). So, OP, I don't think your "bias" is as bad as it appears because you will still receive similar games from Naughty Dog, you don't really have to worry (like I have to..).

Anyway, it just means that our passion for certain games is greater than our passion for other games. I've come to accept that - and respect my favorites all the more.
 
Manu said:
You could say then that it's not TLoU that ruined gaming for you, it's your own obsession with story over everything else that did.
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I don't think it's unreasonable to want the rest of the medium to continue to advance in terms of storytelling and writing, regardless of how much you value story overall.

It can really take you out of a world when you get characters spouting ridiculous things from their mouths in a game that takes itself seriously.
 
I thought Last of Us was janky, limited, with a derivative story. I'm not here to argue whether LoU is great or not, though. It'll serve some people better than others. Obviously it's not my cup of tea, just as I found Uncharted 2 janky and not all that interesting while others raved about it.

However, there are too many video games in the world for one game to completely obsess any healthy person forever and ever. It's like eating pizza all day. Even if it's the best made pizza of all time, eventually you'll get sick of it. There are literally thousands of high quality games out there to play. At least one of them will entertain.
 
I played the game twice (because a close friend of mine insisted I play it) and each time I couldn't finish it. It's so god damn boring. Same with games like Tomb Raider 2013, Uncharted 1,2,3 and other "cinematic games", I just can't get into them because most of the time their story is utter shit, they throw cutscenes at you every 15 minutes and there are button prompts for everything in the game.

For me I'd say games like Zelda, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, even Dark Souls, have ruined "modern gaming" for me.
 
these days it takes A LOT to make me replay a game. (30s, full time job, mortgage, etc.) TLOU is the only game in recent memory that i replayed. granted it was ps3 and then ps4 remaster.

told my self i was only buying ps4 version to play left behind but i replayed the main story from the beginning and it was just as amazing as i had remembered. game of the generation and definitely one of my top games of all time.
 
The Last of Us, to me, has always been the type of game that I would make. Everything about it screams "just for you" in its design department. There's a weight and heft to every movement, every gunshot, every action that Joel takes. The environment is littered with character and detail, much of the narrative is told directly through gameplay and interaction, and it still leaves enough wiggle room to let the player develop their own microstories within the game.

It does have a few issues with relying a bit too much on shooty bits as its core mechanic, but overall, to me, it feels raw and physical in what it does, where every little bit matters to the whole, and it's a design aesthetic that I really wish we had more of.
 
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