The Last of Us has ruined gaming for me

TLOU was a good game but all this exaggeration is having people making some hyperbole statements.

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It wasn't even that good. And yes, the hyperbole surrounding this game is ridiculous.
 
I wish I didn't read stuff like this before I played it. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more.

It was an average game with a good-great setting and Story and some crazy attention to detail.

To me the best part to the game was the first 20 minutes.

Completely agree with that, actually.

And to think that "a game is so damn good all others seem hollow" is a completely shallow statement IMO. There are a ton of games with great characteristics. No game will ever ruin nothing for me, that's just impossible, no game is the pinnacle of the medium and the bar will never be raised so high it won't be surpassed.

Specifically, the only bar I can see Last of Us raised was attention to detail. There are much better narratives, there are better dialogue examples, there's certainly better writing. Last of Us is a complete package, though, and it's kinda a rare, but no masterpiece IMO. Even if it was, failing to see qualities in other games is just all sorts of crazy.

Sorry, OP.
 
I really enjoyed The Last of Us but you know what?

I had NO trouble moving on to other stuff later that year alone.

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2014 had some great games and 2015 is pure insanity.

I'm sorry but if The Last of Us ruined everything else by comparison then stop gaming and go find something else to do.

The Last of Us fans, urgh. Always with the fucking hyperbole.
 
I sort of agree.


The game is just a complete package in pretty much every aspect. Can't hate on other games for not being able to get to that level.

edit: but yeah there have been some great games out there since TLoU came out.
 
One thing that The Last of Us gets right is gameplay merging with narrative. You aren't just playing a game, you're playing as Joel, which gives the decisions your forced into more meaning as a human being.

It's quite a bit like Spec Ops: The Line in that way.
 
I'm at exactly the opposite side of the camp. Honestly the game bored the hell out of me. I don't play games for story and the gameplay was dull - the worst of Uncharted without any of the fun bits. It was a struggle to keep attention and play it through to the end.
This is where I stand, more or less. I can understand and appreciate what it did for the medium, but it personally didn't grab me at all.

Pretty game, though.
 
For an overall game? No. I do think I've experienced the pinnacle of dialogue and voice acting, though. I cannot for the life of me think of a game I played that rivals it.

That's fine, but I think "ruined gaming for me" is the absolute last way I would describe similar experiences I've had. That requires a mindset that I just don't have, as I tend to play a pretty wide variety of games for a lot of different reasons.

Dark Souls is probably is one of my favorite games of all time, but it didn't hurt my experience with The Last of Us because I was after completely different things when I played those games. The thought never occurred to me to weigh The Last of Us against Dark Souls and decide to feel disappointed with TLoU because of the areas where DkS beats it in an apples-to-apples comparison.

Ne'er the twain shall meet, you know? No game can really "ruin" anything else for me that's not extremely similar because I don't mentally process games with the same "overall" mentality that you do.
 
Since TLOU? A lot. For example, everybodys darling "Bayonetta 2".

Y know, I haven't played bayonetta yet but thinking back over the past couple years I can't think of a game that has matched TLOU in the atmosphere, setting, and engaging Story so I guess I can see it if your a story guy like OP. There hasn't been anything quite like it released. You could definitely make an argument it's one of the best games of all time in this regard. The one game that does come to mind that does measure up almost is Alien Isolation (I haven't beat it yet but it's off to a great start) .

The gameplay is another story though, it's nearly average... I've played many games over the past year that have outdone TLOU in terms of enjoyable gameplay.

I guess the opinions here and of this game will fall probably where you land in the story/gameplay spectrum and how much you enjoyed the divisive ending.
 
Not only is the single player one of the best gaming experiences I've had, but the multiplayer is criminally underrated. I poured a ton of hours into it. Just a great game.
 
I'm sorry but if The Last of Us ruined everything else by comparison then stop gaming and go find something else to do.

The Last of Us fans, urgh. Always with the fucking hyperbole.

Why the hostility?

There was absolutely nothing hyperbolic in my post.
 
Y know, I haven't played bayonetta yet but thinking back over the past couple years I can't think of a game that has matched TLOU in the atmosphere, setting, and engaging Story so I guess I can see it if your a story guy like OP. There hasn't been anything quite like it released. The one game that does come to mind is Alien Isolation.

The gameplay is another story though, it's nearly average... I've played many games over the past year that have outdone TLOU in terms of enjoyable gameplay.
I just feel that silent hill 2 blows in away in the setting/story/atmosphere category, it's only weaker when it comes to dialogue. Silent hill 2 is just a more memorable experience, imo
 
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).

Thank you. Playing a game with a good story is not the same as watching a movie. You get a lot more immersed and having a good story and characters you care about really add a lot to a game. For me the biggest incentive to finish a game is if you get me invested in the story/characters. You don't do that, most likely I'm not going to finish your game. I might have fun playing it but eventually it was more a time waster than a game I'll remember and get totally immersed in. But no, it's not the same as watching a movie. Cause it's so much more immersive when you get to be the character and you can't just sit back and know that they'll resolve it some how. You have to be that one. Even if it's just you making choices but not doing any combat (like TellTale games). It's still to me a lot more than just watching a movie.
 
I really enjoyed The Last of Us but you know what?

I had NO trouble moving on to other stuff later that year alone.

2014 had some great games and 2015 is pure insanity.

I'm sorry but if The Last of Us ruined everything else by comparison then stop gaming and go find something else to do.

The Last of Us fans, urgh. Always with the fucking hyperbole.
We need more Wii U circle jerk threads amirite.
 
I too can't see Gangster movies after the Godfather or listen to music after the 9th Symphony.

Not that TLOU is in any way comparable or in the same ballpark as those two
 
When the majority agrees that a game is great and loves it that makes you the outlier. Just understand that you didn't like it for whatever reason and accept it. Don't try to belittle the game.
A lot of people consider "mainstream" music good, yet it's HIGHLY debatable. The Last of Us gameplay is really, really like, mmm not great. I mean, Jesus, Uncharted did it better. The story well...
it kills characters you get to like, one after the other. Add some "edgy" stuff here and there, like those canibals and "I choose you over the "cure" dooming everyone in the process". All of this was predictable.
Even if it had been the greatest game ever, it's still ridiculous. Honestly, I feel insulted on behalf of the couple dozen games, maybe, that I'd consider contenders for that title.

Yep... I feel the same.
 
I'm sorry but if The Last of Us ruined everything else by comparison then stop gaming and go find something else to do.

The Last of Us fans, urgh. Always with the fucking hyperbole.

Folks expressing their love for the game really burns your grits, huh? lol
 
No game will ever ruin nothing for me, that's just impossible, no game is the pinnacle of the medium and the bar will never be raised so high it won't be surpassed.

I know it's in a different way but Mass Effect 3 retroactively ruined the entire series for me. I use to play through 1 at least once a year, once I finished 3 I tried playing through the first one again but the magic was gone. Knowing that everything ended in such a hack job completely ruined the enjoyment I got from going through them again.

Some games do have the potential to ruin others.
 
I don't have trouble moving on, but I do agree that all other games since have been lacking in terms of emotional poignancy, quality of characters and overall delivery of narrative. Personally, I doubt we'll get anything as good for a very, very long time. Probably not till Last of Us 2, if then. In that sense, it really was a game changer. For me it is last generations Resident Evil 4, another game which I completed maybe 4 times, but that imo has been bested by The Last of Us not only in terms of gameplay, but nearly everything else too.
 
Never finished. Loved what I played...

...but truth be told I prefer the overall gameplay in Red Faction Guerilla. TLOU is great, but due to what I place value on, it's not my favorite game ever.

No it has not "I said, for me, it has ruined my enjoyment of narrative focused games since its release. " for me.

It's narrative focus was amazing, yet did not speak particularly strongly with me. Actually, if 1886 had the same level of interaction as TLOU I'd have enjoyed it way more. The setting, atmosphere, main protagonist just works for me. A third person narratively focused game set in the Star Wars universe would have been even more amazeballs to me.


As far as best game ever goes, NBA 2k15 is pretty damn impressive. As is MLB the Show as far as the quality of the package.

I need to go back and finish TLOU.
 
When the majority agrees that a game is great and loves it that makes you the outlier. Just understand that you didn't like it for whatever reason and accept it. Don't try to belittle the game.

the game doesn't have feelings. it's not going to feel belittled because a poster shared his opinion that "it wasn't even that good." what's so unreasonable about his post anyway? why does it matter that his opinion goes against some perceived consensus? does that somehow invalidate it?



(sorry if it seems like I'm attacking you. no offense intended, your post just struck a nerve with me)
 
I played the game for the first time on PS4 last year. I thought it was great, but ultimately I was a bit underwhelmed. Pretty much a classic case of hype backlash for me... lot's of people talking it up to be one of the greatest games of all time, so my expectations were unrealistic. Sometimes I think I should just stay away from the internet altogether.

As it stands, it's not a game that makes my best of all time list. But you know strokes/folks.
 
For me not really. as I tend to take the story for what they are and sit waiting until they make the next jump. I massively enjoyed the game and was very happy that it was well written and treated its audience as adults but it is still sticking to the tropes that hold it back from being a truly great story, the tropes allow it to hit the mass market and make it a better game as they create some fantastically tense moments but it is only really a great story in the medium of interactive entertainment rather than in the pantheon of greats in all media.

I have always viewed stories in games lowly to be honest as they have always been poorly written, treat the player like an idiot and the themes are always on the basic side which is highly frustrating if you have ever consumed any other form of media or moderately educated, yet they are still highly enjoyable if you take them for what they are and this is how I have approached games for the majority of my life.

Out of all media games have the best potential for story telling in my opinion, managing to bridge the gap between book and film but has the ability to make the player feel like they are a part of the story but it is finding that balance between engaging interaction and the method of story delivery. Combat focus as a game mechanic is currently holding story telling back within the games industry (though it looks to be changing) as it restricts the kind of story you can tell, GTA5 is a prime example of the gameplay conflicting with the story and games like Bioshock may have been more potent if you didn't have to slog your way through waves of splicers. For me The Last of Us is at the peak of combat focused gameplay so far at getting the balance between the two correct and I think that is down to the pacing with the lulls in between to allow the player to absorb the world that has been crafted and allow not just the cut scenes and character dialogue to tell the story but also the environment, others I think have done very well at keeping a focus on interaction that feels meaningful using different methods are Journey, Demon's Souls, The Unfinished Swan, ICO, The Last Guardian, Thomas Was Alone and The Walking Dead.

I hope The Last of Us is the Citizen Kane moment for game developers as the potential is massive but I feel there will be a rocky time between then and now as companies take more risks to try and tell a story whilst maintaining interactivity and also being profitable, The Order 1886 looking like one that went a bit wide of the mark as did Beyond Two Souls and Spec Ops The Line but the potential and intent was there.
 
I've tried to play it 3 times and got bored each time. I wish I could understand what people love about it but it just doesn't titillate me...
 
I too can't see Gangster movies after the Godfather or listen to music after the 9th Symphony.

Not that TLOU is in any way comparable or in the same ballpark as those two

lmao, same.


OP, you knew what you were about to get yourself into. Great game, but the hyperbole surrounding the game is nuts. From the "How many people have you showed the intro to?" threads to these, you would think this is the definitely the best game ever made. The gameplay is great, so is the multiplayer. The story is good, but not in anyway unique (Especially the fucking intro), which always makes these topics so weird. It's almost always extreme comments about the story.
 
The Last of Us is probably my favorite game of all time, but I wouldn't say it ruined gaming for me. After I beat it the first time, I felt like many other games were lacking something. But that feeling wore off after 2-3 months. I don't think a game will ever be so good that it makes all others unenjoyable.
 
A lot of people consider "mainstream" music good, yet it's HIGHLY debatable. The Last of Us gameplay is really, really like, mmm not great. I mean, Jesus, Uncharted did it better. The story well...
Kill a character you like after another and some "edgy" stuff here and there, like those canibals and "I choose you over the "cure" dooming everyone in the process"all this was predictable.

I'm sorry but acting like the story is bad or the gameplay is mediocre is a good way to invalidate your opinion. I don't care if you don't like the game. Thats fine. Don't try to go around saying the mechanics and gameplay are bad when they aren't. I don't enjoy Halo and find the gameplay super boring, I'm not going to go around telling people the gameplay sucks. The gameplay in TLOU is very well designed. The fact that theres a multiplayer (which, hint, has no story) which people love proves that the gameplay must be good. Also the story is regarded by most as the best or at least top 5 in video games so honestly don't try to pretend like it isn't good. Simplify any story and take out the details and it will sound mundane.
 
The Last of Us is probably my favorite game of all time, but I wouldn't say it ruined gaming for me. After I beat it the first time, I felt like many other games were lacking something. But that feeling wore off after 2-3 months. I don't think a game will ever be so good that it makes all others unenjoyable.

Lacking something is the right word when I think about games I played recently. Unfortunately it hasn't worn off for me yet. Maybe it will some day.

I just haven't "connected" with a game like that since. It's kind of a bummer.
 
Still missing the point.

Look at your own first shit post. "I played it for a couple hours and got bored. Played some other stuff instead. I'll get back to it eventually and try to just do it all in a day or two from the beginning so I can enjoy it right."

You aren't saying "TLOU isn't that great and slow your roll because games don't make me feel that way." You are saying "TLOU isn't that great." That immediately makes the thread about TLOU, and not the OP's main point.

No I didn't miss the point. I've also said a lot of other stuff in this thread. Just like you keep insisting that every post in here is about TLOU, you're missing... everything.
 
TLOU is my personal favorite game of all time as well, but I think it's because immersive, narrative driven, and grounded games are my ideal cup of tea.

Before TLOU came out, I was started to get sick of the poor writing, boring encounter design, lackluster stories, goofy AI, and relative lack of realism in the linear TPS genre.

TLOU ticked all of those boxes for me at the perfect time. Though not without some flaws, it produced an incredibly moving package while raising the bar for a relatively grounded game play experience. Everything was far more realistic than I had experiened before, from player movement, environmental traversal, and crafting. Each encounter created a tense atmosphere that physically affected me more than any game before it. On top of it all, the writing treated me as an adult rather than a child.

All of that certainly doesn't mean, however, that I can't enjoy Rayman Legends, DMC, Pix The Cat, Resogun, Tekken, Bioshock, etc. The beauty of this medium is the wide variety of experiences it offers.
 
I enjoyed Tomb Raider 2013 more.

*Runs away from thread*


It's honestly one of my favorite games ever. The plot is garbage, but the gunplay and set pieces are fantastic. I even bought the definite vereion twice, one for each console.
 
the game doesn't have feelings. it's not going to feel belittled because a poster shared his opinion that "it wasn't even that good." what's so unreasonable about his post anyway? why does it matter that his opinion goes against some perceived consensus? does that somehow invalidate it?

(sorry if it seems like I'm attacking you. no offense intended, your post just struck a nerve with me)

Because "I don't like it" does not equal "It is bad" This line of thinking always annoys me.
 
OP, you knew what you were about to get yourself into. Great game, but the hyperbole surrounding the game is nuts. From the "How many people have you showed the intro to?" threads to these, you would think this is the definitely the best game ever made. The gameplay is great, so is the multiplayer. The story is good, but not in anyway unique (Especially the fucking intro), which always makes these topics so weird. It's almost always extreme comments about the story.

I wasn't trying to make the thread about TLOU specifically. I just used that as an example since that's the game that most resonated with me.

My specific question was

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?

Clearly the thread backfired. Maybe that's my fault.
 
Because "I don't like it" does not equal "It is bad" This line of thinking always annoys me.

he probably thinks it's bad if he didn't like it

I'm sorry but acting like the story is bad or the gameplay is mediocre is a good way to invalidate your opinion. I don't care if you don't like the game. Thats fine. Don't try to go around saying the mechanics and gameplay are bad when they aren't. I don't enjoy Halo and find the gameplay super boring, I'm not going to go around telling people the gameplay sucks. The gameplay in TLOU is very well designed. The fact that theres a multiplayer (which, hint, has no story) which people love proves that the gameplay must be good. Also the story is regarded by most as the best or at least top 5 in video games so honestly don't try to pretend like it isn't good. Simplify any story and take out the details and it will sound mundane.

omg, chill man. opinions are subjective. deal with it.
 
When the majority agrees that a game is great and loves it that makes you the outlier. Just understand that you didn't like it for whatever reason and accept it. Don't try to belittle the game.

Lots of people liking something doesn't make me an outlier for thinking that "It ruined gaming for me" is hyperbolic nonsense.
 
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