Favourite Games of 2013: Number 2 - The Last of Us

(PS3)

Naughty Dog is known for its rather colourful and happy games, from Crash Bandicoot games in the PS1 era, through the Jax series on PS2 and most recently the less cartoon-ish, but still featuring an ample amount of humor, Uncharted series on the PS3.  Released in June, The Last of Us is an unusually dark game from creators Naughty Dog.

The Last of Us has one of the most emotionally charged openings I have ever experienced in a videogame.  Setting the game in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies has become a cliché in videogames, but at least Naughty Dog try something a little different with the creatures in the game and do not just make them carbon copy Zombies from every other game and movie out there.  

The fungus infection rampant throughout The Last of Us is drawn from something rooted in the real world – albeit something that involves infected insects and not people – making it a rather terrifying concept if humans were susceptible in reality.

Despite the game being set in a world with infected zombie-like enemies and a concentration on a significant amount of gunplay, the story is very much about the interactions of people and the struggle for individuals to keep their humanity under extremely gruelling circumstances.  The bond between Ellie and Joel is heart-wrenching – just bear witness to the events the two characters go through from start to finish.

The post-apocalyptic world is tough, the Zombies are relentless, the humans are possibly even worse.