Current Events > Is The Last of Us the greatest story ever told in video games

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/LetItMelo/status/1605200801613246464?s=20&t=kimmMhLXVRiqpIqidA054Q

Don't you just love the lack of lasers shooting out of eyeballs?

maybe it is to the dude making the show.

like, what video game stories do you think are better?

some might agree with your choices, some might disagree, but all that matters is what it/they mean to you.

edit: also, he has to mean from his experience, where all he played previously were games with enemies that shot lasers from their eyes.

I think people mistake really really fuckin good production for good story. Not saying the story isn't good. Just saying that the production makes it seem way better than stories of games with not as good production. I love Last of Us and think it's fair to say they're 10/10 packages tho. Id probably say 9/10 myself.

Hell, maybe Im wrong and production counts into overall story.

Honestly, I though God of War told a better cinematic story, but no doubt that TLOU was absolutely influential for future games that wanted to tell a cinematic story.

One of the best yes

Reminds me of when James Cameron was saying Genesys is the best Terminator movie since T2.

I personally thought it was the best story. Being a father to daughters myself, it really hit me hard.

bsp77 posted...

I personally thought it was the best story. Being a father to daughters myself, it really hit me hard.

You ever play Yakuza? I feel like that clicks with me for similar reasons. Im not a dad, but I like when the dynamic is done very well. Though, it's not gonna be as consistently about that as Last of Us. Since it's still mainly focused on Kiryu specifically.

Lol, no.

Lost_All_Senses posted...

You ever play Yakuza? I feel like that clicks with me for similar reasons. Im not a dad, but I like when the dynamic is done very well. Though, it's not gonna be as consistently about that as Last of Us. Since it's still mainly focused on Kiryu specifically.

I haven't. There are so many of them and I have so many others games to play, that it seems like an ordeal to get into at this point.

bsp77 posted...

I haven't. There are so many of them and I have so many others games to play, that it seems like an ordeal to get into at this point.

Lol. Fair. The lil girl appears in the very first game and is a big part of storyline tho. It's good as a contained story. Though, I did plsy through the first 4 in one go

Lost_All_Senses posted...

Lol. Fair. The lil girl appears in the very first game and is a big part of storyline tho. It's good as a contained story. Though, I did plsy through the first 4 in one go

Yakuza and Ass Creed are probably the two franchises that I wish I had played because it feels too late now.

Nice bait

Maybe it's not, but I doubt the guy who made that tweet has a better answer.

Yep lol he's pissed that the author is praising the grounded characters and then refuses to name counterexamples, he's just offended that someone finds silly videogame tropes silly

Ultra sharp teeth that can impossibly chomp through fingers in one bite.

LOL no.

It's not even the greatest story ever told on the PS4.

bsp77 posted...

Yakuza and Ass Creed are probably the two franchises that I wish I had played because it feels too late now.

Assassins Creed didn't age as well as Yakuza. They were both milked after the first, but Assassins Creed was milked in a way that you don't actually have to play AC to get your fix of most the stuff it offers. You just gotta play any Ubisoft game after it lol. Back when AC was new, all the stuff in it was exciting and not a nuisance like it is today. Plus, the stories always bored me.

Also it being "realistic" and "grounded" don't mean ****.

You ****ing fight mushroom men.

Also, I loved both games. But their story wasn't mind blowing.

The Last of Us is pretty good but I don't know of its the greatest ever told. But I also am not sure what is.

The opening and the ending are both legendary though. Everyone is shocked by the opening. And everyone gets very emotional at the ending

Lairen posted...

Ultra sharp teeth that can impossibly chomp through fingers in one bite.

he's talking about the first game.

g0ldie posted...

he's talking about the first game.

They together are one story though. They didn't specify so its just odd that they mean the first story is the best yet the 2nd continuation isnt.

Lairen posted...

They together are one story though. They didn't specify so its just odd that they mean the first story is the best yet the 2nd continuation isnt.

They literally specify 'the original game' in the title of the article.

Lairen posted...

They together are one story though. They didn't specify so its just odd that they mean the first story is the best yet the 2nd continuation isnt.

as someone who prefers the second game, there have been tons of people who praise the first one but shit on the sequel.

It didn't break any new barriers of story telling but it tells a good story and tells it VERY well, so I can kind of see where he is coming from.

g0ldie posted...

maybe it is to the dude making the show.

like, what video game stories do you think are better?

some might agree with your choices, some might disagree, but all that matters is what it/they mean to you.

edit: also, he has to mean from his experience, where all he played previously were games with enemies that shot lasers from their eyes.

The games with better stories are better due to the format. They actually take advantage of the format and use gameplay to tell it, instead of being ashamed of being a game.

So, games like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Hollow Knight and Metroid Prime all tell better stories because of it.

The story itself isn't all that special but the voice acting delivers spectacularly.

Sad dad fighting mushroom men is the best we can do it seems

YoungMutual posted...

The games with better stories are better due to the format. They actually take advantage of the format and use gameplay to tell it, instead of being ashamed of being a game.

So, games like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Hollow Knight and Metroid Prime all tell better stories because of it.

I have no issues with games that tell their story through exploration and teasing out the story yourself, but it is ridiculous to claim that The Last of Us is ashamed of being a game. Debate works better when you don't go overboard.

Kaldrenthebold posted...

It didn't break any new barriers of story telling but it tells a good story and tells it VERY well, so I can kind of see where he is coming from.

sevihaimerej posted...

The story itself isn't all that special but the voice acting delivers spectacularly.

Basically my feelings on its story.

bsp77 posted...

I have no issues with games that tell their story through exploration and teasing out the story yourself, but it is ridiculous to claim that The Last of Us is ashamed of being a game. Debate works better when you don't go overboard.

It is. It tailors the gameplay around the story, and not the other way around, it goes over budget hiring actors and motion capture technology, and uses language more associated with movies than videogames when naming and advertising their products

There's no debating this.

YoungMutual posted...

The games with better stories are better due to the format. They actually take advantage of the format and use gameplay to tell it, instead of being ashamed of being a game.

So, games like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Hollow Knight and Metroid Prime all tell better stories because of it.

those games don't do anything better than TLoU narrative-wise, IMO, as it also has tons of environmental storytelling, and it's why I don't feel people get the "full story" from just watching cinematics.

like, without item descriptions, for example, you'd miss out on a lot of what went on in Dark Souls - it's the same thing with journal entries in TLoU.

as to the overall quality of any of their narratives, it depends on the player, but Dark Souls, Hollow Knight, etc. don't do what TLoU doesn't when it comes to using the world to tell part of its story.

Nope. Legacy of Kain series has a far better story

Lol. The "There's no debating art" guy. Classic. Very fun

doubt.gif

I was very impressed by how they treated the main character, especially towards the end of the game. The final revelation in the last 30 seconds being a low key but hugely revealing character beat, Joel lies to Ellie , is so atypical of video game stories, and even Hollywood for that matter. Usually every video game praised for its story is comparable to typical generic Hollywood tripe. I thought The Last Of Us succeeded in making something actually meaningful.

YoungMutual posted...

It is. It tailors the gameplay around the story, and not the other way around, it goes over budget hiring actors and motion capture technology, and uses language more associated with movies than videogames when naming and advertising their products

There's no debating this.

I am not debating what you just said right now except stating it tailors the gameplay around the story. The only way that can be argued is that the game is linear to ensure the same story for everyone. But the actual mechanics of the gameplay are unrelated to the story. Plus, Part 2 has the best enemy AI I have ever encountered. What I am debating is the ridiculous comment that it is "ashamed of being a game". That is an opinion you made up that has no basis in the truth. Just because the story is more cinematic like a movie does not mean there is any shame involved. You are making it out like there is set way for games to tell their stories and that is a restrictive viewpoint and actually the opposite of allowing creativity to shine.

LoU2 has one of the most graphic sex scenes in an AAA game. We need more.

It's absolutely one of the best, I agree. Perhaps THE best, but I don't know if I can say that definitively.

It's certainly a standard that other games should aspire to

Lairen posted...

LoU2 has one of the most graphic sex scenes in an AAA game. We need more.

Not really, that sex scene was really uncomfortable (and I seriously hope that was what they were going for).

Its the greatest way a story has ever been told in a video game IMO. But I wouldnt call it the best story.

An extremely small number of games over the course of 25 years can convey emotional weight and impact the way TLOU did however I'd say Witcher 3 is the true peak of that medium despite it being basically a grand compilation of tales and quests.

People can say they felt connected to a game like a Ocarina of Time and that's fair, but that's not the same as a single written narrative where the protagonist actually has depth.

bsp77 posted...

I am not debating what you just said right now except stating it tailors the gameplay around the story. The only way that can be argued is that the game is linear to ensure the same story for everyone. But the actual mechanics of the gameplay are unrelated to the story. Plus, Part 2 has the best enemy AI I have ever encountered. What I am debating is the ridiculous comment that it is "ashamed of being a game". That is an opinion you made up that has no basis in the truth. Just because the story is more cinematic like a movie does not mean there is any shame involved. You are making it out like there is set way for games to tell their stories and that is a restrictive viewpoint and actually the opposite of allowing creativity to shine.

I don't agree in the slightest, the best games always take advantage of the medium and let videogames be videogames.

Games like Uncharted, The Last of Us, Dad of War, worry first about the presentation, the cinematic angles, the motion capture, the actors, and tailor everything else around it. It attracts people that like watching movies, and not people that like actually engaging in the world that can be crafted in games (there's obviously overlap, but my point is, people don't play TLoU for the story, they play it because Joel and Ellie and the "oscar worth performance by the actors", and the emotions you feel the Joel is being a dick or when he loses his daughter, all that crap).

It doesn't matter if some actual game mechanics are relatively well made, they're not the point of the game and online discussion reflects that.

I can't respect a game like that, and it shouldn't exist.

Jagr_68 posted...

Witcher 3 is the true peak of that medium despite it being basically a grand compilation of tales and quests.

I mean the characters were fun and the sidequests were certainly given more depth than in other open world games, but I don't really think at any point in TW3 did I stop and be like "this is such a gripping narrative/character study"

YoungMutual posted...

I can't respect a game like that, and it shouldn't exist.

That's a dumb opinion and it's your loss, but no skin off my teeth lol

YoungMutual posted...

I don't agree in the slightest, the best games always take advantage of the medium and let videogames be videogames.

In Uncharted, The Last of Us, Dad of War, worry first about the presentation, the cinematic angles, the motion capture, the actors, and tailor everything else around it. It attracts people that like watching movies, and not people that like actually engaging in the world that can be crafted in games (there's obviously overlap, but my point is, people don't play TLoU for the story, they play it because Joel and Ellie and the "oscar worth performance by the actors", and the emotions you feel the Joel is being a dick or when he loses his daughter, all that crap).

It doesn't matter if some actual game mechanics are relatively well made, they're not the point of the game and online discussion reflects that.

I can't respect a game like that, and it shouldn't exist.

I bet you struggle with talking with people in real life. People who talk like you are unlikeable.

the Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone DLC was really good in that department, IMO.

edit: at post 45

bsp77 posted...

I bet you struggle with talking with people in real life. People who talk like you are unlikeable.

"I can't respect this because it doesn't fit my very narrow definition of what this thing should be" is a weird hill for this fella to die on.

g0ldie posted...

the Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone DLC was really good in that department, IMO.

edit: at post 45

Y'know what, I agree. Hearts of Stone had a spectacular narrative and a compelling cast of new characters. Plus dat villain.

If the rest of the game were up to that same standard then I would agree with Jagr

I think it could be up there...I loved the way that they had Joel and Ellie talking as they walked around, like walking into an abandoned record store and going up to things and talking about it without cutscenes as we walk around. God of War does stuff like that too, but Last of Us is the first time I remember seeing it done the way it was and it really created characters that felt alive and invested me in the story