How Good is The Last of Us Storytelling?

“Writing honestly” was mentioned in the IGDA Toronto 2013 keynote by Neil Druckmann, creative director, writer and current vice president of the video game company Naughty Dog.

 He explained in great detail how his idea went through many different changes before the successful creation of the character driven video game narrative The Last of Us. 

Since its release on July 29, 2014 for the Playstation 3, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. It’s even been called a “Masterpiece” by IGN.

What does he mean by writing honestly? It means getting very personal and intimate with your story. One important takeaway that he read towards the end of the Robert Mckee book, is about the writer’s responsibility of being honest.

 Even if people don’t like it, your writing has to be honest. If you write in order to please others, then you start losing what makes the writing good. Neil Druckmann kept it in his mind, to be honest to himself and his characters.

 So, what’s so great about this game? The answer is a well written, simple story with complex characters. Most stories in this genre are plot driven, but he didn’t worry about exposition, he was more focused on the story being character driven. The interactions between the characters, what the characters have to say, and as a writer, what to say through them is what he considered important. 

The story develops with ingame dialogue and plot details in cutscenes as you play. Characters interact with one another keeping to the dialogue in the story while you explore, perform actions, and witness a change in scenario. 

Something that you’ll see throughout the game is how the characters develop and adapt to their situation, while conveying such realistic emotional responses amidst their survival. It adds realism to the character’s personality, making it real easy for the player to get into the main character’s mindset and feel what they feel. 

Based on the reviews and my personal opinion I must say, if you truly enjoy a compelling story, then this is a game worth checking out. As a writer, I was able to learn a bit more from storytelling while playing the game, as I experienced the emotional conflict the characters faced as the story unfolded.

It’s accurate to say that The Last of Us has reached its narrative goals, and it has proved to be the pinnacle of the cinematic storytelling trend in the video game industry.

After what felt like a very long time, Naughty Dog has finally announced the long anticipated sequel to be released on June 19, 2020. Will the sequel deliver the same, if not more of the storytelling qualities as the first one? The expectations are high but we can only hope.