The Last of Us, once it finally came to PC.. that's when I found out it was no mere video game, it was an amazing work of art, a profound, deep statement about the human condition. I still think about that game, almost every day. (and yeah the show was good too, but the show was almost a literal carbon copy of the game, minus the outstanding bottle episode). Easily top 10 all time for me.
I remember when Roger Ebert got mired in that "video games can't be art" discussion, and I see his point for like, Space Invaders, but The Last of Us? My god. If there ever was any question, this is incontrovertible proof.
@codinghorror yeah, this question has been put to bed definitively by Last of Us. End of argument. Others before it you could have used to make the case, but the case is open and shut now.
@gmurray I could not believe how great it was, how unflinching it was at holding up a mirror to what humans are. It was difficult to play for all the right reasons. I'm honestly a tad afraid to play Part II because of the intensity!
@codinghorror I borrowed friend’s PS3 to play it when it came out in 2013 and was shouting from the rooftops about how great it was, how it is in a league of its own when it comes to games as art debate. I would even argue only The Last of Us Part II came close since.
@codinghorror If the second season of the show comes first, wait for the game. It’s excruciatingly good (sic). I don’t think passivity of the TV show produces the same result, no matter how good it is or will be.
@dansilov I had very mixed feelings about watching the show before playing the game. That's never happened to me before and it felt.. weird. Especially since they were so, so similar.
@codinghorror I have 'on the nature of daylight' by Max Richter as one of my top music pieces now. That music, with the 'Frank' episode (I think episode 2 or 3) was so moving. I was mesmerised.
The game gave me chills with the giraffe scene. The series did not disappoint.
Try to find the 'this shattered earth' version of 'on the nature of daylight'. Wonderful stuff.
@ryanoneill1970@codinghorror I see you have not watched Arrival. You should absolutely do so. It uses On the Nature of Daylight extensively (in fact, the use of that song is why it couldn’t compete for the academy award for best original score). It absolutely wrecks me every time I watch it, but it’s so good.
Several months after I first watched Arrival, I heard Daylight in some other context which wasn’t nearly as impactful. I found myself tearing up, and it took a few minutes to figure out why.
@codinghorror@ryanoneill1970 Definitely. It’s also yet more evidence for the argument that only short stories can really be adapted into strong movies. Maaaaybe novellas at the outside edge. Novels simply need more time that a movie can reasonably provide.
I found Story of Your Life much less crushing than Arrival. Very good, but more intellectual impact and less emotional.
@ucblockhead how about we stop having expiring licenses in these kinds of things? Seems so completely ridiculous. Can’t really blame pirates from doing their thing on this one, when publishers just shrug and move on ☹️
@codinghorror agree. And people typically dismiss the gameplay as underwhelming, but I don’t agree, the gameplay is never in the way of the narrative, which happens with other games. All in the game is top notch.
@codinghorror Almost ashamed to say it, but I haven't played the game, nor did I watch the series. But I did read The Road by Cormac McCarthy and it was so good that I'm afraid the game or the series will just be a slightly less good derivative.
Should I stay clear of The Last of Us? Or can it withstand the comparison?
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