I think a big problem with The Last of Us is the massive disconnect between the complex narrative its trying to tell ,and the extremely narrow visioned gameplay.
The last of us cutscenes try to paint morally gray ,deeply introspective characters in a harsh world of turmoil.The gameplay is standard fare sneaking or shoot outs arena,every human character you encounter is a brainless enemy unless they get a cutscene introduction(like in the Case of Bill,Sam and Henry or Tess)
Its simply far from a convincing world.Its not inhabited,its not alive. There are two things in TLoU : Enemies and resources to take them down.Oh yeah there were planks and ladders.
I think the RPG genre is much better suited for the kind of narrative complexities they are aiming for ,but didn't deliver outside of strict cutscenes.
The Witcher 2 & 3 did an infinitely better job of relaying the world to the player in more ways than constant battle. You are likely to run into NPCs, reason with them,have them explain to you their struggle or sometimes they're just pure assholes who can't be reasoned with.Its much less predictable ,varied ,and more cohesive with the narrative and the world they're trying to portray in their traditional cutscenes.I just think games like Horizon and Witcher 3(among others in RPG ofcourse) have advanced far beyond ND's expressive ability in gameplay.
The Last of Us has the potential to be amazing ,but being a strict gallery shooter/stealth game doesn't do its writers justice ,and severely limits the game's expressive potential.
Imagine the last of us with true interaction that isn't just killing. A world thats equal parts dangerous ,but also has a human aspect.I think the RPG genre can afford TLoU much needed gameplay flexibility to fully describe characters that can do more than just shoot dummy targets in hallways.
ND needs to break out of the strict arena shooter genre,especially for The Last of Us.
The last of us cutscenes try to paint morally gray ,deeply introspective characters in a harsh world of turmoil.The gameplay is standard fare sneaking or shoot outs arena,every human character you encounter is a brainless enemy unless they get a cutscene introduction(like in the Case of Bill,Sam and Henry or Tess)
Its simply far from a convincing world.Its not inhabited,its not alive. There are two things in TLoU : Enemies and resources to take them down.Oh yeah there were planks and ladders.
I think the RPG genre is much better suited for the kind of narrative complexities they are aiming for ,but didn't deliver outside of strict cutscenes.
The Witcher 2 & 3 did an infinitely better job of relaying the world to the player in more ways than constant battle. You are likely to run into NPCs, reason with them,have them explain to you their struggle or sometimes they're just pure assholes who can't be reasoned with.Its much less predictable ,varied ,and more cohesive with the narrative and the world they're trying to portray in their traditional cutscenes.I just think games like Horizon and Witcher 3(among others in RPG ofcourse) have advanced far beyond ND's expressive ability in gameplay.
The Last of Us has the potential to be amazing ,but being a strict gallery shooter/stealth game doesn't do its writers justice ,and severely limits the game's expressive potential.
Imagine the last of us with true interaction that isn't just killing. A world thats equal parts dangerous ,but also has a human aspect.I think the RPG genre can afford TLoU much needed gameplay flexibility to fully describe characters that can do more than just shoot dummy targets in hallways.
ND needs to break out of the strict arena shooter genre,especially for The Last of Us.