So firstly, I loved this game. For the other people that enjoyed it, I'm just wondering, what was it that you enjoyed? The story has been told a thousand times before. I called each "revelation" well before it happened. But for some reason (Strength of characters maybe?) I still found it enthralling. I absolutely loved the ending. I love that Joel got her out. That's really the only difference between this and the thousands of other similar stories. In this story the main character puts himself before the well being of the world and I think that is incredible. In every other story or movie the main character would have died trying to save her at the end or allowed her to be experimented on in the name of the "greater good".

I think a large majority of the story is an average, tedious plot bolstered by some fantastic, best in class performances and I applaud Naughty Dog for ending it on a nice simultaneously joyous/sinister note that left me feeling uneasy.

Really cant emphasise how much I love the performances though, had no idea it was Troy Baker till I saw it in the credits. Ellie is so believable its almost terrifying, making it so the 14 year old swears more than any other character is a great realistic touch. Its a testament to how great they are that even though there were no big sweeping emotional moments I was still sad when the credits rolled cause I didn't want to see those characters go.

Yup, my thoughts exactly to a T. The Last of Us, much like the Uncharted games, is a character-driven story first and foremost anyway. Also, Nolan North does an outstanding job with the David character, too; I was outright flabbergasted to learn that it was Nolan North playing him all that time. Undoubtedly some of the best acting you can find in video games.

My one big fear that would have disconnected me from the story being told was that Joel would sound like Booker DeWitt. He kinda does in the beginning of the game, but the time jump after the god damned prologue washed away those fears.

Yeah I think it was the handling of the characters that made all the difference. This might be the first game to feature a gay character where he isn't portrayed as a flamboyant stereotype. I thought that was great.

...thats nolan north???! holy shit if thats true then thats the best example of a voice actor not sounding like themselves that I've ever seen in a videogame. Wow.

I loved the Walking Dead but if Telltale had the budget to bring the character interactions in that game up to the standard of the Last of Us it would make for something truly special. Even more special than TWD already was.

Naughty Dog should be proud that they managed to turn a story which is essentially a journey from point A to B with hiccups along the way, into a very endearing adventure. Though yeah, the voice actor's performances really go a long way to make the characters feel "real". They're what made the game for me.

And the ending was a great twist on my expectations.*Telltale's The Walking Dead Spoilers* After coming off playing Telltale's The Walking Dead last year, I was emotionally preparing for an ending involving Joel dying/being infected. Instead what I received was an ending that had me smiling, but also had me questioning if I should be smiling.

It's one of the few video games - one of which is The Walking Dead - where the idea "the journey is more important than the destination" is done as it should be. That doesn't mean that the ending is shit - it's not, it's very good. The game is essentially a set of random events which work to establish the character and their development. The quest to get Ellie to the Fireflies is as important as Lee's attempt to find Clementine's parents, which is barely.

My favorite part is that ND did a good job at making the world pretty much completely gray - David is the only real monster in here, even the Hunters are less cruel idiots and more people who developed an extremely efficient mindset.

Joel's a great character and my favorite thing about him is that he's not a good guy. Even after his character development, it's scary to see how easy it is for him to kill and maim people. The torture scenes of two of David's guys and that Firefly at the end are so uncomfortable not because of the violence, but because the guy doesn't fuck around - there's no build up in those interrogations. It's "tell me what I want to know", then silence, then knife in the knee/a bullet straight in the dick. There's no boasting about doing this or that, there's just some brutal-ass efficiency. Hell, at the very end, he doesn't even blink or hesitate for a second when he has to kill Marlene. "Let me live", "Nope, you'll come after us", cap in the head. I half expected him to get a conscience after he warms up to Ellie, but no, that conscience extends purely to her. Stone cold.

I also loved how Ellie is as endearing as Clementine was, but in a completely different way. Clementine was a sweet kid, Ellie is a teenager. So she's cursing like a sailor, she likes to be annoying, talks way too much, wants to help all the time. I just love how their relationship is just more father-daughter like because Joel actually has to stomp his fucking foot every once and a while and she actually gives him legitimate reasons to be angry. And that chapter where you play as her is amazing. I expected the game to do that, but in the epilogue or something, not as a full on long chapter of the game where I stab, shoot and evade goons as a 14 year old girl. Naughty Dog has stones.

Also, the ending is fucking perfect.

And one more thing - giraffes.