I've never felt physical signs of stress outside of the real world, but the last of us has changed that. There are times where I get chills/goosebumps/stomach aches when playing for more than 2 hours. Won't go into detail, but I'll sum it up by saying this game is fucking raw.

Has anyone else felt this while playing? It's certainly the most brutal post apopacalyptic piece of "entertainment" I have ever endured

Also, don't take this as me hating on the game. It's, honestly, one of the greatest pieces of media/art I've ever experienced (so far, at least. haven't beaten it yet).

I'm so surprised Sony let naughty dog make this game. And I'm so fucking glad they did

Whenever there's multiple clickers and runners involved, I get stressed and my adrenaline gets going. When I kill them all, either by stealth killing them or just gung ho-ing it, I get happy... only to get slaughtered because there was another room full of them. Fuckers.

I'm currently at the E3 demo from back in 2012 (You said no spoilers, but I'm going to add one in) After the elevator scene, and this shit is really stressing me out. Having the water at knee height means you can hold down R2 to look for nearby enemies/clickers, and I know something is going to pop out. I can also hear doors slamming or something in the distance every once in a while. This is atmospheric but man I want it to end haha

Also the quick death animations are pretty brutal, even more tension is added because I just don't want to see them happen to me

It is tense as shit. It's actually the first game in a long time where I had to take a deep breath after playing. It's really taxing on the nerves and that stuff extends to story - there's going to be stuff later on that's going to really wreck your nerves.

I am currently going through the weirdest internal turmoil with this game. The world is so well crafted that when I really pay attention to my surroundings I get this crushing feeling of inevitability from the lives that were not lived in this world. Things like bags left half packed or magazines strewn on the floor by an improvised bed run mt mind rampant with the feeling of how people shape their surroundings trying to cope with loss and traumatic change. It makes me want to drop the game and be next to my wife or daughter, the thought of how things can so drastically change, so quickly that there is no time to adjust, all the thoughts and plans for the future that are instantly wiped out by situations completely out of our control.

Thankfully though I can have those feelings and look at them in a detached way because it is after all, a game. If I allowed myself to get too much more immersed though I probably couldn't play it.

The most interesting thing to me is trying to understand what part of the presentation is causing this emotional response. I can look at the environments in the game and see that artists have placed things in certain ways for certain reasons but it's so much more convincing than something like Fallout or even Metro. Is it the lighting? Something is more natural to my eyes and I think my brain is interpreting it a little too heavily.

This game is serious business, make no mistake.

@naru_joe93: I don't know if it's more or less than any other stealth game but I do get stressed from having to hide against overwhelming odds, knowing that if I get spotted it will probably be game over. Unlike games like Thief, Splinter Cell or even Batman I don't have that assurance that I can pull through if things go south.

At first, yes, but there is so much combat it stops being scary and starts becoming boring. Love everything else about it though.

Not at all. Don't really get the people saying it's stressing them out. It's nothing we haven't seen before.

@naru_joe93: YES! plus the multiplayer is also tense

One of the things I like about the game is that Joel is superman. He can get taken down pretty quick if you aren't careful and I love that. It makes me play much more carefully than I otherwise would. This is definitely a game I haven't enjoyed playing, but it's a damn fine experience.

One particular level shown as a demo at a past E3 left off before one of the most stressful moments for me in the game. It was the only time I ever felt scared.

Yes, I don't think it's on par with the level of stress I had during dead space though. For whatever reason I could only handle being immersed in that game for so long. The last of us is broken up nicely and has pretty visuals that are appealing at least.

Tensing or taxing? Hardly, but when I have to deal with like four or five clickers in a room, I get angry.

Fantastic game so far, but at the same time I'm sort of getting bored.

Yes, but it's by design. I'm sure Naughty Dog are happy they've gotten so many players to be feeling so anxious when playing their game :P

The tension is what keeps me on the edge of my seat in combat. I love and hate it XD Love the way it sucks me into the world where I feel like every single shot has to count or I'm fucked (even though I know there are checkpoints)

Not long finished this on hard mode I was wondering if anyone out there has beaten it on survivor mode and how brutal is it in that mode

@owlmassive: It's brutal. Say goodbye to supplies, because what you find in the environment is reduced dramatically. I got into potentially unwinnable situations many a time

It forces you to be smarter about moving through the environment, and it was a joy to play on. My only issue: it wasn't unlocked from the getgo. Definitely how the game was meant to be played