On June 14, 2013, one of the titles that would change the shape of narrative and gameplay throughout the industry arrived on our console; The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog for PlayStation 3.
Daft Punk’s Get Lucky sounded loud on the radio, in the cinema Tony Stark led the box office with Iron Man 3, in that same year a Latin American Pope was also elected for the first time and a little over 3 years later, Chile continued to rise from the earthquake . It is in this national and global context that The Last of Us would completely change the way in which video games have a cultural impact.
The story behind the milestone
Although the post-apocalyptic genre and zombies were commonplace, the success of this title came early, pushed by a gameplay shown a year earlier at E3 in 2012. A video demonstrating the mechanics and graphic potential of the PlayStation 3, driven by a compelling story in the voices of Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson.
It is in this period and from then on many developers would see with special admiration what was achieved by PlayStation and Naughty Dog, it was not for nothing that the latter won the Best Studio of the Year award at the Spyke Video Game Awards (currently The Game Awards), for giving a example. On the other hand, it was GTA V who snatched the title for Best Game of the Year at this ceremony, a revenge that Naughty Dog took at the BAFTA Games Awards, where it was crowned absolute monarch of the industry that year.
more content
From there and in the future The Last of Us would see various downloadable content and even a growing community around cosplay, live action fan videos, comics, etc. Strong rumors of series and movies began to spread, the latter was confirmed since the production of the film adaptation was officially announced, which was canceled years later. And it is that, Neil Druckmann, puts in the arena not the infected as primary enemies, but the same human beings, excellent material for a drama on the big screen.
Months later and just in time for Valentine’s Day, on February 14, 2014, the left behind; downloadable content that told the story of Ellie before she met Joel. It is in this installment in which the study opens the conversation around the gender and orientation of the protagonists in video games. Later, in the same year, The Last of Us Remastered would also arrive, the updated version for the PS4 graphics.
Regarding multiplayer, this format enjoyed good health until September 3, 2019 when The Last of Us servers (also those of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception) were taken down, a preamble for the developer will focus on what is to come; The Last of Us Part II in 2020, title announced in the PlayStation Experience of 2016.
The Serie
In March of that same 2020, boosted by the success of the first title, the DLC and the future second installment, the making of the series in the hands of HBO was announced; led by Neil Druckmann himself and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), which predicted a success from every point of view.
On June 19, 2020, 7 years and 5 days after the first game, The Last of Us Part II arrived; title that continued the story of Ellie and Joel 5 years after the events of the first installment. A story with a plot twist that undoubtedly left thousands of fans with a gigantic emotional wound. It is worth mentioning that this game comes between the COVID-19 pandemic, a period in which video games, series and streaming were already a norm among quarantines.
Awards
About its awards, The Last of Us Part II, received around 97 nominations in different awards, of these it obtained 46 recognitions including the most prestigious in the industry; Best Game of the Year at the BAFTA Games Awards and at The Game Awards. Definitely deserved.
With a dream end of the year for Naughty Dog and PlayStation, The Last of Us saga reigned supreme in the industry. Now it was the turn of the “small screen”.
key players
At the beginning of 2021, between rumors and behind the scenes, it is the Chilean Pedro Pascal who is confirmed to lead the role of the adaptation of the game to the series. He accompanied by Bella Ramsey would be an explosive duo that gave us iconic moments and live action reversals of events only experienced, until then, in the digital universe.
During the passage of that year, more details of the series became known; protagonists, number of episodes, fidelity to the original title, etc. All those tasty bits of information that, to the fans, were clues and a kind of placebo. Clearly awaiting its launch and staging.
The Last Of Us, the series, premieres its first episode on January 15, 2023 and in 9 chapters it showed that adaptations of videogames to movies or series could be carried out successfully, with a good plot, narrative adaptability and depth in the characters. Both industries, television and video games, continued to take notice.
After the season finale and to date, The Last of Us had a viewing of 32 million viewers per episode and is the most watched show in the history of HBO Max in Europe and Latin America, not long after the series was renewed. for a second season.
10 years and more to come
On its tenth anniversary, it seems to us that The Last of Us still has many stories to tell and that, since its launch in 2013, it has transformed the industry, being a benchmark to this day. Giving new life to a genre as old and popular as zombie, post-apocalypse and survival scenarios.
The Last of Us Part I, The Last of Us Part II, The Last of Us Remastered, and The Last of Us: Left Behind are available on the PS Store.