The Walking Dead Does Zombies and Narrative Better Than The Last of Us

Explosion.com's Dave Walsh looks at both The Last of Us and The Walking Dead and analyzes which game does the zombie genre more justice and which game tells a more compelling narrative.

[RGDubz]

TLOU isn't zombies.

FAIL.

[dvewlsh]

I address that in the article...

It is semantics, as they are still a part of the same genre.

[RGDubz]

I disagree. ;)

[fenome]

Not semantics, zombies are people that die first, infected are still very much alive.

[hulk_bash1987]

Opinions are relative and I respect your right to have your own, but I disagree. The level of engagement and emotion I felt playing through the last of us is something I haven't gotten from any other game as of yet. It is in my opinion, a masterpiece and one that is truly deserving of all the praise.

[badz149]

if you put TLoU in the same category as TWD, then you are either trolling or haven't played TLoU, which practically makes you trolling too!

the infected in not the only threat in TLoU and that's what makes surviving in TLoU much more realistic!

[Ducky]

^ The infected are not the only threat in TWD either.
Seems like a strange point to bring up.

[Muffins1223]

honestly if there trying to eat me and or attack me and don't show any sighs of intelligence...i don't fucking care its a zombie in m eyes...it acts like a zombie,it even looks like half rotted corpse like zombie...naughty dog just gave a different background storie for em because they did not want to seem like they did a generic idea even though they did for the enemy lol...

[psyxon]

i don't know whether to laugh or cry. and also, no lol.

[Ezz2013]

TLOU is more of 28 weeks later
which have those kind of infected that are alive they know what they are doing but can't control their actions

zombies are ppl who die and then come back to life
that's different

you can cure the infected ones but cyou can't cure who already dead ...see my point ?!

as for the Narrative....both are amazing in story telling and loved them both alot
but TBH
TLOU is just in another level for me in every thing when i put it with against every game this gen

[ipe]

U fail, stop writing.

Tlou s 5 levels above movie walking dead. Gameplay wise it destroys wd.

[sloth3395]

he is trolling a good game to get hits

[dvewlsh]

No, don't get paid by hits at all, actually.

[ThichQuangDuck]

Did you read the article or post based upon the headline? If you disagree then elaborate why you feel they are different than zombies

[RGDubz]

I think fenome has this covered. ;)

@ xPhearR3dx

You don't care what Naughty Dog says about their own game? lol

[ThichQuangDuck]

@RGDubz

Winking on the internet

I have read what Naughty Dog says,but nothing that I played in the last of us broke the "zombie" mythology. I understand the focus was not on the infected,but humanity. I am looking at the basic idea of a zombie and not comparing to zombies in other media and that is exactly what the infected are. I do not need Naughty Dog to define every theme in their game for me. I can unlike Joel think for myself. I do not need a cutscene that tells me what they are. I define what I think they are by completing the 16 hour game

[Transporter47]

@ThichQuangDuck

The Last of Us is its own unique experience where you can't get anywhere else, no other "Zombie Game" does it as good as TLOU.

[ThichQuangDuck]

@Transporter47

You don't need to sell me on the game I bought it at launch and beat it and am replaying it. I found it to be a good game,but to me there is nothing remarkable about the story. I more see it as a psychological tale of PTSD based upon the ending. The story itself though does not try to surprise so much as paces itself well. That is the problem many are facing they are trying to act like the last of us is something that has never been attempted anywhere before and differentiate it. It is different and it is great. Is it my game of year, century, millennium, lifetime that others are stating before years end? No it is not. It was a good game play experience that was engrossing at times and frustrating at other times with Naughty Dogs constant struggle of staying in control of the player

[moparful99]

@ThichQuangDuck Zombies are derived from a virus that reanimates a dead body in order to propogate. In the Last of Us the source of the infection is a Fungus Spore that adheres itself to the brain stem and takes over the host without killing it. NOT A ZOMBIE.

Just because your opinion of it isn't as high as a majority of the gaming populace out there doesn't mean we need silly articles like this that are rife with opinion and conjecture..

[ThichQuangDuck]

@moparful99

If this article was last of us game of year filled with opinions and conjecture everyone would love it. I don't believe most people's objection to the article has to do so much with how it is written as much as someone having a differing opinion then them in the world. Again I said thematically they are zombies. Thematically to me means it does not matter how they become infected because that is truly semantics. The theme of humanity changing to something not human. This shows it in the light of "humans are douchebags". I liked the game,but people seem to be taking the themes at face value rather than looking anyway deeper. I was more trying to use this to discuss parts of the last of us that this opinion article or Op ed touched on.

[xPhearR3dx]

@RGDuz

No I don't. Simply because them saying they're "infected" and not zomibes doesn't mean they're not zombies.

There's an outbreak at the start of the game, humanity is trying to survive, and the story revolves around looking for a cure. They look, sound and act just like zombies. My ass they're not zombies.

I will always say TLOU is the best ZOMBIE game I've every played. Just because ND says they're not, that doesn't mean squat. Zombies = Infected.

[moparful99]

@ThichQuangDuck If the article focused on the narrative aspect and didn't have a flame title like

"The Walking Dead Does Zombies and Narrative Better Than The Last of Us"

then maybe there wouldn't be as much outcry.. A title like

"The Walking Dead and the Last of Us: We discuss the narrative strengths of both"

Instead this articles title blatantly states that one is better than the other and try's support said claim with opinion and conjecture.. I thought journalists had a moral obligation to be as subjective as possible?

[Ducky]

^ Do you not know what an 'Opinion Piece' is?

.... and really, all you have to do is read the summary.
An outcry over the title just shows an unhealthy amount of insecurity.

[xPhearR3dx]

I don't care what anyone says. TLOU is zombies. Infected is just a fancy term. In any case, can't say I agree with the author. As much as I enjoyed TWD, TLOU is on a completely different level of story telling. TLOU is also one of the greatest games of this generation. Looking back on every game released this gen. There's two games IMO that are considered game of the generation. The Last of Us, and Red Dead Redemption.

[moparful99]

As I stated above they are not the same.. A zombie comes from a VIRUS reanimating a dead body the infected in the TLOU is a result of a FUNGUS spore controlling a host that is not dead.. If the body dies the fungus leaves the host via airborne spores..

[xPhearR3dx]

@moparful99

You can state that sentence all you want. They're still zombies. And people will continue to call them zombies. People call zombies infected all the same, just like people call infected zombies. Never going to change.

[moparful99]

I like how you seem to know more than the people that actually created the character... SMH

[xPhearR3dx]

@moparful99

So because they created the game, everything they say is 100% correct? Keep telling yourself that and you'll be one of those people who believe everything they read on the internet.

Microsoft created the Xbone, yet when they talk about the "cloud" all of a sudden comments like yours don't matter anymore right?

[psyxon]

you can't just decide what a zombie is and isn't. well you can, but you'll be a moron for doing so. no offense intended. trying to say a zombie is whatever you think it is is like saying a dragon is whatever you think it is. i guess griffons are dragons cause they both have wings. it's silly.

zombies are reanimated corpses, meaning something died and came back. it doesn't have to be from a virus (though it usually is).

the infected ARE NOT DEAD. that is why they aren't zombies. you can argue it all you want, you're wrong. the infected in the last of us have been infected by a fungus which is based on a fungus that actually exists.

"people call zombies infected all the time" - correction, people call specific zombies infected. why? BECAUSE THEY ARE INFECTED. but every infection is not the same. i wouldn't call someone with aids a malaria patient. but yes, they are both infections, so yes, they are both infected. perhaps ND should have gone with a more unique name.

regardless of what you call them, they are not the same. learn to accept when you're wrong.

tl;dr
the infected =/= zombies. you are wrong. accept it.

[Muffins1223]

Though that may be true....there are basically a replacement for zombies and are in the same category....weird rabbis like freaks trying to eat your flesh

[SirBradders]

So a cannibal is a zombie?

[Harpers_Ferry]

Of course the infected in TLOU aren't "zombies", but that doesn't matter, because they play the same role in the narrative.

Zombies, typically, are human bodies which are taken over by a virus that causes them to reanimate after death, with no control, and wreck shit for the human race.

TLOU infected are humans, whose bodies are taken over by fungus that causes them to lose control, and wreck shit for the human race. These creatures are somewhat more tragic, because the lack of a death/reanimation cycle means that up to a certain point, the person is still in there.

The key points are the use of once ordinary human bodies, the loss of control, and the immense threat to humanity and human society. Hell, you could use alien invaders as long as they have the crazed, erratic behavior that these others creatures have, and they could fill the same role.

[medman]

The Last of Us is miles ahead of where The Walking Dead is as a game. I loved The Last of Us. Ellie is one of the best characters in gaming, period. She is loyal, strong, courageous, smart, and funny. There is not one character in The Walking Dead the game that comes close to Ellie. I like The Walking Dead, but to compare it to The Last of Us is ridiculous. Playing the survival playthrough of The Last of Us actually induces fear when you enter a room and have no idea how many, or where, the infected might come from. There are many instances in The Last of Us where you're terrified you will not survive because you have more enemies than bullets, crafted items, or melee weapons. I was not scared one moment in The Walking Dead.

[JackVagina]

with PS2 graphics and framerate drops below 10

[Pixel_Enemy]

Someone ^ has absolutely no idea what they are talking about..

[ame22]

It's gonna get hot here.

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

LIES!!!!

Well I understand what he's saying. TWD has a more emotional narrative for sure. But TLOU has a more realistic narrative. At the end of TWD I just felt sad. The ending of TLOU makes you feel all kinds of crap.

[first1NFANTRY]

Site effectively downvoted. "Journalism" is a joke at best. the last of us doesn't have zombies, their infected humans who have no control of their reactions. besides their two different games.

[No Way]

" their infected humans who have no control of their reactions"
Oh.. right. Cause zombies are totally in control of their reactions.
Sure, they are different but they really aren't that different, though.

[moparful99]

*sigh*
Again Zombies= virus reanimating a body reducing the host into a primal mindstate who's only motivation is to eat.

Clickers/runners= Fungal spores controlling a host that's is very much alive in an effort to propogate..

Not the same..

[psyxon]

um. zombies are in control of their reactions. zombies aren't controlled by something parasitic. most zombies have been infected by a virus which doesn't CONTROL them, but ALTERS their ability to function. normally.

the infected are humans that have been infected by a parasitic fungus that takes control of them. thus, the human no longer has control.

the zombie does. just because something doesn't function normally does not mean it doesn't have control.

[No Way]

@Moparful99 -
I didn't say they were 'the same,' I said they aren't that different.
Clickers even walk around similar to the way zombies do, lol.
They both also try to eat your face, regardless.

@psyxon -
Do people who do hard drugs in control of there well being? Not typically.
Not so much different, there, either, than that of zombies..
Drugs prevent you from 'functioning normally,' and control you.
People typically don't take drugs and decide to do something idiotic.
It was the drug that was controlling them, their state of mind...

Besides, as we both said 'reactions..' do you think zombies react to someone shooting at them? No. They keep moving forward. They don't react.. They see people, animals, food and go for it. That's the 'only' reaction zombies have. Everything else is automatic; in a controlled state of being.

[jjb1981]

Walking dead is a point and click, there's no suspense just story. TLOU is a masterpiece of the senses. Walking dead is a good game but nothing like the last of us. Infected aren't zombies, they're still alive. Semantics you say? Ha! I scoff at your attempt to belittle TLOU!

[allgamespc2012]

the sony fanboys will come out like rats in a corner man, dont do this cause at n4g, they cant take it when u diss their fav game, one of the most overrated games this geni TLOU.

[mgszelda1]

Please overrated. A game that was buggy, predictable, and laundry list of other problems somehow got a bunch of GOTY awards. Walking dead is one the most overrated games this gen.
I like the show and from what I've been told about the comics(still gotta read em) it's awesome. This game is the least strong of all of its avenues.
The game got praised for basically being a straight adventure clone of Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy. It doesn't help the developers were like "This game will make you cry"
I've already played some emotionally driven games long before the Walking dead game. MGS3 ending anyone

[allgamespc2012]

son, i agree with the walking dead, i am talking about the last of us, overrated as shit. twd is awesome

[mgszelda1]

Every scenario in walking dead is QTE related and scripted.
Last of Us has every category in spades.
I've played and beat both. Walking dead is a fair value at $20, but I'll never play it again.
Last of Us, I'm playing through it again and playing online.
Walking dead = spec in the pond that somehow got a lot of GOTY awards
Last of Us = forever remembered in the annuls of gaming history

[sashimi]

Lol haters gonna hate, But we all know TLOU > TWD
P.S. i don't read these joke sites because i don't give hits based on flamebait journalism

[Transporter47]

The narrative in the Walking Dead is pretty good but in the Last of Us it's superb. The Walking Dead Game is good as a story wise only game, the game play is alright doesn't really bring anything new, but you play that game for the story and the consequences of your actions, unlike The Last Of Us which is one main story which happens what needs to happen without the need of decisions which that doesn't make it a bad game because the way it was told was so beautiful.

[mgszelda1]

That is where the walking dead game lost me. Because ultimately the ending is the same. Why a game like Mass Effect 3 got slighted for it's player driven story with it's very similar but technically different endings and Walking dead didnt get slammed for its is beyond me.
P.S. I too was mad about ME3 endings but I still stand by the point

[SynestheticRoar]

This article is SORRY.

[0pie]

im not even gonna lose my time reading this garbage.

[Williamson]

Anyone else shed tears/ come awfully close from a video game? That's what the last of us can do to someone who plays it.

[AznGaara]

How can you compare branching narratives with linear narratives? Lol

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Settle down, both Last of Us and Walking Dead are good games. Let's leave it at that and don't bother reading the article.

[TheSaint]

Indeed both are incredible games, TLoU are def not zombies though, they are more like 28 Days Later infected.

[ziggurcat]

that's great because TLoU isn't a zombie game, nor are the infected in the game actually zombies.

[Harpers_Ferry]

I was really hoping to see some valid reasoning in this one, because it's definitely an interesting comparison to make, but this article is shit. Frankly, it reads like someone who simply didn't enjoy TLOU very much, and is using a "comparison" to vent.

TLOU is too short? Doesn't understand tension? Seriously? I loved both games, but both of these arguments against TLOU are pretty ridiculous. Not to mention the complaints about the time it takes to get to know Joel/Ellie, which is what makes the character development so strong. Anything faster would just feel forced, rather than naturally occurring, which is one of the biggest issues in game storytelling.

It really seems like the author just prefers a more laid back game with smaller scale actions, which is fine, but don't try to use it to downplay another game's achievements.

[dvewlsh]

This is actually pretty fair.

I plodded my way through TLOU and honestly didn't enjoy it that much. I really, genuinely dislike games that force that much tension. I do a lot of high-pressure work 10 hours a day, six days a week. A game that forces you to always be on edge like that is just... Sometimes too much. I generally don't mind games that aren't super "laid back," but in the case of survival horror, I usually just dislike it.

I really didn't find Joel and Ellie to be that engaging until way later on in the game.

[P_Bomb]

[QUOTE] The Walking Dead understands the concept of tension and release, bringing the player along on the rollercoaster ride and letting them appreciate the game. The Last of Us simply does not provide that kind of experience. The Last of Us is a tense experience from beginning to end. [/QUOTE]

I disagree. TLOU was a much longer game and by default had many more moments of release.

The release I felt after the harrowing sewer escape in TLOU, when I could finally walk around in daylight again and compose myself in an empty town, was enormous. More than anything in the Walking Dead, which often confused "release" with "boredom" imo, like all the menial tasks at the farm or trying to get the key from Lee's dead brother.

Even while relaxing in TLOU you're still doing things that matter, scrounging for supplies. In Walking Dead you're just talking, and not every conversation matters. The tension/release on TLOU Survivor difficulty when i was finally able to craft ANYTHING really, paid off more than whether or not I found those batteries for the reporter in TWD.

QTE-ing through hundreds of neutered zombies in the Walking Dead hotel chapter, doesn't have as big a tension/release payoff as being ambushed by Clickers...well...anywhere really. It's like PG tension/release vs rated M.

If when nothing was happening in TLOU (the Bill's town forest, the winter deer hunt, the bus station with the giraffes, Tommy's dam), there was still this thought in the back of your mind that danger could be around any corner, then that's a credit to the authenticity in the world ND created. In The Walking Dead, I always felt safe due to the episodic nature of the chapters where you could predict the beats ahead of time because of their "months between downloads" template. Conversation was 90% of the gameplay so unless someone choked on a chicken wing while talking, I knew nothing would happen when I was alone trying to get that train started, or fixing a swing at Hershel's farm. And nothing did.

[LiarasBoobs]

pfft you can't compare the two. TLOU's story is much better.