cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/52327207
this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2026
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It's good historically. Publishers and developers didn't really care much about story in their games before then (2013). "Video Game story" was often horribly bad, like porn acting; but more often it was just forgettable. Like mandatory lubricant to keep the gameplay going, rather than a feature to make good. Think, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, Dishonored, etc. They're ok, but they don't make you really "feel" something. Mostly you just go around killing everything until it's done. Heck, speaking of which, even Doom Eternal (2020) has a coherent storyline and lore.
After The Last of Us, publishers suddenly realised that people actually really like it when their videogames have good stories, that make sense narratively, have twists, low plot holes, emotional investment and climax, etc. Now we have even better stories like Ghost of Tsushima, Expedition 33, Baldur's Gate 3, etc.
It's a bit dated now, but 13 years ago gaming was very different. It's actually expected nowadays for games to have a reasonably good story. Today, I would probably recommend the TV show instead for most people, or maybe a Let's Play.
You're conclusion isn't wrong but you're giving it credit for the wrong things. All of those elements were present in games that came long before, TLOU was just a lot more marketable.
The story-first approach made you feel in control of a zombie movie during peak zombie mania. You just binged The Walking Dead, what if you could play an episode...
In that sense, you're right that its success opened up a whole new market that we all benefit from. I knew so many people whose game libraries were like NBA 2k 2011, NBA 2k 2012, and The Last Of Us. It made a lot of non-hobbyists realize that games can be art.
It's a good game that would have earned a place in video game history regardless BUT it wasn't particularly innovative. It just did what it did very well
Your comment feels like it's trying to simultaneously agree with me and vaguely correct me at the same time. I'm not really sure what to make of it.
The Last of Us had the best story in gaming in quite a while. That's my opinion, backed up by the huge amount of media coverage and acclaim at the time. Yes, other games had stories in them, but they mostly sucked. They don't suck as much anymore, because that game made publishers and developers and players care more. That's my point.
Half Life (1998) was considered revolutionary for putting all its cut scenes in game and you had to press E to listen to characters.
Final Fantasy 6 (1994) and 7 (1997) were considered masterpieces of storytelling
Myst was 1993
Sid Meier was making story based games in the mid 80s.
What's your point?
You said
My reply gives counter-examples