The Walking Dead vs. The Last of Us

This article contains spoilers of The Walking Dead and The Last of Us.

The Walking Dead: The Game and The Last of Us plunge the player into a world where morality and survival contradict one another. The moral boundaries that once define society have been redefined and brands such as thief and murderer no longer make you a criminal. People must steal, kill, and do anything it takes to survive in this new world were humans now act like feral animals, forming fragile alliances and claiming territory, killing anyone who trespasses. While both of these extraordinary titles exist in different worlds both offer a chance to throw out the philosophies about what is right and wrong, but which does it better? Does Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us construct a more believable world where morals are weak, or does Telltale Games The Walking Dead vividly portray how survival and relationships will be like if the world does end?

In The Last of Us Joel is confronted with a series of difficult decisions regarding ethical behavior and survival. But Joel isn’t the only one acting this way, many of the survivors from the cordyceps outbreak have succumbed to similar behavior. The people who now live in this hell have to resort to hellish behavior in order to live in this crumbling world. Throughout this journey I witnessed people use one another as bait, rape, resort to cannibalism, and perform executions. All because humanity wasn’t ready for a global pandemic, despite living in a flat world.

The Walking Dead deals with similar conflicts, but from a story perspective. Where in The Last of Us Joel doesn’t have the option to talk his way out of hostile situations and must resort to violence in most cases, The Walking Dead allows you different ways to tackle certain situations. A lot of the choices made by Lee, or the five recently added survivors, is through a timed decision that usually results in long term consequences. I was always on edge thinking about how the other person would take my answer and if that would result in something unpleasant later on. While The Last of Us had some intense cinematic moments it was nothing compared to The Walking Dead, because I was the one choosing how the scene went.

What made each decision weigh on me in The Walking Dead was the person standing beside me. Whether it was Kenny, Carley, or Clementine I always felt someone had their eyes on me, and deciding how they should judge me in the long run. I never felt that kind of judgment in The Last of Us, all those decisions that had me on edge during The Walking Dead were now being applied to Joel, alleviating me of most of the stress. Most of my vexation came from combat, whether it was the cordyceps or humans, each new fight required careful patience and planning. In certain situations I was beating a man to death or plunging an axe into another person’s leg in The Walking Dead, but it wasn’t the same as smashing a man’s face in with brick. That impact was something that lingered in my ears even minutes after the execution was performed. The Walking Dead relied on its story mechanics create tension while The Last of Us had both.

Let’s jump ship and discuss the reason these two worlds fell in chaos, the walkers and the cordyceps. Both cause the victim to undergo a dramatic transformation turns to person into something that can only be described as a monster. The Walkers, although dangerous, never made me jump in terror or had me frighten. Although surrounded by decaying flesh I could still tell that these creatures use to be human, not like the cordycep victims. Seeing how the fungus had morphed the victim to such a degree that they now communicate through a clicking sound was something that instantly had me on edge whenever I heard it. I had a hard time believing that those things that now inhabit the world where every human. If they were aware the cordyceps would make the walkers wobble away in fear.

Now let’s conclude with the world. Due to technical levels it’s no doubt that The Last of Us was crafted with a higher level of elaborate detail than The Walking Dead. Buildings about to fall over and nature overtaking landmarks that used to be teeming with human activity. This doesn’t mean that The Walking Dead falls short, each new area exhibits some sort of pandemonium. Whether it was the drugstore in Macon or the mansion in Savannah each area exhibited that it once had people living within those walls. Giving its limits as a download title The Walking Dead did a fantastic job, but The Last of Us was simply jaw-dropping.

The Walking Dead: The Game offers the player more tense choices to deal with while The Last of Us combat system is absolutely nerve-racking. Both present incredible worlds that prudently showcase how humanity would react when the world ends and show how the societal norms that we currently live by can shatter in one day. I was stunned to see how much I love The Walking Dead, despite being a point and click title, and amazed at the level of brutality Naughty Dog delivered in The Last of Us. It’s a tough choice to make, but if I had to choose the best I would have to go with The Last of Us.

Adam, NoobFeed 
Twitter | YouTube | Facebook