User blog comment:Inkie Twig/A Year in Gaming - A Review/@comment-1263839-20141230131906/@comment-3967954-20141231002857

I suppose one of my issues with The Last of Us is that Naughty Dog were so focused on the characters that they didn't try to make the setting or the storyline very interesting. A few cliches don't hurt, but TLoU is basically a rehash of The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later. There is almost nothing original in terms of narrative. And I honestly wouldn't have a problem with that if the reviewers admitted it, but instead they spout all this nonsense about it being a breakthrough in gaming narrative, because ooh look the cutscenes are pretty.

I see what you mean about the gameplay structure, but I probably could've forgiven that if it was imposed onto a fresh backdrop. I think if a storyline and setting is good enough, it can save an otherwise mediocre game. Spec Ops: The Line is testament to that, since its missions were hardly very varied (or even that fun), but most players managed to still enjoy it nevertheless.

It probably sounds like I really, really hate TLoU, but I only really hate the people who think it's this sort of holy grail of gaming. I respect that Naughty Dog can't be expected to make a perfect game. It's not really their fault that people have hyped it up to ridiculous degrees. Still though, they probably could've done a better job if they'd spent more time thinking up something relatively fresh rather than using well-established tropes as a backdrop for a new cast of characters. Because let's be honest - TLoU is only really about the characters, not the gameplay or the storyline.