086: The Last of Us

By April 29, 2020PODCAST

We make travel across the country to potentially save humanity in the Last of Us.

Developer: Naughty Dog | Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment | Initial Release: June 14, 2013

Jacob, Mike and special guest Matt aka Stormageddon craft weapons, stumble through visceral battles and make human decisions throughout.

Players: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt) & Mike Ruffolo (@ruffolom)

Special Guest: Matt aka Stormageddon (@DJ_Stormageddon)

Twitch: twitch.tv/dj_stormageddon | Facebook: facebook.com/stormageddonnyc

Matt also hosts a number of podcasts:

Web: LeftBehindGame.Club | Twitter: @LeftBehindClub | Instagram: @LeftBehindGameClub

SHOW NOTES:

  • 2:40 An introduction to Matt’s work (and a thank you to the Games Gone podcast)
  • 4:45 Fast Pitch for The Last of Us
  • 6:40 What are our personal histories with The Last of Us?
  • 11:10 What does The Last of Us feel like to play?
  • 18:20 The setup of The Last of Us and the opening of the game
  • 22:55 The voice acting in the game
  • 25:10 A primer on the combat and the gameplay and comparing it to Naughty Dog’s other games
  • 30:10 Talking through Uncharted 3’s train sequence, a comparison to horror games and Matt enters into the Mario vs. Luigi fray
  • 33:15 Is Mike being too hard on the game? Mike’s hot take on TLOU.
  • 35:55 Matt compares the game to the original Mass Effect
  • 39:30 The game’s jump cuts and comparisons to The Walking Dead
  • 45:45 We talk about the game’s cross-country journey (with Price is Right rules)
  • 48:20 Talking through some of the highlights in the story
  • 53:30 After teasing it throughout, we fully spoil the ending here
  • 56:05 The “re-bar” moment and the repercussions of that incident
  • 1:01:45 What do we want to see in TLOU2? [we do not speak about leaks here] 
  • 1:05:00 Moe would be envious of our weapon and tool talk
  • 1:09:45 Our standout moments from the game
  • 1:13:05 A deep dive on the hospital sequence
  • 1:17:15 “Do you think that Joel did the right thing?”
  • 1:19:30 The sound and music in the game and some 
  • 1:22:25 Questions from @lukewarmlewis, @LudonarrativeFM & @CtrlAltNoob
  • 1:28:45 Matt talks about his projects (links above)

NOTES ABOUT THE EPISODE:

  1. We did not discuss the multiplayer because PS3 servers for the multiplayer were shut down.
  2. We have avoided discussions about COVID-19 on the past few episodes, but for The Last of Us, we chose to discuss playing this game in our current environment. 
  3. We recorded this episode prior to April 27 when the new release date was announced and the leaks about the sequel occurred. The show only talks about sequel details from official Naughty Dog media and presentations.

NEXT SHOWS:

  • May 6, 2020 – Kentucky Route Zero Act I feat. Jacob, Mike and special guest Adam Ianetta
  • May 20, 2020 – Firewatch feat. Jacob, Mike, Moe and special guest Dan from the Greatest Story Ever Played Podcast 

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