The Last of Us is still a Masterpiece

the last of us is still a masterpiece say what you want to say about the story of part two it really doesn't matter if you hated it loved it or even feel indifferent to it it still doesn't change the fact that part one at the end of the day is a master class in storytelling a beautiful piece of art and is still a masterpiece even on its 9th anniversary which is today on june 14th 2022 honestly it really doesn't matter if you're seeing this video 9 years later after its release or even 20 years later after its release the last of us is one of those few games that has the privilege to sit alongside the best games ever made and is for sure one of the best if not the best story ever told in video games there should be no surprise that this is even the case when even 9 years later this game is still being talked about non-stop and is even getting a remake which shows the demand of people wanting this absolute masterpiece with modern graphics and gameplay which showcases that a lot of people actually love this game now although these are my feelings towards this game i realized that i never really made like an in-depth video talking and explaining why i considered this game the best story ever told in video games the most i've really went deep on talking about the last of us part 1 was when i made my personal video explaining on how part 1 and part 2 changed my life which you're welcome to watch before or after seeing this video but i feel like this is the time to actually talk about a game that didn't just change my life forever but even revolutionized the way stories are told to view video games it's a game that changed so many lives and i hope that this video does justice in showcasing how this is the case so sit back and relax and let's talk about one of the greatest pieces of media of all time a true masterpiece the last of us okay [Music] now before we begin into that setting how the last of us as a game is a true masterpiece and how it impacted the lives of so many people i feel like it's only fair to briefly talk about those who created this special story and showcased how without their genius ideas and without the work of this team we wouldn't have gotten something as special like the last of us the entire naughty dog development team the gameplay director bruce straley the story director neil druckmann troy baker as joel and ashley johnson as ellie these people are the reason why this game was such a success with any of these people missing i am certain this game wouldn't have impacted the lives of so many people the way it did 9 years ago as of this time of recording bruce helped to capture at the time the sense of danger while playing this game to perfection with the brilliant idea of him and his team making supplies scarce making gameplay more grounded compared to other video games at the time and it made the experience more immersive and the story itself so much better it made us connect with these amazing characters and it truly brought a unique aspect to this franchise neil druckmann and his team brought to life an unforgettable story about two people that lost it all due to this cruel world of the last of us but managed to gain the ability to love and trust each other although this world doesn't really know what love really means anymore this project was neil's first shot at directing the story for a naughty dog game and as the making of the last of his documentary shows he was hands on in almost every single aspect of this game not just the writing of the story he cared that the soundtrack truly meshed well with the story which truly happened with gustavo santa elia's iconic score he cared for the opinions of his teammates and if needed even let others change certain aspects of the story to make it even better which showcases neil's flexibility as a director and it shows that he trusts his team into making creative decisions that can better the experience he gave ashley johnson and troy baker the freedom to input their unique interpretations of joel and ellie and was open to suggestions or certain changes these actors might have wanted for the characters they were playing but even if he was open to changes he also did some things that he wanted that he basically envisioned like for example the time when troy baker performed in the sarah's death scene the clip that you're going to see right now is when neil druckman guided troy baker into making his performance in that scene 100 times better and is now considered iconic [Music] oh god though [Music] the sound stage was deathly still it was the first take and i felt really good about it was like neil said okay let's do it again so you do it again and automatically you feel like you're manufacturing because you're trying to go back to that place and you know you you're in that actor nightmare of you know trying to get back to that reality and we go through it again in fifth and sixth and seventh take and i'm just exhausted i'm crying between takes and i'm looking at neil going this is really really hard and um finally after like the eighth or ninth take he said i think we got it i was like oh thank god and i went outside and i was just jacked up for the rest of the day just just i mean a wreck emotionally but we got it then two weeks later he calls me and he says uh so we need to reshoot a scene i'm like cool what scene are we doing and he just looks at me i said dude don't do this to me and you can either at that moment uh throw your hands up in the air and say [ __ ] this and walk away or you can say okay this is an opportunity to get it more right i'm like okay all right yeah you don't think you've got it i'm gonna show you that you've got it we've got it in the can and so we go through it again and it just feels fake feels artificial and neil goes go through it again start doing it again and i'm getting madder and madder with each take and finally about the fourth take neil comes over to me and i love him so much he goes so i'm picking up on some resistance i was like you're damn right you're picking up on some resistance we've got this in the can already and we're just wasting our time and we're wasting all this effort and energy and then he started talking me through the scene he's like what i need you to do is i need you to just strip yourself of all these ideas and i need you to hit this beat and this beat and this beat and this beat which just makes it sound so mechanical and it's such an emotional scene so we start going through it and literally i am mindlessly doing these things at this point okay i know it hurts baby i know so i'm gonna lift you up i'm gonna lift you up i'm gonna get you over here come on baby come on work with me please baby sarah shut up don't do this to me baby don't do this to me and he baby he goes now we got it and i realized that the reason why i wanted that first take to work was because i wanted everyone to look at me and go wow what an actor and that's not what the scene needed those moments where you just have to sort of calm your ego down and and just go back and do your work this scene actually works not because of me but in spite of me and that really is the marker and and definition of working with a true truly good director because of all of this we got what we got immaculate performances from choi and ashley and a master class in storytelling this here shows how special naughty dog truly are as a development team and why they are regarded as one of the best studios in the business it's funny actually looking back to what neil said about the last of us back in 2013 when he actually thought that this game would be naughty doc's downfall and oh how wrong was he this game honestly impacted the lives of so many people and all i can say about this is thanks to naughty dog for taking the risk at the time because that risk gave us a life-changing experience i honestly never imagined that me going to that game stop in bridgeport connecticut with my grandma who bought me the game because my dad never let me play emory day games at the time was going to end up impacting my life for the better to the point where i even made this youtube channel because of the passion i have for story based games and by creating content that i've met people online that share the same passion as me for story based games like the last of us and we got content creators like decade and dom dabum that told me what this game means to them alright so what does the last of us part 1 mean to me and how do i feel about it no matter what you keep finding something to fight for due to personal reasons 2013 was by far the worst year of my life to this day i sometimes don't even want to get out of bed due to what happened back then but 2014 i started getting in more and more into story based games walking dead and the last of us the last of us broke me down devastated me reminded me of stuff that i didn't want to be reminded of but at the end of it at the end of the journey that i was going through there was this message of hope you know this glimmer of hope you know no matter what you keep finding something to fight for and really it it's that's that [ __ ] was therapeutical i'm not alone in this it might sound corny but i'm not alone in this in the last of us community there's a lot of people that will tell you that this game really made an impact on their life how they feel you know about life in life many people have things that make it easier your loved ones your interests you know music sports whatever it is for me one of the things that has made my life more bearable easier is the last of us and i cannot wait for the remake coming out in september with that being said endurance survive and i'll see you when i see you hey everyone just want to thank ap for the feature in this video i want to discuss what the last of us has meant to me on a personal basis so how i pretty much got start with the last of us was my brother bought a ps4 and it came with the last of us remastered got to play a little bit and learned some stuff about it never really got to play it that much because at the time i was really busy with school then i started my youtube channel a couple years passed on later and i finally got to cover it on my channel starting with the last part too but what the last was meant to me it's a game that is gonna hold a deep place in my heart it's in my opinion out of the two between that and part two is my favorite even though the gameplay is a little outdated don't get me wrong it still holds up very well graphically the characters in the story in my opinion are one of the best if not the best joel and ellie's journey easily two of my favorite characters in all of gaming without a doubt their relationship and everything that happens throughout the game you know i i think of a couple quotes when i play this game all the time is everyone i have cared for has either died or left me everyone effing except for you that quote is good you just come after where joel just goes with the gun to marlene that that quote just rings in my head even the side characters though are some of my favorites as well bill marlene tommy sam and henry the the whole cast in this game is just next level and i cannot wait for this remake it's going to be special being able to see everything again on the playstation 5. it's been a long time since i played so i can't wait to get back into it so thank you ap for retrieving this the last of us is a game changer and i think everyone here is watching should play it at least once in their life the reason why you hear stuff like this like from creators like deck and dom the bomb is because of the story the story of the last of us is simple and that is what makes this game so good it's a story focused on character development and treats the plot as not the most important thing and it's perfectly portrayed from the first frame of the game to the last frame the story starts by introducing us to a man called joel who has a busy life works a lot and is a single parent and then we meet sarah who is his daughter who us as the audience immediately fall in love with her because of her charismatic personality the first scene we see with joel and sarah gives us a glimpse of how their relationship works and how they truly have that love for one another as father and daughter and then naughty dog chooses an approach that in my opinion and i think in the opinion of a lot of people is genius which is to give us control of sarah because we now start to see the world from her point of view making us connect with her and be as scared as her when we see the world rapidly turn into [ __ ] we as the player are seeing the world to burn in our very eyes in the perspective of this innocent young girl and we have our father you know joel save us and just try to get away from all the chaos but shamefully there's an accident and sarah's leg is broken and the naughty dog gives us control of joel which symbolizes you becoming the protector of the person you started a connection with infected are everywhere and we are as scared as sarah and joel just trying to get away from this situation as soon as possible we don't want sarah and joel to die and then both of them actually managed to survive when a soldier shoots too infected that we're chasing them and at this moment we as the player are relieved but shamefully the soldier was given instructions from the higher-ups to shoot anyone who was on the outside perimeters and i guess just to avoid any infected to get mixed up with those who are not this actually causes joel to run away and fortunately his brother tommy comes to joel's rescue but sarah wasn't so lucky as she was shot and because of this we experienced one of the most intense and brutal scenes in gaming history [Music] stay with me [Music] sarah baby don't do it don't do this [Music] no no no look please please [Music] in only the first 15 to 20 minutes of this game we experienced one of the most cruel brutal scenes in gaming history a little girl lost her life in the arms of her father while he was desperately crying and just doing everything he could in order for her to stay alive this was just a taste of the emotions this game was going to bring out of all of us who experienced this game for the first time and who actually loved it 20 years passes after this event and now we see this broken old man who has done anything he possibly could in order to survive we are introduced then to tess and with these two together we see the type of man joel had to become in order to survive he is now a ruthless killer a smuggler someone who doesn't care for anyone's life anymore all he cares is for his own selfish needs and tests but this isn't just joel who is like this of course everyone in this world is just like joel they only care for themselves you see that in robert as he sold joel and tess's guns to the fireflies this causes tess to be angry and shoots robert this is the world naughty dog set up for us a cruel world without any hope and then we meet marlene and the idea of hope in the fireflies which are this incompetent group with dreams of eventually restoring the us government and with the hopes of finding a vaccine with this in mind we immediately then are introduced to the most important character of the franchise ellie williams an innocent young girl with the biggest heart you'll ever see a girl that immediately made joel shut down completely and did everything in his power to not connect with ellie he ignored ellie when she mentioned his watch was broken which for sure reminded him of his daughter sarah he started to complain to tess about letting go of the smuggling mission to deliver ellie to the fireflies and said everything he possibly could in order to give up and go back joel wanted to be done with this and leave ellie's presence as soon as possible even tess got to the understanding why joe was adamant on smuggling alley and most likely it was because she was reminding him of sarah even him finding out that ellie was immune and that there could be a possible cure he did not want to continue this mission but joel was actually forced anyway to take ellie to the fireflies the moment he found out that tess was bitten in the process by telling joel this i am not doing that yes you are look there's enough here that you have to feel some sort of obligation to me so you get her to tommy's joel of course is forced to leave the federal agents are outside and tess decides her last thing to do in this world is to buy joel and ali some time for them to escape fedra and well was killed in the process and them escaping is where we actually start to begin this journey of ellie and joel to basically fight the fireflies but more importantly the journey of how these two strangers became a father and daughter to each other after this cruel event ellie and joel walked themselves to bill's town where joel said bill owed him some favors and he thinks he can get a car so that ellie and joel can go to where tommy is and they can just go and fight the fireflies after that and when meeting up with bill we start to see more of ellie's personality and her relationship with joel she's a very outspoken girl with barely any respect to those older than her honestly her short relationship with bill in this section of this game was absolutely hilarious hey when i said you we walk down the steps what'd i say i'm just fixing your stupid pile don't touch god damn it and the small talk with joel shows how she is trying so hard for joel to acknowledge her or just at the very least respect her this eventually leads us to the first time joel actually decided to open up to ellie and just try to connect in a more positive way with ellie after that conversation bill who just found out that the battery was stolen by his ex-partner who killed himself after being infected fixed the car and after making the car turn on beating up some infected in the process with joel they all escape and go on their separate ways and now that is where ellie and joe are now alone and they start to feel more comfortable with each other but they still have that wall with each other she even jokes around when she stole one of bill's gay magazines and asks joel how men can walk around with [ __ ] god damn it okay well at this point they're [ __ ] just talking to each other interacting with each other but of course it's not enough for them to like love each other yet but time passes they get to pittsburgh get ambushed by hunters and manage to survive and this is where we start to see joel probably open up just a little bit and this is where we start to learn more about his past in those 20 last years that we got from 2013 when the pandemic started all the way until present day and he tells ellie how he knew that that hunter was basically faking an injury and how he knew that he was a hunter how did you know no what about the ambush i've been on both sides oh so uh we'll take that as a yes take it however you want although joel did some [ __ ] up [ __ ] in the past ellie is not thrown off about it and instead starts to actually become more closer to joel and more comfortable around joel even to the point where she even brings out a joke book and just starts reading some cheesy jokes but then we get this moment where ellie and joe are separated by accident and joel has to find a way to reunite with ellie he fights up some infected and some humans in the process but it then is beaten up by one of the hunters and if it wasn't for ellie showing up and killing that hunter which was the first person she's ever killed in her life joel would have well died and this is where we actually see joel you know having that wall up he could have said thank you but he didn't he actually criticized ellie for not listening to him and well made ellie feel bad he didn't even acknowledge ellie killing her first human ever and didn't console her at all but we actually see that he really didn't mean to do or say what he did because this is the second time where joel actually wants to connect with ellie in a more positive way a few minutes after he basically entrusted her with a rifle so she can help him clear out a group of hunters at this point you start to see a slight change in their relationship for the better and how both of them are starting to respect each other that is why it isn't a surprise when henry and sam leaves joel behind to survive that ellie just jumps back to where joel is and risks her life to be with him and just try to you know escape with him these little things are setting up the things that makes us buy the relationship at the end of the game or even throw the fall winter and spring sections of the game and what also gets ellie and joel to develop a much closer relationship is when they start to actually get close to henry and sam and did everything they possibly could in order to survive the attacks from infected and hunters the relationship was getting absolutely more stronger every single minute joel for the first time felt happy around the people that he probably didn't know as much talking with henry about motorcycles and just treating ellie with less hostility and i can actually remember the first time when i played this game how happy this moment made me feel after all this [ __ ] they gone through finally have some people they can just be themselves around and just be happy for once but that happiness was just short-lived because then they find out that sam was infected which caused henry to shoot his little brother and caused henry to commit suicide this event shocked me to my core the first time i played it and i was just wondering to myself how ellie and joel would take this and how this would affect the relationship and well the fall section begins and the pair are now close to jackson where tommy lives and you can see in the first dialogues they have that with that three to four months time skip they have grown a lot since the first time they've met but one thing still remains joel still intended to depart from ellie and go on his way he is scared of building a relationship with ali scared that he will love her like a daughter just like he loved his daughter sarah at this point of the game is where it got to me that joel just doesn't want to suffer anymore and he just rather be alone than facing the possibility of losing those who he loves again like sarah and tess and when ellie finds out about joel intending to leave ellie with tommy she runs away to a ranch and for the first time in this game we have them have a heart to heart that truly shock joel to his core and where ellie literally destroyed the wall joel was building between the two of them boys movies deciding which shirt goes with which skirt it's bizarre get up we're leaving and if i say no do you even realize what your life means huh running off like that putting yourself at risk it's pretty goddamn stupid well i guess we're both disappointed with each other then what do you want from me admit that you wanted to get rid of me the whole time tommy knows this area well i'm sorry i trust him better than i trust myself stop with the [ __ ] what are you so afraid of that i'm gonna end up like sam i can't get infected i can take care of myself how many close calls have we had well we seem to be doing all right so far and now you'll be doing even better with tommy not her you know what maria told me about sarah ellie you are treading on some mighty thin eyes here i'm sorry about your daughter joel but i have lost people too you have no idea what loss is everyone i have cared for has either died or left me everyone [ __ ] except for you so don't tell me that i would be safer with someone else because the truth is i would just be more scared [Music] you're right you're not my daughter and i sure as hell ain't your dad and we are going our separate ways get it together we're not alone ellie has done everything she possibly could to demonstrate at every single moment that she cares for joel and she just got sick of joel's emotional wall ellie exposed how joel really felt and called him out on his [ __ ] and because of that joel decided to continue the search of the fireflies with ellie which in consequence made joel and ellie connect to a whole new level the university section is a clear indication of that for the first time it's joel who acts actually making the conversations with ellie not the other way around for the first time joel shows interest in ellie and actually asks questions and cares for her and none of these things feel out of place because it was perfectly set up via gameplay sequences little dialogues between them during their travels and via specific cutscenes that is why when they get attacked and joel gets injured in the process ellie does everything in her power to save and help joel get through this just tough situation i mean he could die in this situation they of course survive but joel is too weak and passes out after losing a lot of blood and then the winter section begins which in my opinion is the best section of the game i remember playing it for the first time and just thinking joel died because we assumed control of ellie for the first time and i remember feeling so sad and just wanting to know what happened this decision by naughty dog by hiding the fact that ellie was a playable character and even lied saying that joel was the only playable character really was a great way to manipulate our emotions in a very subtle way and of course to our relief we find out that joel did not die when ellie meets david for the first time and when asked what she wants in return for the deer she screams medicine which means joel survived then we get a sequence with david and ellie who are forced to deal with infected while ellie waits for the medicine to arrive ellie then realizes david manipulated her into basically staying with him so that he can identify if she was the little girl who was traveling with that crazy man david refers to which it ends up to be joel ellie rightfully so gets scared and then when the medicine arrives she takes it and leaves although david told her that she can stay with him so that he can protect her ellie goes to where joel is gives him the medicine that he needs and then we get this beautiful shot of ellie just sleeping next to joel wishing he recuperates as soon as possible because she needs him shamefully they don't remain together for too long as ellie realizes that she's been tracked and basically lures these men away from joel by running away and making them chase her but eventually she is captured by david and this is where we realize that this group of people are cannibals and even possible predators as david treats ellie in a very saucy way the only way i'm going to be able to convince the others convince some of what that you can come around you have heart you're loyal and you're special oh these people are bad news and ellie does everything she possibly could in order to escape and something that i did not mention throughout this video is how every single scene the music is just absolutely amazing the cinematography mixed with it and the performances of every single character in every single scene feels special and in these scenes when ellie and david are talking you really do feel scared and disgusted of what is happening so when ellie is cornered by david in the restaurant you as the player are scared for ally and you have the fight of your life just trying to make ellie survive david and after ellie's battle with david you are now switched back to joel's perspective and knowing what just happened you as the player feel the same emotion that joel is feeling at this moment he's trying to protect this little girl and you just want to go and protect ellie just the same way joel wanted to protect sarah in the beginning of the game which is a nice parallel that is why when ellie manages to kill david before he did anything horrible to her and joel comes to her rescue they share a beautiful hog a beautiful moment where ellie becomes joel's daughter and joel becomes her father after everything we went through together with these two characters this scene truly feels earned at the end of it it's now the spring section and ellie and joel have finally arrived to salt lake city at this point you and i as the player feel exactly like how joe is feeling at this moment in time you just want to be done with this and you want them to enjoy their lives together somewhere else but ellie is distant she is not the same little girl we grew to know and loved during the game she is now quiet and for sure traumatized after the events in the winter section she tells joel which in a way tells the audience that she cannot give up now everything that they went through it can't be for nothing those words they're cut deep because you know she's right but at the same time you understand jewel and at the end of the day you just side with both of them after that conversation lingering in our minds while they try to get across to the salt lake city hospital we see that the fireflies are knocking joel out basically and the next scene that we get is marlene who is basically trying to tell joel that ellie has to die for the possibility of a vaccine and the events that occur after this are why this game remains as one of the best forms in media instead of having a generic ending where ellie dies for a vaccine and saves the world we got a gruesome and brutal ending where joel massacres the entire firefly base as he rushes to save his daughter ellie because the love he's got for ellie and her life is just more precious to him than humanity being saved with a possible cure i think that after the winter section he just realized that humanity is doomed with or without a vaccine so he kills the surgeon and saves the love of his life his daughter ellie [Music] oh [ __ ] [Music] i got you [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay [Music] i said get back [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] joel kills every single firefly he could including marlene so that none of them would come after ally joel even lied to ellie about the fireflies not looking for a cure anymore and that her immunity meant nothing all to just protect her from what he did for her so that ellie could live a good life in jackson the game ends with ellie asking joel if what he said about the fireflies is true and he lies to her saying that he swears that is the truth then the game ends in what is probably one of the best endings in any form of media whatever you may think about what joel did was correct or not what cannot be denied is that he did this for love he did it for ali and he knew that he just would not understand what i love about this ending is how everything that happened was earned and you can believe everything like this would happen from the beginning joel was always a man who would do anything he possibly could in order to save the lives of those who he loves even leave behind those who may need help in order to save those who he loves although he was becoming a little bit more soft with time because of him building this relationship with ellie he still did everything in his power to protect her that is why it shouldn't be a surprise that joel were massacred the whole firefly base just for one person it's who joel is and no matter what nothing was going to stop him at the end it all just feels earned because of the time that naughty dog took into developing these characters and having them go through so much loss pain and suffering together and has made us bond with them the same way ellie and jules bond grew throughout the king it's a story made by people that poured their heart and soul onto this project and created a timeless masterpiece that will never be forgotten the last of us changed my life and it helped me become a better person by the end of it it has changed the life of so many others and has taught a lot of people that even though life shits on them we all have the ability to love and trust again no matter the circumstances it's a game that changed the way stories are told to via video games a game that will forever live in our minds and now with a remake coming very soon it will for sure be the best version of the best story ever told in video games thank you naughty dog for this experience for giving us a game that i and many others will never ever forget next week for the second anniversary of the last of this part two i will discuss how even two years later after its release i still can't stop thinking about that unforgettable experience make sure to like share and subscribe to the channel so you don't miss the video on june 19th endurance survive my friends and i'll see you guys next time [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: AP Nerds

Views: 28,727

Keywords: the last of us, the last of us remake, the last of us remastered, the last of us remastered ps5, the last of us remastered trailer, the last of us masterpiece, the last of us part 1, the last of us 2, tlou, tlou remastered, tlou remake, tlou theme, tlou1 remake, naughty dog, neil druckmann, troy baker, ashley johnson, the last of us review, the last of us part 2, the last of us analysis, ap nerds, the last of us ap nerds, the last of us video essay, video essay, joel, ellie

Id: EXrDMVJvNMY

Length: 36min 20sec (2180 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 14 2022