The Last of Us

So I just finished playing tLoU and I found it very impressive in basically every aspect. But there was one thing that made everyone either drop their jaws or vent horrid rage at me: it didn't make me cry.

I suppose I just don't have a soul. I've watched Clannad, Angel Beats, and played/watched a few other tearjerkers and nothing's happened.

Should I be proud or worried?

 

It didn't make me cry either. Like you, I really enjoyed the game in all respects. I definitely engaged with the characters, so it's not as though I wasn't emotionally invested.

My opinion? Lots of awful things happened to the characters in this game, but that was really just a cross section of that world as a whole - Ellie's unique condition aside, these sorts of happenings were not out of the ordinary - evidence of this is littered throughout the world as you move through and explore it.

The suffering and hardships you witness as the plot unfolds are nothing special here. That isn't the point. It never was. It's more about the relationships between the cast and how they develop, the perseverance they demonstrate in reaching the end of their journey. It isn't about tragedy, it's about hope. You aren't meant to pity the cast, but admire them. Understand and appreciate their decisions and actions. As for whether such a thing could or should bring you to tears, I guess you mileage may vary?

 

I wouldn't worry about not crying in response to something, whether you found it moving or not. I thought the writing and the relationship between Ellie and Joel to be quite profound, but I didn't cry either.

That said, I think that The Last of Us was a strong game, with some of the best writing I've seen in games. But I feel like it really fell short in the combat and stealth sections, which really just felt contrived. I found myself just wanting to be done with it and move on to the next story bit.