Few games in the world have been able to accomplish what The Last of Us has done. With a beautiful setting, interesting characters, exciting game play and a heartbreaking story that will have you wanting more, it should be obvious why it is ranked one of the greatest video games of all time. Released in 2013 for Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console, The Last of Us has gone on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide.
What is The Last of Us?
Like the title of the game suggests, The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic survival horror game that follows the story of two characters named Joel and Ellie (voiced by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, respectively) and their journey that takes them across the nation, as they fight off hostile humans that have been infected by a global contagion.
The game starts by introducing Joel and both his daughter and brother. They are attempting to flee from a hoard of infected people that are killing everyone in sight. As they are making their escape, something happens and Joel is left by himself. The game cuts to 20 years later and shows how humanity has adapted to what happened. You cross paths with a young girl named Ellie who believes she is the cure to the infection. With the help of a few others, you and Ellie must make your escape from the current situation you’re in and thus your adventure begins.
So now that you’ve completed The Last of Us 100% you obviously need a new game to fill the void. Am I correct? Well look no further. Here are the top five games that are like The Last of Us.
Top Five Games like The Last of Us – 2018 List
#5 – Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 is a horror third-person shooter and arguably the best Resident Evil game of all time. Announced in late 1999 and finally released in early 2005 on the Nintendo GameCube. (and eventually on other consoles) Resident Evil 4 was a reboot of sorts, with a dramatically different game play style. The lead director and the majority of developers who were working on the game went through three prototypes before settling on the final build, they felt the first two were “too similar” to the other Resident Evil games in the series. When the game was finally released it received praise by both critics and audiences alike, especially for its unique over-the-shoulder point of view. The lead director felt that since everything about Resident Evil 4 was going to be new it should have its own unique angle. While some of the developers had their reservations for this idea it went on to be the right decision, as Resident Evil 4 popularized the third-person shooter.
The story follows special agent Leon Kennedy, who six years prior (in Resident Evil 2) was just a mere police officer living in Raccoon City. A girl named Ashley Graham, who happens to be the president’s daughter, was kidnapped by an evil organization and you are assigned to rescue her. The game takes place in a remote part of Europe. There you will meet crowds of corrupted humans and monsters that you must fight before they kill you. Leon travels across the Atlantic Ocean where he comes into contact with said monsters and you traverse through the game to find Ashley. Along the way you meet old friends and new enemies. You find out the reason Ashley was kidnapped is because someone plans on infecting her with a plague that will ultimately spread to everyone in the United States.
The camera is set behind the main character and you target enemies with your gun(s) and shoot them. A neat thing about Resident Evil 4 that is different to the earlier games is how interactive it is. You are able to interact with the environment to perform certain tasks, like climbing ladders. This brought new depth to the series that wasn’t available before.
Resident Evil 4 would go on to become one of the best-selling Nintendo GameCube games of all time, selling over 3,000,000 copies within its first year. Because of how popular the game was, it would go on to win both Spike TVs and Nintendo Power’s ‘Game of the Year’ award. A few other notable publishers commended the game for its story and game play.
The game play similarities cannot be overstated here. Resident Evil 4 codified the over the shoulder third person action game. Without it we would be playing a very different The Last of US. While the story in the Last of Us is an emotive one, Resident Evil 4‘s is somewhat more farcical. Between giant midget robots chasing you down corridors and the weird “Not Spain” setting it is hard to take seriously, but no less fun for it.
#4 – Dying Light
Dying Light is an open-world first person shooter revolving around surviving a zombie-like outbreak. It was developed by Techland, the same company that made the hugely popular Dead Island game. Dying Light was announced in 2012 and early rumors were that it was a sequel to Dead Island but the team denied the rumors, stating they would rather focus on a new intellectual property that they had complete control over. They also stated they originally had a lot more plans for Dead Island but due to time restraints they had to cut a lot of features out. With a new property they could implement these features without worry, thus Dying Light was born.
The plot of Dying Light is set in the town of Harran. A zombie-like virus had broken out, causing local government officials to completely quarantine the city. You play as the main character whose name is Kyle Crane. Crane is tasked with being airdropped into the chaotic city of Harran to retrieve a vital piece of information that threatens The Global Relief Effort, a group of high-ranking officials that are aiding Harran. You are unaware of what this piece of information is but it seemingly has fallen into the wrong hands. As soon as you enter Harran you are ambushed by a group of people who are trying to kill you but you are soon rescued by a group of friendly survivors who take you back to their base. From here on out this group of people assist you in retrieving the sensitive bit of information you are trying to receive and in the process you grow to learn more about who these people are.
The style of combat is slight similar to The Last of Us. You both generally are accomplishing the same goal – fight and survive. You are able to forage and craft hundreds of different melee and ranged weapons. The game mainly focuses on melee combat, as you’re better off getting up close and personal with these zombies. The downside to melee weapons is they often break and you can only repair them a handful of times but the upside is the brilliant crafting system allows you to create more. Ranged weapons are mostly all guns but you should really only use guns when you need to, as ammo is scarce.
There is also a very in-depth day / night system which greatly increases the difficulty of the game. During the day the zombies are quite slow so killing them is fairly simple. But at night they gain speed and the ability to really chase you down. You’re going to have to strategize a bit here as going out at night is pretty risky but there are certain things you can do to make night life more bearable.
The coolest thing about Dying Light is by far the parkour system. The player has this grappling hook which can swing you forward quite the distance, almost making you feel like you’re Spider-Man. You can also climb buildings, jump from rooftops and generally feel like quite the badass with your agility.
Dying Light is definitely worth checking out. One other thing you should know is that the developers behind this game are incredibly dedicated to the production of this game. To this day they continuously work on the game, giving out DLC and adding expansion packs. If you’re looking for a game that is similar to The Last of Us but will continue to receive updates then you should definitely check out Dying Light.
#3 – ZombiU
ZombiU is a first-person survival horror game that was originally released alongside the launch of Nintendo’s Wii U video game console in November 2012. It would later be released on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC as a digital download followed by physical copies being sold in stores in January 2016. If you’re starting to think ZombiU had a difficult time being released, you would be correct. The concept for the game originally began as an idea for a game that involved the player killing vicious rabbits that attacked you. Rabbits were later replaced with aliens and the game finally received a title: Killer Freaks from Outer Space. A trailer for the game was shown to test audiences but it was met with poor reception. The developers would then take a hard look at the complaints the game received and transformed the game into what is now known as ZombieU.
ZombiU takes place in modern-day London. A prophecy once foretold of an apocalypse known as ‘The Black Prophesy’ that would inconvenience London in the year 2012. The prophecy would come true in the form of a zombie outbreak that infects the city. A man who goes by “The Prepper” believes the prophesy to be true and prepares for the worst. You are contacted by a doctor who claims to be working on a cure and he needs your help. He wants you to help him find notes that have been hidden by the man who foretold the prophecy all those years ago. You begin by being lead to The Prepper’s safe house where you will be provided with weapons for you upcoming task. All the while keeping everything regarding the clues a secret from The Prepper, as he personally does not believe a cure will be possible.
Reviews for ZombiU have been generally favorable. The common thread from critics is that it is a very good game but with a few minor issues, mainly the difficulty. You die an awful lot in this game. When a player dies they become a zombie and you respawn as a completely new character. Your first mission as this new character is to retrieve the gear you have just lost – by killing your old self. This may seem intriguing but if you die before being able to attain your gear, you’re out of luck as it becomes permanently lost. And if that wasn’t enough even a single bite from a zombie is able to kill you. It sounds like the developers had a nice idea with trying something original by floating around from character to character when you die, but its execution was slightly off. Although this may not be a problem depending on how much you enjoyed Dark Souls.
ZombiU is a great game if you’re trying to find more games to add to your Wii U collection. While it is also available on other consoles, it’s better on the Wii U because it takes advantage of the game pad. A sequel was announced in 2013; however, development was halted indefinitely due to poor sales of ZombiU. But that shouldn’t take anything away from an otherwise fun and unique game that stays true to the horror genre.
#2 – Tomb Raider (2013)
The original Tomb Raider game was released in the ‘90s and would cement titular character Lara Croft as one of the most badass female gaming characters of all time. It would go on to receive several successful sequels throughout the years, until in 2009 it was decided that the franchise would undergo a complete renovation, thus a survivor was born. Released in early 2013, Tomb Raider would be a reboot of sorts, focusing on the origin of Lara Croft’s career as an adventurer. The game was going to be released on both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, two consoles that were powerful enough to handle the upcoming reboot. The developers knew they wanted to introduce new features never before seen in the franchise, including a graphical overhaul.
The new Tomb Raider focuses on a younger and more naïve version of Lara Croft. You begin the game on a ship named The Endurance. On this ship you get the general plot of the game. Lara and the other crew of adventurers are on an exodus to find a rumored island that is said to not exist. While some passengers believe this is a fool’s errand, the captain of the ship agrees with Lara that they should attempt to find this island. After a freak storm causes the Endurance to break apart, Lara and the crew of survivors crash onto the island they had so desperately been looking for.
If you’re a fan of The Last of Us, you’re going to love this game. While Tomb Raider is all around a great game, where it really shines is the combat. You play as Lara and while she as a character is evolving, you get skills that you’d expect someone like her would have. Your main weapon is a bow and while a lot of games have issues with bow&arrow combat, this game is not one of them. You also have to rely on stealth and being able to ambush enemies so they don’t see you. Enemies on the island are mostly compiled of survivors of previous shipwrecks. These people are trying to kill you so you’ll need to be careful. As you continue to use your skills you are able to level up and upgrade them so you may become stronger. The combat is overall very similar to The Last of Us which is a huge draw to the game.
Another thing you will enjoy about Tomb Raider is exploring. The island is pretty big and there are a lot of things you can discover. From clues to ammo and new weapons, there is always something to do in this game.
When Tomb Raider was released it received praise from critics everywhere. The consensus is that the story and game play of the game is great, and the only real downside is the multiplayer function of the game, which really has nothing to do with the overall story.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is the sequel to the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot and it was released just last November. So if you enjoy this game you will definitely want to check that one out.
#1 – Dead Rising
Like the title of the game suggests, Dead Rising is about the dead rising. Released in 2006 for the Xbox 360, Dead Rising is an open world zombie survivor game. If you’re looking for a game where you can mess around by killing hundreds of zombies with over 200 weapons in your arsenal, then Dead Rising may be the game for you.
Set in the fictional town of Willamette, photographer Frank West has snuck into the quarantined city to find out what exactly is going on. The National Guard has recently blocked all entrances to the city and refuses to announce what is going on. This leads to some speculation and people are trying to figure out what is going on, one of those people being West. Unfortunately the National Guard has no control over what is going on and what they are planning on doing isn’t the best option. West gets dropped off by helicopter on the roof of the Willamette Parkview Mall. He tells the pilot to return in exactly three days, so the player has 72 hours to figure out what exactly is going on. You traverse through the game finding clues, rescuing survivors, killing zombies and all around being a badass by using handheld objects, guns and the environment itself as weapons. You only have three days, so you better make each hour count.
The combat of Dead Rising is the best thing about it. While the zombies are pretty easy to kill, it’s not so much about the difficulty but the way you choose to kill zombies. The game prides itself on sandbox gameplay, meaning you can wander off and do whatever you want to do, kill any zombie you want to kill by using anything you can get your hands on. At night the zombies become a bit tougher to kill. More of them will swarm you at once; they’re harder and faster too. The more you level up, the more powerful West will become. You can increase your stats by gaining experience and you get experience by rescuing survivors, killing zombies and even by photographing them. Say cheese?
Reviews for Dead Rising have been mostly positive. Critics did criticize the games saving function and felt the game overall could have been more difficult. But don’t let that concern you as the game is one of Capcom’s more successful franchises. Two sequels have been created since Dead Rising’s initial released but neither of them has been able to match the success of the original.
That’s it for the top five games that are like The Last of Us. It’s hard to find games these days that are as well-rounded as The Last of Us is but I took a shot and I believe I’ve done very well. If you’re looking for more of The Last of Us then you’re in for some good news and some bad news. The bad news is there is a very slim chance a sequel will ever be made. The good news is that there is going to be a The Last of Us movie that is set to hit theaters. Not much is known about the movie but if it’s half as good as the game is then we’re in for a treat.
What do you like most about The Last of Us? Did Joel do the right thing? Let me know in the comments below!
