Whitson Gordon
If the ultra-violent, post-pandemic world of “The Last of Us” feels a bit too close to reality right now — or if you end up binging through the entire game in two days — here are a few other recent games that might help scratch the same itch.
The Uncharted Series is Naughty Dog’s other big franchise, with fewer zombies and more Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunting. If you like the way they handled gameplay and story in “The Last of Us,” “Uncharted 4” on the PlayStation 4 (and its predecessors) are an easy pickup.
If “The Last of Us” was Sony’s big win on the PlayStation 3, the 2018 "God of War" reboot is its counterpart for the PS4 generation (so far, anyway). You play Kratos, the former god of war, and you traverse the beautiful lands of ancient Norway with your son, Atreus. The result is a relationship-fueled story not entirely unlike that of “The Last of Us.”
If dealing with the undead is your jam, the Resident Evil series is arguably the harbinger of the modern zombie revival. "Resident Evil 2" was initially released in 1998, but a 2019 remake brings the story into the new millennium with brand new graphics, controls, and gameplay on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Post-apocalyptic worlds are nothing new, but few games have tackled the setting quite like 4A Games’ Metro series. Humans live in the tunnels of Russia’s abandoned metro system, fighting amongst themselves while defending humanity from mutated monsters that have taken over the surface world. Metro: Exodus is the latest installment, but you can also pick up remasters of the first two games for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead came out a year before The Last of Us, and redefined what a story-driven video game could look like. There’s very little action in this game. Instead, it’s more like an interactive movie, driven by a series of choices you make as the story progresses. The Definitive Edition includes all four seasons and DLC, so you can get the whole story in one go.
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