Best Video Game Storyline: The Last of Us

When people think of video games, they usually think of simple shooters or beat-em-up games that are all gameplay and no story. The Last of Us is a masterpiece that will make many a gamer wonder whether he's at the movie theater or at his house playing a video game. The Last of Us is set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic version of the United States where much of the country has been ravaged by a fungal virus that causes the infected to die but be reanimated into deadly creatures. The virus is spread through bites or through fungal spores released into the air. The longer the infected has had the virus, the deadlier the creature he or she becomes. The story revolves around a man named Joel who is forced to help deliver a teenage girl named Ellie and the cure to the virus, to a rebel group. It might seem like the typical plot to a movie that revolves around "zombies" and the "undead" but it turns into something greater and deeper. Joel and Ellie's relationship changes vastly throughout the entire story, and their interactions with other characters reveal the depths of human nature in a society where survival is the of utmost importance. The characters aren't stock and generic but feel very human and alive. They resemble true people with feelings, hopes, regrets, and intentions and they're struggles feel as if you've stepped into their shoes and are experiencing what they experience. The developers of the Last of Us created a superior storyline that would be a box office hit were it a movie and undoubtedly have people crying for sequels. The Last of Us shows how savage humans are when the comforts of a normal, stable society are taken away from them, and how we are ultimately set to the survival of our own selves, regardless of the perils and struggles of others. The Last of us reveals the core of humanity and our truest nature.