The Last of Us: Halving The Violence Would Make It Better

Let me make one point abundantly clear: I believe in artistic freedom. I believe that sometimes, in order to properly convey an artistic message – and in the case of interactive entertainment, that message is largely visual – the artist(s) might have to get gritty. I support common sense. I believe violent media can and does have an impact on young, developing minds, but I don’t support censorship. I also believe The Last Of Us is one of the best games in the history of the industry.

All that being said, I don’t think there’s any doubt that there’s a ridiculous amount of violence in gaming today, and it doesn’t get more visceral or brutal than in Naughty Dog’s admittedly epic production. Even masterpieces can fall prey to the shocking and the titillating.

The point is, this game didn’t need such adolescent gimmicks to succeed. That’s what bothers me.

You had the story, the characters, and the atmosphere to be memorable

Much like Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” The Last Of Us utilized a post-apocalyptic environment and the relationship of two survivors to tell a gripping, emotional tale. And, of course, the movie adaptation of McCarthy’s excellent novel featured far more violence than ever was contained in the book, but that’s to be expected from Hollywood. In that instance, an example of the story being told without a huge amount of gore already existed. In fact, it existed first, in the form of the novel.

I believe TLoU could’ve done exactly that, had the developers edited out about half the violence and gore. It’s important to establish the desperation of the situation and how humans can essentially turn into animals when faced with death. It’s critical that we understand the urgency of Joel and Ellie’s quest, as well as the corresponding despondency of a seemingly futile trek. I get all that and again, I support the approach.

But, you had what you needed to go down in history. You didn’t need such horrid violence.  Well, you did, but you didn’t need to show it over and over and over.

Sometimes, entertainers just don’t know when to stop

We see it in all forms of entertainment these days. Artists of all kinds have lost the ability to balance things out; they tend to browbeat someone into absolute submission. It’s sort of like being socked in the gut with a sack of oranges thirty times in a row and after a while, you just want to say, “Okay, yes, I get it!” The point is, once you’ve established the desperate situation, there’s no need to keep ramming it down our throats. At that point, it becomes titillating filler and nothing more.

I’m noticing this more as I go through the game a second time. Perhaps it’s just because the Remastered edition is that much prettier and as such, that much more authentic. Then again, maybe it’s also because I’m becoming more in-tune with this imbalance of which I speak. Did the developers think they’d lose their target audience if the blood and gore dissipated after the first few hours? Or, were they just having difficulty conceiving of scenes and ideas that didn’t involve this violence?

I have the utmost respect for Naughty Dog–they’re the premier designers in our industry today. And TLoU‘s story is phenomenal (for gaming, anyway). I just would’ve been prouder of my favorite hobby had one of its biggest triumphs not succumbed – at least in part – to the “more is always better” philosophy.