So you saw this coming right? It might be shouting to the converted at this point, but it would be impossible to make a list about great gaming stories without including The Last of Us. Taking more than a few cues from the haunting Cormac McCarthy novel The Road, Naughty Dogs epic instantly became gaming's defining post-apocalyptic tale. Like most great games on this list, The Last of Us didn't become such a hit because of its overall story, but because of the natural interactions between its characters. The way Ellie and Joel bonded, fought, and helped each other during the course of the game was so genuinely engaging and brilliantly written that often the best parts of The Last of Us involved just walking and talking. But of course its overall plot was equally inspired. On the surface TLoU looks like any other generic 'end of the world' tale, but it actually plays with conventions and creates an environment where everything is morally grey. There aren't good guys or bad guys necessarily, just people trying to get by, and sometimes like in the games infamous ending, what they do to survive isn't going to be the most noble thing. Are there any phenomenal game stories we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
