20 Best Video Game Storylines Of The Decade (So Far)
3. The Last Of Us
There was never a guarantee that The Last of Us would be any good. Coming out at a time when post-apocalyptic tales were already overdone in video games, Naughty Dog's opus was fighting an uphill battle of genre fatigue when it was released in 2013.
Thankfully, developers staved off this burn-out by subverting the end of the world clichés at every step. Although it starts out familiarly enough - family trauma, searching for a cure to the epidemic - The Last of Us slowly unfolds into something far removed from your standard "save the world" narrative.
And in the end the game is more about how far you'd go to protect your family than killing monsters. The core dynamic between father Joel and pseudo-daughter Ellie drives the entire campaign, and the way they grow to depend on each other in an unhealthy yet successful way makes for some genuinely breathtaking moments over the 15 hours you get to spend with them.
Also, the game's add-on Left Behind is one of the best pieces of DLC you could get your hands on. Fleshing out the background of Ellie by cutting out the zombies almost entirely, this hour-and-a-half side-story boasts just as many emotional moments as the main game.