The Last of Us parts 1 and 2 came with it a cast of memorable characters and heart-wrenching moments that made the hordes of infected a backdrop to a tale of loss and family. Now that the famed franchise has a live-action television series, a much wider audience has access to the stories we fell in love with. To others, the feel and gameplay of The Last of US series is just the beginning, and many want to know where else they can find impactful narratives tied up in engaging horror gameplay. Here is a list of our top games that capture the feel of The Last of Us.
A Plague Tale Series
Following the story of Amicia and her brother, Hugo, in 14th-century France, they must escape a supernatural horde of rats that are taking over cities and ruling the night. The player plays from the perspective of Amicia, as she attempts to understand her little brother’s emerging power over the rats and what it could mean for her family and even the world. Sound familiar? Both A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem focus on the narrative of family and sacrifice and utilize the rats as a way to drive the plot rather than be its sole focus. Mixed with environmental puzzle-solving and stealth combat, this series is the second-best substitute for The Last of Us.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Following the perspective of a Pict warrior in the late 8th century, Senua travels to the land of Helheim from Norse mythology in order to revive her dead husband. The game requires binaural headphones for an optimal experience as it attempts to replicate Senua’s auditory hallucinations from her increasingly severe psychosis. Senua battles supernatural creatures and agents of horror as she attempts to overcome her fears. This game will pull the heart from your chest, and you will be glad it has done so, as there are fewer stories that ring as true as this.
God of War 4 and 5
Also following the thread of Norse Mythology, the reprising of Kratos in the latest God of War series follows Kratos’ attempts to raise his son after the death of his wife. As he learns what it takes to balance preparing his son, Atreus, for survival while showing the restraint and comfort of a caregiver, divine forces threaten to take everything away from him. As we have seen with The Last of US, the strength of the gods, hordes of undead, and powerful artifacts are used to nudge the story of family and fate to the foreground.
Days Gone
In the spirit of The Last of US, Days Gone puts the player deep into a post-apocalyptic world teeming with hordes of infected. The story follows the perspective of Deacon, a tough son-of-a-bitch with an affinity for motorcycles. Despite a focus on clearing wave after wave of zombies, the heart of the story has Deacon struggling to maintain hope as he desperately searches for his missing wife. Though you are likely to rack up much higher kill counts in Days Gone than in The Last of US, there are plenty of similarities in the world-building to feel like they could both exist in the same universe.
Dying Light 2
Even farther into a post-apocalyptic world teeming with infected, Dying Light 2 offers a much more robust parkour and combat system than The Last of Us with the ability to customize almost every aspect of your character. Though the game allows you to explore a world so far into the apocalypse that you nearly see the restart of civilization, the narrative can’t quite catch up to that of Joel and Ellie. Although between the many side quests and exploration, there is at its heart a struggle between revenge and redemption as Aiden Caldwell searches for his lost sister.
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Matthew has been a lifelong lover of video games since he could first hold a controller, and among his favorites are narrative-heavy, singleplayer games like; Divinity: Original Sin 2, Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Hollow Knight. Matthew also plays tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and Call of Cthulu. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s in Sociology and minored in English.
