Chapter 766: The Sole Focus
Chen Mo’s “promotional offer” made many players want to hack him to pieces, but in the end, they swallowed their anger and accepted it.
There was no choice. Who could argue with *The Last of Us* being a perfect masterpiece? They had no choice but to obediently fork over the money…
Besides, the theme was a limited edition. That meant it wouldn’t be one of those cheap, dime-a-dozen themes that cost ten bucks. If you didn’t buy the game, you couldn’t get the theme. Thinking about it that way, it was still worth it…
On the eve of *The Last of Us*’s release, the mainstream media reviews for *Surviving the Apocalypse* also came out, generally scoring between 8.3 and 8.7, failing to reach a 9.
One very important reason for this was that the reviewers from these gaming media outlets had just finished playing *The Last of Us*. Their aesthetic standards for zombie-themed games had already been significantly elevated.
Obviously, compared to *The Last of Us*, the selling points that *Surviving the Apocalypse* had been promoting no longer seemed so brilliant.
For example, the character design. While a veteran soldier could make the player’s combat more thrilling, it lacked the sense of immersion that came from being an ordinary person.
The chainsaws and Gatling guns used against the zombies, while satisfying for the player, created a certain contradiction with the setting of extreme resource scarcity in the apocalypse.
The wide variety of mutated zombies gave the game a tendency to lean toward science fiction. In contrast, while the zombies in *The Last of Us* were fewer in type, they were innovative and had a bit of scientific basis.
The seemingly rich additional gameplay didn’t actually extend the game time by much; instead, it slowed down and interrupted the narrative rhythm, making the whole story feel drawn out and causing the player’s emotional engagement to break.
The very politically correct character composition felt somewhat overly rigid and clashed with many TV shows or movies.
The sudden death of supporting characters didn’t convey the cruelty of the apocalypse but instead felt like a forced plot arrangement.
…
Of course, these features were originally some of the strengths of *Surviving the Apocalypse*, but when compared to *The Last of Us*, all these design issues were highlighted.
The most significant difference was that *The Last of Us* did not have an ending that conformed to “political correctness” or “universal values.”
If we followed the “spirit of sacrifice” praised by humanity, Ellie sacrificing her life to save all of humanity would be the more beneficial choice for the entire human race.
If the ending of *The Last of Us* had been Ellie dying to save all of humanity, then the game would have become a poisonous weed.
But on the contrary, *The Last of Us* did not provide such a self-indulgent ending. Instead, it chose to follow the most fundamental and genuine human emotions.
In a sense, Joel was selfish.
If it were just the concept of “giving up the world for a little girl,” many people might question it, after all, it doesn’t align with traditional universal values.
But the greatness of *The Last of Us* lies in the fact that, through ten hours of gameplay, it made every player agree with Joel’s choice and made them believe that if they were Joel, they would make the same choice.
“To hell with all of humanity. I just want Ellie to live.”
And that is where *The Last of Us* truly deserves to be called a “masterpiece.”
This is also a reflection on the traditional “spirit of dedication” and “human nature,” allowing every player, beyond just gaining sensory pleasure from playing the game, to obtain a spiritual baptism and elevation, prompting them to think.
If measured by this standard, the depth of *Surviving the Apocalypse* appears very hollow.
Simply depicting the dangers of the apocalypse and human nature cannot highlight reality. The more real situation is that human nature is complex; everyone has many facets and their own principles.
Just like the giraffe scene in *The Last of Us*, it became so popular precisely because it highlighted the warmth within the apocalypse.
A completely dark, gray apocalypse is not a real apocalypse. Pure slaughter and disaster will also make people weary. No matter when or where, the radiance of human nature will always shine with its due light.
…
…
October 15th, *The Last of Us* was officially released.
Also released on the same day were the three DLCs for *Uncharted* and *Surviving the Apocalypse*.
Previously, *The Last of Us* was the least anticipated of these three games, but now, it had become the biggest hit of the day.
Many players, both domestically and internationally, couldn’t wait to hand their money over to Chen Mo. Because even up to this point, not much information about *The Last of Us* had been leaked. The only certainty was that this game was a masterpiece with no weaknesses in any aspect.
After the official release, discussions about *The Last of Us* exploded online, with overwhelming popularity!
At first, players didn’t really feel what was so great about this game.
The first impression was that it was an apocalyptic-themed *Uncharted*. The visual quality was the same as *Uncharted*, it was also a linear game, and you couldn’t even climb walls.
But as the game progressed, players found their emotions tightly gripped by the game.
Many players found the game very oppressive, especially in the middle and late stages of the story. It felt like they were constantly being crushed and couldn’t breathe, yet the increasingly tense plot pushed them forward, unable to stop for a moment.
And when the final ending came, all the pent-up emotions were released. Amidst the players’ confusion and reflection, the game came to an abrupt halt.
Everyone felt like they had experienced a brand new life. Joel and Ellie, along with every supporting character in the game, seemed like flesh-and-blood people, vividly presented before the players.
After finishing the game, many players sighed, saying it was indeed a masterpiece, no doubt about it!
Many players lamented after playing, saying they had previously thought that so many gaming media outlets giving it a perfect score was an overstatement, but after playing it, they felt it really wasn’t. This game deserved a perfect score!
There were also many people who debated the final ending. Some thought Joel was too selfish, but more people believed that this was the choice Joel should have made.
This story couldn’t really be called a tragedy, because Ellie didn’t die. Joel and Ellie both returned to that small town and lived on peacefully.
Moreover, the work was filled with praise for human nature and a vision for a better future.
Those players who purchased *The Last of Us* all proudly posted screenshots of their game pod’s *The Last of Us* theme online.
“Thank you, Chen Mo, for letting me experience such a touching story!”
“This was an unprecedented gaming experience. *The Last of Us* is the game I regret buying the least, bar none!”
“Wallet-kun is no longer crying; it died a worthy death!”
“I think the Game of the Year award this year is already a foregone conclusion.”