When you look at games released between 2010 and 2020, there are some extremely memorable offerings.
This is the decade that gave us Legend of Zelda Breath of The Wild. It gave us Arkham City, Arkham Knight, Spider-Man, God of War, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Kingdom Hearts 3, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, and many others.
But when you’re talking about games that have made a huge impact on the world in the last 10 years, The Last of Us has to be in that conversation.
The original game debuted in 2013, with the follow up, The Last of Us Part 2, closing down the decade just this year.
Despite a wave of initial criticism, The Last of Us Part 2 went on the be massively successful for Sony, moving more than 4 million copies in just three days.
The gaming community by and large feels like it’s a strong contender for Game of The Year, in a year that also features some critical darlings like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Ghost of Tsushima.
While The Last of Us Part 2 is enjoying its moment in the sun, the original game is still getting some love. The Last of Us, which released on the PlayStation 3 console before getting a PS4 re-release, has been nominated for game of the decade, according to a user poll on Metacritic.
The Last of Us redefined the horror zombie game genre when it first released. It gave us a true taste of how life in a post apocalyptic world might be. With ammo and supplies running low and facing down hordes of infected, you had to strategize and make some hard decisions in order to survive.
And, of course, at the heart of it was a relatable and heartwarming story of a man completely destroyed by tragedy learning to open up and care about others again. It was, in a word, perfect.
The success of The Last of Us Part 2 had a lot to do with the success and popularity of The Last of Us. The game initially released to 1.3 million sales in its first week alone, which was the biggest launch of a new IP since LA Noire in 2011.
It was named Game of The Year in 2013 and received subsequent game of the year accolades from other publications.
The PlayStation 4 re-release of The Last of Us currently has the third highest rating of any game on the PlayStation 4, according to Metacritic. The only games that score above it are Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2.