Video Gamers Podcast - The Last of Us Hijack: Josh Plays a Masterpiece | Gaming Podcast

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

Gaming hosts Josh, Ryan, and John dive deep into Naughty Dog’s iconic video game The Last of Us in this special “Hijack a Host” episode. Josh was forced to finally play the video game, and we’re unpacking his first-time impressions, the emotional weight of Joel and Ellie’s journey, and how it holds up across two generations of consoles. Plus, we reflect on how the HBO adaptation compares and what makes The Last of Us such a standout in gaming history. All the gaming talk you need, each and every week from the Video Gamers Podcast! Thanks to our MYTHIC Supporters: Redletter, Disratory, Ol’ Jake, Gaius, and Phelps Connect with the show: Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/videogamerspod Join our Gaming Community: https://discord.gg/Dsx2rgEEbz Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/videogamerspod/  Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/VideoGamersPod  Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VideoGamersPod?sub_confirmation=1    Visit us on the web:https://videogamerspod.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intro Hello fellow gamers and welcome to the video gamers podcast. I've been hijacked! That's right, hijack a hostess back baby! And oh boy, are we starting off with a doozy. But before we get to the reveal and my thoughts on my playtime with the game, some introductions are in order. I am your host Josh, and joining me, he's played this game and said

it's one of his favorites of all time. It's Ryan. I wish I could make the clicker noise right now just to freak you out, but I'm not able to well You just gave everything away Ryan so there you go and joining us He thinks the sequel to this game is one of the best games ever made It's John. They are both some of the finest video games ever made. So I would take either. But man, I'm so curious to hear what you think of this. And hold on.

I don't appreciate the shade at me for that on your little intro that you designed. No, no, no, hold on. Let me finish. Anybody clicking the link is going to see. I guarantee the name of the game is going to be in there. So they already know. Nice try, so they already know nice try bud Yeah, nice try very true. What if we named it something? Yeah, whatever like don't even death of Sam right and then people have been like

Yeah, so Welcome in everybody one and all hijack a host is back Welcome in everybody, one and all. Hijack a Host is back, man. After a very long hiatus, a couple sneaky, sneaky listeners somehow snuck their way into the legendary tier. And then I feel like there was like this like underground like system where like one of them dropped out

and then the other one slid in right away and they're like working it all out. Hey, you know what? We love it, man. We love that you guys love games. We love that you wanna make us play games. You know, thank you for supporting the show. I'm just gonna start off by saying

this episode comes courtesy of the one and only Hypnotic Pyro, fantastic member of the community. Pyro, we love you, buddy. I don't know how community pyro we love you buddy I don't know I don't know how much I'm gonna love you after this episode though so what things remain to be seen how can you start that way man it's suspense John I'm building up the drama man haven't you seen oh yeah I have very rarely seen lead up like that lead to anything positive If any I mean sometimes I like to pull the old switcheroo too, so I

So so for everybody out there. I was hijacked This is a perk for our legendary tier or was a perk for our legendary tier and hypnotic pyro chose me To play if you haven't figured it out yet the last of us and Hypnotic Pyro chose me to play, if you haven't figured it out yet, The Last of Us. Yeah. Widely beloved by all. Absolutely amazing. By all.

By most, by most. So famously, and this is, Ryan, I'll let you fill in the blanks here, because Pyro actually reached out to you on this one. But famously, I had at one point started The Last of Us. I got about four hours into the game. I had not escaped the city yet completely. And for whatever reason, I kind of just fizzled out.

Some other game came out that completely caught my attention, and that was the end of this story. I had seen the HBO special. I knew what the twist was. We will be talking about that. Listen, this game's pretty old at this point. So if you're worried about spoilers, you shouldn't be. Too bad. Yeah, too bad at this point. But so I did know the story of the game. I thought the HBO show was fantastic. So kind of went into this knowing

You know what this game was knowing the story But only from the actual like show perspective and so I was very curious to say Let me see what the source material is like what this you know Let me I want to play the game and see if it is Better than the show how it deviates from the show and things like that. So we're going to get into all that in this episode. I know Ryan and John, both of you have played this game. Yes. It was my intro fair. Is that on point? Because Ryan, I know that you've said this was one of your favorite games. Number six

all time for me in my top ten is number six of all time So that's that's pretty high praises. It's what I like it from you. Maybe a little bit Yeah, and then John you have played both right? I have played both It's been a while since I played the first one that the game's two generations old So I'm really curious to hear how it holds up for you But both of them could have very easily been in my top ten It was the toss-up and I wanted to you know add a little variety to it, but they're both just fantastic games So you know I I will say this is one of those ones where when we get hijacked

Sometimes like somebody picks. I don't know a game like Toontown Unwritten for somebody to play and then I kind of went, like Ryan reached out to me and he was like, hey, it's you dude and I'm like, all right, what is it, man? And then it was like, Ryan goes, you're not going to hate this. I was like, oh, okay, what is it? Best softball ever for hijacker hosts. So when I was like, it's the last of us, I was kind of like, oh, all right, like, heck yeah, man.

Like, I can't imagine this is gonna go like poorly. It is, you know, the PC version has been out for a little while now. Famously when it released, it was pretty buggy. I will say that in my play time with the PC version of this game, I really didn't run into very many bugs at all. Nothing that was game breaking or anything like that. I think I crashed like one time and that was early on so who knows why

but let's let's just get into it boys cuz Like I said, I played this game about four hours And so the first part of this game for me was going through the intro And oh my gosh gosh, guys, I forgot. I legitimately forgot how freaking like impactful and emotional the intro to this game is. I already got goosebumps. Oh, I. I think I even messaged you guys and I was like, bro,

like, oh, my gosh, man. So I'm just going to, I'm just going to talk about this for a minute because I, like I said, I do remember some of my play time. I will talk about that, but I, I completely forgot about the intro to this game where you are with Joel and his daughter before the world just falls apart. And then the world falls apart, man. And that's when my brain was like, you know, dude, you know, you know what's coming, right? And I went, Oh no, I do know what's coming, man. And I don't want to see this again.

Is there, is there a better, like more significantly, like emotionally impactful intro to a game out there? I don't think so. I would say that about most of the story, honestly, it is perhaps the best, most human, well-grounded story that I've seen in video games. And you know, we, we play a lot of games on this show and we are in a community of people who game even more than we do. Literally a thousand plus gamers that we talk to

on a regular basis. And when I ask for recommendations like, hey, I'd like a story that is as good or better as The Last of Us, people typically go, well, it kind of stands alone in that respect. But absolutely, the intro is incredibly impactful and gets you in the heartstrings right away. I think the only game that would compare

with hitting that same emotional depth, as early as it does would probably be expedition 33 there may be some recency bias there but gosh what a great intro yeah it definitely um this game has one of the everything is is almost cinematic to it there's there's a meaning and a point to everything you do and everything that happens and so there's so much weight to everything within the story and that's what gives it so much meaning and yeah I mean you're right Josh I don't know of another game with an opening where you're like just oh man buckle up dude this is gonna be a ride it's unsettling

and it's meant to be that's what this world is gonna be it's not sunshine and rainbows you You can't, there's no rose colored glasses don't exist. Like this world is dark. It's gritty. It's gross. It's dangerous. And that all is fleshed out right in the beginning. I have to give them credit, man. John expedition 33, the emotional impact of that game is the only other game that I think can like hit you like this game did I'll mention I'm gonna compare last of us in the story to another game a little bit later on I kind of want to just tease it for now

But there is a story that like my brain kind of went this is very similar And why it is feeling the way that it is feeling so just this little teaser We'll talk about that in a little bit, but I'll be honest man I I really really got excited to play this after the intro to this and I was like dude I forgot I forgot all about this and how impressive this is and it really like really laid out like the red carpet for me to get my like like hopes up for this gameplay and to kind of be like I'm about to play the last of us guys.

You know, like I'm really going to play it this time. Like I'm going to beat it. I'm going to see what all the hype's about. And so it really kind of set the stage really well for me. So you know, intro fantastic. And then I start playing the game and it's like, okay, I remember this. I'm with TAS. It's like, hey, you have this mission. You're trying to just do these jobs.

You kind of get some insight into the future and where Joel is at and Tess and that relationship and how just really utterly crappy the world is now. Yeah. Like this is not, like you said, Ryan, this is not a happy game. This is not a world that anybody wants to be a part of. Um, you know, and so it's funny because for like the next two or three hours happy game. This is not a world that anybody wants to be a part of. Um, you know, and so it's funny because for like the next two or three hours was, was just everything that I remembered. It was like, Hey, I'm creeping around.

Okay. I'm, I'm shooting these guys. Uh, yes, there's a lot of stealth based stuff in here. I'm chucking bottles and I'm chucking bricks to distract people, that kind of thing. And I was like, okay, I remember all this. And the funny part is out of all of that, this is the dumbest thing in the world, man. The part that I remember most was the part right before you get to the room where I can't remember the lady's name,

but basically where you're going to meet the lady that wants you to take Ellie. I can't remember her name. She's the leader of the fireflies. Oh, okay I know but you go under this kind of like bridge area and you fight a whole bunch of guys as you're trying to get To the other side of this like bridge and that was I was like I remember this scene Exactly like every minute detail of this. I was like, I remember doing this so I get past that part I start making my way out of the city, you know the the

So I get past that part. I start making my way out of the city, you know, the the Militias chasing you down or whatever it's raining. I'm like, okay See, this is the part where I started to fade out a little bit. I will say That and you guys can tell me if you think I'm crazy but this is where I remember petering out and I'll tell you why I remember petering out on this because Freaking nothing happens man. Nothing happens. I listen listen thoughts about the game as a whole aside. All I'm doing is escorting this girl over ledges up a ladder down a hallway through this, you know, room, uh, jump down this led. And I'm like, where is the gameplay in this game, man? Like, like, am I wrong?

Am I wrong for thinking that? Do you guys remember that part of the game where it's like, you're trying to leave the city and it's just like, I'm just playing a walking simulator? Uh, no, I actually don't think you're very often that assessment Josh. I think that's that's probably a pretty fair assessment I do remember that the opening quite a bit was seemed very Instructional, you know, it was very very long Demo of how to how to navigate and stuff.

I do remember it being quite a while before I had my actual first encounter where you're doing anything combat related. I think that's fair. I also think that it was intentional by the devs because they were establishing, kind know, kind of like war. This is a terrible place, uh, with lots of boredom punctuated by extreme violence. And it was kind of like letting you sort of settle into the world, um, to make, I

think the first, uh, the first encounters may be more impactful. Um, that would be my assessment on it. I don't remember feeling like, I don't remember petering out. Like I remember being engaged in the game very much through the whole gameplay. Yeah, I'm the same way, man. I don't think, I mean, and I love these worlds.

I was probably more drawn in by that situation just cause me, I got to see more of what I was these worlds. I was probably more drawn in by that situation just because me, I got to see more of what I was going to experience and I love post-apocalyptic worlds. And I think they did that, like John said, is it was settling you in to what you have to look forward to. You have to climb up and down and do all these crazy things just to get right over there because that's how crazy this world is. There's zombies everywhere. There's just chaos and it's not safe around every corner. That's just reality now. That was something that definitely drew me in, but I can see why you would just be like, what are we doing?

Part of it is that I did this once before. That's like I said, that's where I kind of fizzled. And again, I didn't I didn't stop playing this game because it really like just bored me to tears. And I went this game stupid. I stopped playing it because something else came out. I don't remember what, but I just remember it was like, oh, OK, well, I'm way more interested in this game than I am for Last of Us.

I will say this. The I was not impressed with the beginning couple hours of this game. Again, I know that some of that is tutorial part of Us. I will say this, I was not impressed with the beginning couple hours of this game. Again, I know that some of that is tutorial part of it, but for the most part, it really just felt like I was playing this walking simulator. I also get that they're trying to tell a little bit of the story because Ellie doesn't know who you are, you don't know who Ellie is, you know, it's kind of showing like that you don't care, it's just you and Tess and she's just admission You know you have no emotional attachment to her like that kind of thing So like I understand the why behind it

but sometimes the why can just kind of still be a little bit lame and so I I was feeling a little bit of like the it's just a walking simulator game now To be fair to the game and maybe this is the PC port, but I don't think it is, oh my goodness, the presentation in this game was freaking top-notch, guys. Two generations old, I know it's been updated, but two generations old, it's crazy. Dude, dude, this game was beautiful, man.

I mean, not only was it beautiful, but the voice acting was absolutely incredible. I mean, incredible. I mean incredible the sound design Absolutely top-notch the visuals the world. I felt like I was in this world man, and that's when I kind of went These guys know how to make a game dude like there This is just putting it all together in a way that is just absolutely jiving with me right now, man. Maybe I'm only walking around and I ain't doing a whole lot, but at least it's beautiful to look at. And I'm looking around at all the big skyscrapers and stuff and the foliage and everything's

getting overgrown. And I'm just like, bro, I'm here for this world right now, man. The world that they created, it's not, because it's not real. Like this is imaginary. This is something that they had to come up with and design and try to make it to where you were in this place. You felt like you were in a post-apocalyptic world that had been run down by zombies and everything else you could imagine for decades.

And how do you just create that and then present it visually to somebody that it draws you in that way and I think they just did such a good job. You can have all the money in the world and the biggest budget but if you don't have a vision on how to create that and what to make, like you can't do it and I think that they just knew what they wanted to make, knew where they wanted to go with it all, and they just did it such, you know, in such a way that it was just real, and it made you feel like it was real.

I have to agree, dude. It is one of the best presentations of a game. It's like, like ever. I'm just waiting for the butt, Josh. Yeah. Yeah, I'm just gonna. Yeah. I Josh. Yeah. Yeah, which is really. Yeah. I mean, in this case, there is no butt

because I was enamored of this game. I kept kind of waiting to be like, when is the action gonna happen? I shot a few of the militia guys and I was like, I know there's clickers, that kind of thing. And so I knew that that was coming, but it was like, I really felt like that was like, come on, man, like, let me get to shooting something, man, like, you know, or something chasing me,

like, let me just do anything, but climb these ladders, man. Also, can we just pause for a second? Oh, here we go. Who the heck is leaving all of these ladders just laying around in this world, dude? I lost count at like nine ladders. And I'm just like, every one of these is like aluminum, like just work for his ladder.

And I'm like, who's leaving these things around everywhere? Ladder business is good, baby. No, I mean, if you think about it in the context of the world where like elevators are down and stairs might be dangerous and stuff, I could totally see a scenario where people like literally leave ladders everywhere. They're just leaving them out in the wilderness like up against an old abandoned Piece of equipment at that point yeah, I mean that's very true

I guess that's true when you can't when you can't have an elevator or an escalator like the next best thing is a ladder Going back to what you were talking about about the game being very well realized It's I've played the second one far more recently than I played the first one But it's it's sort of the general sort same general sort of like world building but I remember the second one takes place in Seattle and I've spent the last 20 years and sort of the Seattle area and I Remember Remarking like on the second game literally staring at this like the side

of this apartment building and watching the water come down the side of the bricks and how they animated the water like literally rippling down the bricks and down the side and how the wiring was sort of haphazardly going from one thing to another to hit a generator. I don't know. It just seemed like there was no detail that was spared. They went through arduous complexity to make this thing look just like it would in this scenario. I thought. Yeah. Well, I remember that like during the rain when you're trying to escape, there's a there's some water like pouring off of a roof or something. And I walked under it as Joel and it actually started splashing and he kind of cringed. And that's when I was

like, Oh, I love these little touches. Because it just shows you it just shows you like the love and the passion that goes into a game when they're like, man, because it just shows you. It just shows you the love and the passion that goes into a game when they're like, hey, we're going to animate this like Joel getting just dumped on by water instead of just this rain. So all right, guys, I'll tell you what. We've got to take a break, and then I'll come back, and I'll spill the beans on my thoughts on this game.

So we'll be back in just a second. Sweet. All right, we're back. You know what guys, enough beating around the bush. I know everybody's like, Josh, just tell us whether you like it or you hate it. Okay. Oh no. Whatever he goes. Okay. That's what we know. I love it guys. This game's freaking good. Yeah. This game's great great I knew you were messing with us too it was so great what's not to love man I was thinking I'm like how there's no way that he's gonna find something and even if he's searching just to be a jerk like there's no way he can find

anything oh it's this game is fantastic guys like what's not to love about it I look I the main gripe I had is the main gripe I made already is for the little beginning part of the game. I was like, it's just a walking simulator. Like am I ever going to do anything but just walk through hallways and buildings and houses and things like that. And it's like, yes, you absolutely do. I'll, I'll say this dude. The storytelling in this game between the characters is masterful dude.

It is masterful. I absolutely freaking love Joel. I love his gruffness. I love his protectiveness. I love him like as a dad to Ellie. And I'm gonna make this comparison cause I promised it early on. Guys, the game that this like absolutely is is is the same as is God of War 2018.

You are a parent. I get that Joel is not actually Ellie's dad, but you are a parent that is escorting a child on a quest. And along the way, you build up this relationship and you get glimpses into this relationship. And it's a masterful way to tell a story dude. The story between Kratos and Atreus is one of my favorites in gaming and now the story between Joel and Ellie is like one of my favorites in gaming

but they're so similar it's like this just works man. Yeah. You know? Like, oh my goodness, dude. Ellie is such a good character. Joel is such a good character, dude. The way that they go from like, I am just trying to deliver you to somewhere and I don't care one bit about why or who you are or any of that. I just want to go back to my life that I think I loved. And then just slowly it's like, dude, I'm emotionally attached to this person now. Like I'm invested in their relationship

and it's not always just rainbows, you know, like they don't get along sometimes and that's natural. And it's like, this is the way life is. And it's just, this is the way life is and it's just this is the kind of storytelling the games need to do the the dragon age veil guard slop of storytelling yes i'm firing shots again because guys like when you have to tell me everything in in in exposition i'm angry text yes the town is now safe because of your actions. You solve this mystery and everybody is happier for it.

Those were the words on the screen. You suck, Dragon Age Villain Guard. Like, this is how you tell a story, man. Is you let us just witness it. You let us experience it. You let us along for the adventure and the ride. And the moments of tension, dude, in this game were peak. I like guys, I loved everything about it.

It's the perfect length. It was like, I don't know. Main campaign is 16 hours, something like that. Like, it's tight. It's it's it's it's just it's like honestly, it's perfected, man. Like, I'm so happy. One of the best stories in gaming that I have seen.

Like, there's no arguing that. And I knew the story going into this. Like I said, I watched the show on HBO. I knew the story from the game anyway, cause it's like, you know, the twist at the end was spoiled long, long ago. And, but the game's so much better than the show. And the show was great.

Season one of Last of Us I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed. Now, here's my problem. If I'm going to be critical, because you know, not any game is perfect. I will say this. The gameplay elements in Last of Us were adequate. They weren't fantastic. There were a few times, especially with the clicker hordes,

where I was like, dude, this is really freaky. This is feeling like a horror game right now. I had my headphones on the whole time, so I'm hearing the echoes of the clickers, and I'm hearing them walk in and that creepy sound. Yeah. And I was like, okay, like this is jiving with me. I'm freaked out.

Like this is tense. Like, you know, and then this also just goes to show you, and this is a cliche saying, but it's like, it's not the monsters that you gotta worry about. It's the people you gotta worry about, man. But I liked the upgrade system. I liked the weapons in the game.

I, you know, I mean, you get a freaking flamethrower at one point. I'm like, they've really given me a flamethrower. Like, but so I'm gonna make the comparison again to God of War because I think these games share a ton of similarities, dude, like legitimately. Everybody that's been listening knows God of War is quite possibly my favorite game of all time, right?

And so it's like, but to even be in the conversation of God of War with another game is praise to that game. I will say that where I think God of War excels is that they took a story that is just as impactful, but they upped the gameplay portion of it to be as satisfying as the story was. And this is a minor, and I'm gonna get blasted on the internet for this,

this is a minor complaint I'm going to get blasted on the internet for this. This is a minor complaint with the last of us, but the gameplay portion was not quite on par with like the storytelling portion. I think that's a fair criticism. I think they certainly emphasize the cinematic component of it and the, and the storytelling over the storytelling over the gameplay. I think that's fair. For sure.

In this case, it paid off. Like I said, they nailed what they wanted to do. I'm just, and again, this is not a negative, I'm just saying if I had to point out something, it is that I felt like there were times when the gameplay elements were a bit weak, where it's turn this wheel or pull this chain while Ellie is trying to get under the garage door.

And I'm like, bro, how long, like how many times do I have to hold X to open a garage door? You know, like again, I know that they serve a purpose and there's probably a loading screen going on behind the scenes or something like that. But it's like, if they could have upped that, oh my goodness guys, like this would be like a top 10 of all time

Don't play last of us to The last of us to expands on it. Yeah, the gameplay is just dude. What here's the problem enemy variety too in a weird way Here's the problem. Here's the problem I know I know the spoiler that happens at the beginning of last of us too, and I ain't having it. I ain't having it It's so no. I'm not having it because because I freaking love Joel and Ellie now I freaking love them and I'm that's what makes it so good exactly No, as much as no much. I'm not doing it that love will propel you through the second That love will propel you through the second

The second game not I don't need that in my and then you have to play as the killer Okay, hold on I got a question for last of us one What was your favorite like weapon or item that you got to use the shotgun and the right? So we're the two the rifle to take things out at range and the shotgun to just get up close and personal man. Like the pistols I kept too. So this is funny because this goes back into our controller versus mouse and keyboard thing, but I started off with controller and I hated the aiming and stuff in the game because it felt kind of floaty and stuff. And then I kind of went, I know this game's probably intended for controller, but let me see how it plays on mouse and it was so much better to snipe into good scrub I don't really what I was doing is I could just whip over and these zombies running in and I'm just headshot headshot

Headshot All the duty running through there no Like I legitimately was just like boom head, headshot, boom, headshot. Two shots to a clicker head. I did run low on ammo a lot was the only downside to that. There were a few points in the game where I'm like, I think I was supposed to sneak through all this, but. Well, that's just when it comes to last.

That's the cool part is that if you're on the normal difficulty, it allows you the option to you can sneak through You can stealth kill if you want or you can Use go guns a blaze and and and take everything out if you need to and the higher difficulties if you were to crank it Up you'll get like two boxes of ammo like the whole map the whole game. It's it's so hard, dude The other part that I love is they don't pull punches dude They don't pull punches Joel get his neck ripped out by a clicker And I was like oh

And then the the I got killed by the bloater and the bloater like grabs my jaw and just rips my face open And I was like oh Awesome, and then it really caught me off guard when you play as Ellie, and then you die as Ellie. And I'm like, they're not going to do that. Oh, they did it to a little kid. She's only 14. I know. And I was like, I can't believe they did this too.

But that's the world, man. Like, way to lean into it, dude. I love it. Look, this game is a masterpiece guys like a masterpiece of storytelling the word it's a masterpiece of world building visually audio everything about this game is freaking top-notch guys I cannot so so I have a question for you now Josh because you mentioned you saw the show first and then played the game and my

like I played the game first and then watched the show and I thought the show was really good. I was actually surprised at how consistent they were with telling the story from the game. But all I could think when I'm watching the show is man for anybody who is really enjoying this, just go play the game. I mean, the game has everything you love about the story and the game has everything that you love about the show, but multiplied times 10 because of the immersion and the suspense. It's like, it feels like it would be such a great gateway game for so many people. What was your thought on that?

How would you compare the two now? It was really cool for me, honestly, because I did appreciate the show so much that it was really neat to see how true to the game that they tried to be. Like legitimately, like the part where they finally get in the car and they're going across the country and Ellie's sitting in the backseat reading the comics and stuff and they're talking. And that whole scene, sitting in the back seat like reading the comics and stuff and

They're talking and like that whole scene I was like they nailed this like one for one the part where Joel gets injured and Ellie is taking care of him like In that town is like one for one and then the part where it's like, you know She's these guys are trying to like they kidnap her and then it's like that whole part where it's like you find out that They're eating the the other humans and stuff was like This is all like wow man Like I was actually really impressed playing the game with how much the show actually tried to follow that It also made me realize where the show deviated from the game sometimes and then I was like

I don't really know why you felt like you needed to do that because the the material in the Game's so good like that that you should have had enough material there You know they decided they went they wanted to go from being good like the game to like being not good like the show was Would you say deviated or expanded well, I think they kept most of the core elements of the story pretty much the same, but I know that they, they dev, I would say like they expanded on certain parts of it that weren't exactly linear with the game. Yeah, I just, I don't know. I mean, it's funny because like I said, the game is far superior to the show in my opinion. I really enjoyed season one of Last of Us. Like I said, I mean, I think it's a top notch show. I just feel like they had enough material in the game

that they probably could have just stuck to that. But then again, maybe I'm just misremembering because I know there's the part where they go to meet Joel's brother and they do all that, but it's like in the game, you kind of explore this hydroelectric dam and they're they're thinking like guys With this we can have electricity which means we have a civilization which means we have a place to live and be happy And all this stuff and then it's like well

No, because you know Ellie really wants to go and help save the world and all that I will say when you're playing the game and you're in the operating room seeing Ellie on the table Like it hits way harder, dude. Like I'm literally holding my gun, pointing it at the surgeon and I'm just like, I'm waiting for like, you know, something to happen. Then I'm like, oh, they're gonna make me pull the trigger. Aren't they?

You know, and sure enough, and sure enough, I'm just like, I like, boom! You know, but it's like, it just hits way different, man. It's one thing when you're watching it, and you get that gasp. It's another when you're the dude that's got to aim at the surgeon and pull the trigger. It just hits different, man.

So number one, thank you, Hypnotic Pyro, for making me play this. Yeah. Because I'll be honest, it's one of these games that I have said I need to go back and play. But now that I have played it, it is like, I am so glad that I fully experienced this dude. It was, there was never a moment when I sat down and I went, I have to play this game. I was just like, Oh man, I can't wait. And Ryan, I was talking to you because you and ACE were talking about night rain and stuff. And I'm kind of like, I don't

know guys, like I don't mind having to play some Last of Us right now. So really enjoyed every moment of this. I mean, there's really no negatives to say about this game. I mean, I feel like I'm being like the most nitpicky of nitpicky people to talk about like gameplay elements. But even then I like, I had fun, dude. Like the scenes, the shooting, the chase, the escapes, the sneaking, like the at one point I had like five clickers that I was like walking down a hallway with bricks so I

could climb a ladder because the ladder was too loud. So I just kept like sneaking up behind him and throwing another brick to get him far enough away. And so I was like okay that was kind of clever and I don't know if that's the way you're supposed to do it or not but that's the way I went about it I mean a masterpiece of a game guys I will I will easily give this game a 9 out of 10 yes you know I mean yeah I will say there are a lot of similarities to God of War 2018 there I I if you like The Last of Us and you have not played God of War God of War is a little bit more action forward I if you like the last of us and you have not played God of War God of War is a little

Bit more action forward, but if you like action, I think it is superior to the last of us But I mean if you're a gamer and you haven't played both of these games you are missing out and I legitimately didn't know How much I was missing out until I actually got through this game and then I was like dang. Oh, okay I actually got through this game and then I was like dang. Oh, okay. Dang. Now. So, so let me ask you this. Having played one and seeing how awesome it is and kind of the one thing you were, you were him and Han is not the best is the gameplay. I personally believe the story is not as good, but it's still amazing. Kind of like God of war 20, you know, uh, uh, Ragnarok first 2018. Ragnarok verse 2018. Um, Last of Us 2 part two has much better gameplay, much more action, but the story is just maybe not as strong. Do you think you'll play

Last of Us 2? I don't know because see, that's the thing, right? Like the story is what makes Last of Us what it is. I got it to say, like, I understand where Ryan's coming from and I also understand your hesitant I don't want to see Joel die. Okay I'm fine. Just having Joel be my buddy in my head at this point right and that's like Joel was a great protagonist in season one and John Snow was a great protagonist in season one of Game of Thrones, but his death facilitates your relationship with Abby and Abby in. I don't know who Abby is and I don't care about Abby. I only care about you. I'm going to learn yet. You're going to learn dude.

It does. I would say first of all, you have to play the second one at some point. Maybe give yourself a little break. I, you know. I like to give myself a little break between sequels, but absolutely play it and reserve judgment for the story. I personally think it's better by a very small margin. I hear a lot of people say that. Here's the thing. So for people that are going, Josh, how can you possibly not play The Last of Us 2

after you've just finished talking up this game, you can make me play it. You can make us. You can make us. You can make us play a game. We have revamped our Patreon perks where we now allow people to vote on the games that we play. Every month our listeners get to do a hijack a host. I should say our supporters get to do a hijack a host, I should say our supporters, get to do a hijack a host from the, is that our epic tier? We've changed so many things now, I'm pretty sure that's epic and above,

get to vote on a hijack a host for the month, they get to pick a host and pick a game to make us play. So if you want me to play The Last of Us 2, because you're like, Josh, if you don't play that, you're an idiot, well, then I don't have a choice and I have to play it. And I will cry when Joel dies, and I hate all of you if you make me do that but well I'll do it anyway because that's the deal we made so fantastic game man. I had to like

string you guys along a little bit man. You had me bro. What's that to love about this game? So Hypnotic Pyro, thank you, buddy. Fantastic game, nine out of 10 for me. Absolute, just peak gaming all the way around. If you haven't played it, you're missing out. I am so glad that I can now say, I'm better now. I don't have to go like, yeah, I played like three hours of Last of Us,

and the people go, what? Now I can be like, oh yeah, I beat that game, dude. Fantastic, it's phenomenal. So Alright, listen, that's gonna do it for this episode everybody. Thank you for hanging out with us You know, it's always fun doing these man. Thanks for picking a good game for me If if you're not already, please follow the show hit that plus button that follow button Make sure you join our Discord server. It is the best group of gamers in the world

and this is where people get to hijack us and make us play these games. Vote on things like our game court topics and stuff like that as well. And if you wanna go the extra mile like Hypnotic Pyro did and you wanna support this show, we just, and I mean just revamped everything man. We have made the perks that our supporters get way more impactful for them, way more perks. I mean all kinds of really

really neat things so make sure you check that out as well. There's a link in the episode description. That's it for this one boys. We got another one coming. There is another hijack a host in the works and I'm just going to leave it at that for people to wonder about. So, until next time, happy gaming! See ya! Toodle-doo.