The Last of Us is one of the most important video games of all time. The title from Naughty Dog was a major departure from the action titles the studio had made in recent times like Uncharted, as this game had an even deeper focus on story and characters. The world was post-apocalyptic, yet tinged with realism in terms of how people would act, the way the monsters came about, and so on. The result was a title that won Multiplayer Game of the Year awards and just had a remake release on the PS5. As of today, the series has celebrated its 9th anniversary.
Naughty Dog made a special post about this on their website, with the first thing they did being to note how in awe they are that they made it this far.
“In 2013, our studio released a new game, The Last of Us. While we felt immense pride in what we accomplished, we could never imagine that nine years later we’d still see new and seasoned players experiencing this game and sharing their passion for Joel and Ellie’s stories.”
You can see very clearly how much this franchise means to them, and how happy it makes them that so many gamers have enjoyed it. So, to celebrate both the day and the community, Naughty Dog is giving away some free stuff for you to enjoy! First up is a set of gifs. As Naughty Dog notes, every year they take some gifs from the internet and then have their characters recreate them. Yes, that’s why you have seen Joel pull an Antonio Banderas, among other gifs that are out there. They have a new set of these for 2022 and you should check them out!
If you’re looking for something a bit more permanent, Naughty Dog has released a new wallpaper for the game from David Blatt. Blatt is an artist Naughty Dog has worked with for some time, and they are happy to show off his latest piece for the anniversary.
Finally, Naughty Dog will show off the efforts of the community at large. The recent remake of The Last of Us had a Photo Mode that many people have enjoyed using. Naughty Dog put out a challenge to take a good photo and then post it online through a hashtag. The community outpouring was massive, and now, you can see the “Community Photo Album” for yourself and look at what others have put out.
As you can see, Naughty Dog is going all out for the anniversary of their beloved title. One can only imagine what they’ll do next year when the 10th-anniversary celebration comes around. No doubt many of you are already looking forward to it.
Source: Naughty Dog
