You’ve been there. The credits roll on Ellie’s story, the screen goes black, and you’re just sitting there in the dark. It’s that post-game depression. Honestly, it’s a specific kind of grief. You start hunting for The Last of Us like games because you want that same gut-punch of a story mixed with tense, "don't-breathe-or-you're-dead" gameplay. But let’s be real for a second—most clones fail. They might get the zombies right, or maybe they nail the third-person shooting, but they almost always miss that soul-crushing emotional core that Naughty Dog is famous for.
It isn't just about the fungus or the clickers. It’s the silence. It’s the way Joel looks at a broken wristwatch. Most developers think making a game "like" this means adding a crafting menu and a companion AI. They're wrong. To find something that truly scratches that itch, you have to look at games that understand vulnerability.
Why Most Recommendations Miss the Mark
When you search for The Last of Us like games, people usually throw Days Gone at you. Look, I like Days Gone. Riding a motorcycle through the Oregon wilderness is cool, and the hordes are genuinely terrifying. But it’s a different beast. It’s an action-adventure game with survival elements. It doesn't have that claustrophobic, intimate character study that makes you care if the protagonist lives or dies. You’re looking for a specific vibe. You want the weight of every bullet. You want to feel like a failure when you miss a shot.
A lot of this comes down to "Ludonarrative Resonance." That’s a fancy term for when the gameplay actually matches the story. In The Last of Us, Joel is tired. He's old. He's violent because he has to be. If a game gives you a "press X to win" button, it’s not The Last of Us. It’s just a movie with extra steps.
The Plague Tale Factor
If you haven't played A Plague Tale: Innocence and its sequel Requiem, stop reading this and go buy them. Seriously. Asobo Studio basically took the Naughty Dog blueprint and moved it to 14th-century France. You have Amicia and her little brother Hugo. They’re being hunted by the Inquisition. Also, there are millions of rats.
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It works because the relationship drives everything. You aren't just protecting an NPC; you’re managing a child’s trauma while trying not to get eaten. The stealth is brutal. One mistake and you are dead. It captures that "hopelessness" better than almost any other title on the market. Requiem, specifically, pushes the graphical fidelity to a point where it actually rivals Sony’s first-party stuff. It’s a rare example of a "AA" studio punching way above its weight class.
The Mechanical DNA of Survival Horror
People forget that The Last of Us is, at its heart, a survival horror game. It just has a big budget. If you want that feeling of limited resources, you have to look at the Resident Evil 2 remake. I know, I know—Leon S. Kennedy isn't Joel Miller. But the way that game handles inventory management and the sheer dread of hearing Mr. X’s footsteps? That’s the same adrenaline.
The scarcity is the key.
In The Last of Us, you find half a pair of scissors and a roll of tape. You have to decide: Do I make a shiv or a nail bomb? That choice matters. God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök actually follow this emotional structure too, despite being high-fantasy action games. The relationship between Kratos and Atreus is the closest thing we have to Joel and Ellie. Kratos is a man terrified of his own past, trying to be better for a son who doesn't understand him. The gameplay is faster, sure, but the "over-the-shoulder" camera and the focus on "the quiet moments" are straight out of the Naughty Dog playbook.
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Don't Sleep on Telltale’s The Walking Dead
It’s old. The graphics are stylized. There’s barely any "gameplay" in the traditional sense. But Lee and Clementine? That’s the original blueprint. Without Lee and Clem, we might not have the version of Joel and Ellie we know today. If you want a game that makes you sob uncontrollably while making impossible choices, this is it. It’s less about the shooting and more about the "who do I save?" of it all.
Exploring the Indie Side of Despair
Sometimes the best The Last of Us like games aren't $70 blockbusters. Take a look at ISAAC. No, not The Binding of Isaac. I’m talking about smaller, atmospheric titles like Endling - Extinction is Forever. You play as the last mother fox on Earth. You’re trying to keep your cubs alive in a world destroyed by humans. It’s heart-wrenching. It’s survival. It’s about the lengths a parent will go to for their child.
Then there’s Telltale’s The Expanse or even Detroit: Become Human. While the genres are different, the focus on cinematic storytelling and high-stakes character choices remains the same.
What About the Atmosphere?
There is a game called Metro Exodus. It’s a first-person shooter, which usually disqualifies it from these lists. But wait. It’s set in post-apocalyptic Russia. You spend a lot of time on a train, exploring these massive, dead zones. The weapon customization is "gritty." You have to manually wipe blood and mud off your gas mask. You have to pump your flashlight to keep it charged. It’s tactile. That tactile feeling—the sense that your gear is breaking and you’re barely hanging on—is exactly why we love The Last of Us.
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Red Dead Redemption 2: The Slow Burn
A lot of people miss this comparison because one is a Western and the other is a fungal apocalypse. But Red Dead 2 is perhaps the only game that matches The Last of Us Part II in terms of sheer detail and "weight." Everything in RDR2 takes time. Skinning an animal takes time. Cleaning your gun takes time. This "slowness" creates a sense of realism that makes the violent outbursts feel more shocking. Arthur Morgan is a man who knows his time is up. That sense of impending doom and the struggle for some kind of redemption? That’s the Joel Miller special right there.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
If you are looking for your next obsession, don't just look for "third-person shooters." Look for these specific traits:
- Narrative Weight: Does the protagonist have a personal stake in the journey beyond just "saving the world"?
- Scarcity: Does the game force you to choose between two equally important upgrades or items?
- Character Growth: Does the relationship between the leads change based on the events of the game?
- Environmental Storytelling: Can you tell what happened in a room just by looking at the corpses and the notes left behind?
Based on that, here is how you should prioritize your "to-play" list:
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (For the closest emotional and mechanical match).
- God of War (2018) (For the father-child dynamic and cinematic combat).
- Metro Exodus (For the post-apocalyptic atmosphere and resource tension).
- The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series (For the raw narrative impact).
- Resident Evil 4 Remake (For the perfect blend of horror, escort mechanics, and resource management).
The reality is that Naughty Dog has a very specific "secret sauce" that involves hundreds of millions of dollars and a decade of refining their engine. You won't find a 1:1 replacement. But if you shift your focus toward games that value "character-driven survival," you’ll find that the post-Last of Us void isn't quite as empty as it seems. Start with A Plague Tale. It's the most honest answer to the question. Just make sure you have some tissues ready for the ending. You’re gonna need them. Seriously.