In a lot of ways, The Last of Us and its sequel, The Last of Us Part 2, raised the bar for storytelling in games. Set in a grounded version of, essentially, a zombie apocalypse, it relied as much on well-written, emotional interactions between characters as it did on stealth gameplay and fighting horrific monsters, crafting a horror story that’s hard to forget. But there are a lot of games like The Last of Us that also evoke the specific and powerful elements that define it–whether it’s the strong relationship between the player character and a companion, the fearful intensity of being hunted by terrifying monsters, or the sharp gameplay mechanics that can make combat as satisfying as it is overwhelmingly visceral.
Below, you’ll find 12 games and franchises like The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2, riffing on or building on different parts of the experience that make Naughty Dog’s story-driven adventure so powerful. Most of these are action-adventure games or horror games that share similar ideas–some tell deep stories and have characters with which you’ll form a bond, some push third-person combat and stealth mechanics in smart directions or have a similar feel to The Last of Us, and some create horror experiences you simply can’t get in other media.
Regardless of their goals, like The Last of Us, these are games that create experiences that will stick with you, and maybe haunt your nightmares. For more, check out our picks for the best horror games or best survival games.
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Uncharted: Lost Legacy
Developer: Naughty DogRelease Date: August 22, 2017Platforms: PlayStation 4, PS5, PCGenre: Action-Adventure
Naughty Dog first dialed in its cinematic, story-focused approach to development with the Uncharted games, and of all of them, Uncharted: Lost Legacy is the purest version of the experience. It’s also the most similar to The Last of Us, thanks to the fact that while you play Lost Legacy as Chloe Fraser (instead of series mainstay Nathan Drake), you spend almost the entire game hanging out with Uncharted 4 semi-villain Nadine Ross. Like The Last of Us 2, Lost Legacy is a linear game with a few large open areas to explore, and through those sections the character development and banter between Chloe and Nadine is a lot like that between Joel and Ellie or Ellie and Dina. Along with stealth as an option for combat, Lost Legacy ends up feeling a bit like a lighter version of The Last of Us.
Alien: Isolation
Developer: Creative AssemblyRelease Date: October 7, 2014Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, AndroidGenre: Survival Horror
The peak of tension in The Last of Us is sneaking around enemies who are actively hunting you, but no game captures the fear and dread of being hunted like Alien: Isolation. Creative Assembly’s take on Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 film is a masterclass in stealth-horror gameplay, pitting you against the Alien franchise’s frightening black killing machine with only your wits and a handful of makeshift tools that might distract or drive the creature away, but never for long. The alien stalks after you throughout much of Alien: Isolation, reacting in believable and frightening ways and forcing you to outsmart it if you want to stay alive. Isolation is at its best when you’re pitted against the alien, but its human and android enemies will test your stealth skills as well, capturing the same tension that make The Last of Us games so intense.
Tomb Raider / Rise of the Tomb Raider / Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Developer: Crystal DynamicsRelease Date: March 5, 2013 / November 10, 2015 / September 14, 2018Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PCGenre: Action-Adventure
The rebooted Tomb Raider series that began in 2013 expands on the essential elements that defined the franchise, while emphasizing stealth, crafting, and hunting–a lot of the same kinds of gameplay that define The Last of Us. Across all three games, protagonist Lara Croft has to use her survival skills to overcome hordes of enemies, keeping herself hidden so she can lay traps and execute ambushes. Tomb Raider carries very similar combat and shooting mechanics to what you’ll see in The Last of Us alongside its stealth, and throws in some Uncharted-style environmental traversal for good measure, finding a middle ground between both of Uncharted’s storied franchises.
Resident Evil 2
Developer: CapcomRelease Date: January 25, 2019Platforms: PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo SwitchGenre: Survival Horror
Capcom’s remake of its survival-horror classic, Resident Evil 2, is a phenomenal modernization of the gameplay elements that helped define the genre, and which would eventually influence The Last of Us. RE2 picks up with the Midwestern town of Raccoon City in the throes of an exploding zombie outbreak, with unlikely heroes Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield fighting for their lives as the apocalypse engulfs the town. There’s a direct line to draw from the dark and spooky environs of the Raccoon City Police Station, filled with the hungry undead, and the ruined structures of The Last of Us, and while Resident Evil 2 is far from a stealthy game–it’s mostly running, shooting, and freaking out–it trades in a lot of the same panic and dread that make The Last of Us so powerful.
The Evil Within 2
Developer: Tango GameworksRelease Date: October 13, 2017Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PCGenre: Survival Horror
The Evil Within looked to go back to the roots of survival-horror games, conjuring something of a mix between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4. The results were mixed, but developer Tango Gameworks absolutely hit the mark with its follow up. The Evil Within 2 leans into a supernatural story and some well-worn but terrifying horror tropes, in contrast to The Last of Us, but plays in a similar way, emphasizing using stealth to sneak around and take down tough enemies. Where The Evil Within 2 stands apart, aside from its storytelling, is with its open suburban landscapes, often-huge monsters, and intense, out-there boss fights. There are a lot of similarities in how the two games approach their gameplay, but if you want a straight-on horror story full of gore and terrors, The Evil Within 2 will scratch that itch.
God Of War / God Of War: Ragnarok
Developer: Sony Santa MonicaRelease Date: April 20, 2018 / November 9, 2022Platforms: PlayStation 4, PS5, PCGenre: Action-Adventure
The success of Naughty Dog’s cinematic approach to games, with a heavy focus on putting characters together and letting them talk to one another to bring players into the story, rubbed off on the rest of Sony’s first-party studios. With the reboot of God of War, Sony Santa Monica pulls a lot of the same tricks. Like The Last of Us, God of War is another “dad” game, where you play the father figure and spend all your time with a child, developing a relationship through a road-tripping adventure. God of War brings more action-focused gameplay, but its focus on story and excellent character development make for an emotionally deep experience that goes a lot further than just slicing up draugr and trolls. The story continues in God of War: Ragnarok, expanding on the relationships between God of War’s characters even further.
Alan Wake / Alan Wake 2
Developer: Remedy EntertainmentRelease Date: May 14, 2010 / October 27, 2023Platforms: PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PCGenre: Action-Adventure
Remedy Entertainment made more of a supernatural thriller than a survival-horror game with the first Alan Wake, but with the follow-up 10 years later, it fully leaned into the horror aspects of the premise. The Alan Wake games are a great deal weirder than The Last of Us but are similarly dedicated to using the medium to tell a particular story. In the Alan Wake games, it’s the tale of a supernatural entity using its powers to free itself and wreak havoc on the world, using a story spun by a novelist as the weapon by which it rewrites reality itself. Third-person shooter mechanics and dark, frightening environs evoke some of the same feelings and frights as The Last of Us games, but it’s the fascinating, highly personal stories told in the Alan Wake games and their focus on characters that will keep you interested across both titles.
A Plague Tale: Innocence / A Plague Tale: Requiem
Developer: Asobo StudioRelease Date: May 14, 2019 / October 18, 2022Platforms: PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PCGenre: Action-Adventure Stealth
Especially in recent years, games have gotten better at telling stories that build deep relationships between the player, the player character, and AI companions. At the center of A Plague Tale: Innocence is that kind of relationship. You play as Amicia as she tries to escape a deadly plague of rats and the French Inquisition with her five-year-old brother Hugo. Stealth is the main focus of the Plague Tale games, as is carefully manipulating a flow of hundreds of deadly rats to clear paths or overwhelm and kill enemies. The Plague Tale games nail a sense of disempowered helplessness, where everything around you is dangerous, but it’s the focus on the relationship between Amicia and Hugo that really makes the story compelling.
Dead Space
Developer: Visceral Games / Motive Studio (remake)Release Date: October 13, 2008 / January 27, 2023 (remake)Platforms: PlayStation 3, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox Series X|S, PCGenre: Survival Horror
As settings go, you can’t really get further away from The Last of Us than Dead Space, which takes place hundreds of years in the future and on a giant mining spaceship, as opposed to a ruined contemporary America. In terms of vibes, though, you get a lot of the same crap-your-pants panic as formerly human terrors haul ass out of the shadows, bent on ripping you apart. In Dead Space, these are necromorphs, twisted monsters that used to be the crew of the Ishimura, now reformed into little more than sharp bones and sharper teeth. They also can’t be killed by any normal means, instead requiring you to shear off their limbs using futuristic mining gear in order to render them immobile. The recent remake of Dead Space amps up the visuals and some of the storytelling of the original, while maintaining the atmosphere and intensity that has made Dead Space into a modern horror classic.
SOMA
Developer: Frictional GamesRelease Date: September 22, 2015Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PCGenre: Survival Horror
SOMA comes from developer Frictional Games, which had a major impact on horror gaming with Amnesia: The Dark Descent and its gameplay that forces players to run and hide from its monsters, rather than fight them. That same approach persists in SOMA, a sci-fi story set in a half-destroyed facility at the bottom of the ocean. Frictional does a phenomenal job creating an oppressive and haunting atmosphere in its apocalyptic setting, but you’ll be just as drawn to understanding the story taking place in SOMA and what’s happened to the survivors in the facility as to the game’s more horrific moments. SOMA’s story is its most exciting feature, delving deep into themes of life, death, personhood, and the self.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead
Developer: Telltale GamesRelease Date: April 24, 2012Platforms: PlayStation 3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOSGenre: Adventure
When it comes to serious zombie games with affecting stories, Telltale’s The Walking Dead set the standard. The episodic game is set in the universe of Robert Kirkman’s comic series of the same name but tells its own story about a man, Lee, and Clementine, a small girl he finds and cares for as the zombie apocalypse kicks off in full force. The relationship between Lee and Clementine is at the center of The Walking Dead’s story, and choices players make shapes who Clementine grows to become over the course of not just one game, but four total “seasons.” Emotional, tragic, frightening, and intense, The Walking Dead doesn’t have the gameplay complexity of The Last of Us but matches it in storytelling step for step.
Tom Clancy’s The Division / The Division 2
Developer: Massive EntertainmentRelease Date: March 8, 2016 / March 15, 2019Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PCGenre: Action RPG
If you want more of the type of third-person cover-shooting mechanics at the heart of The Last of Us, The Division games can provide. Massive’s live games are open-world RPGs as opposed to linear, story-driven games, but they share some mechanical similarities as you fight through ruined urban locations in the wake of a vicious pandemic that has destroyed much of the country. Instead of makeshift shivs and clubs, though, you’ll use all manner of firearms and a host of gadgets like drones in combat to fight various factions trying to take power in a fallen New York and Washington D.C.