The Last of Us: Escape the Dark - Discussion
/pic8699244.png)
Transcript
Some viewers may find the following video disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. Hey everyone, welcome back to Board Games Unlike the Brian and I are doing a discussion over The Last of Us Escape the Dark. Um Brian, I'm going to go ahead and let you take it over from here because now here's the thing. Um, this is a million%, I think, geared towards Last of Us super fans. Uh, which I am not. That is not to say I don't. I've only ever played the the first game, and the first game is great. Um, but Brad's favorite game of all time, probably forever, is The Last of Us. Uh, so what what do you think of the board game, Brad? I think the board game was fine. I what I did find um is well no like I think I think playing it solo is is is the best way to do it cuz you have to play with at least two characters. Okay. Um you have to if you're playing solo you would just die immediately if you were playing solo.
And I'm not sure one of the things I'm not sure about like if you played with let's say four characters. Oh god. Well no I'm not. I'm I'm thinking I'm just trying to decide like I think it would be almost too easy. Yeah, because I mean it does add it. I guess it multiplies how many dice. You just have a million dice to trudge through. Uh all right, so I don't think this game is bad by any means. This game is kind of for me the most whatever game. Uh because yeah, you you have moments of the the the video game. Um mainly the the giraffe is the one I specifically remember and then it's just kind of like ah here's dice and you match symbols. I I pretty much felt so nothing during this that I don't see why you would ever want to replay it, you know, like you the all the cards that you at every location is virtually beat for beat the exact same. Um and there are there are multiple cards that we didn't use that were each location to change it up to. I mean, from the downtown to the sewers to the university, they were all pretty much, uh, you can't listen or sneak.
Here's more dice. None of them really changed combat. And I mean, the boss that we happen to fight, the infected swarm, was just the rinse and repeat of the exact same, except there were three waves. But whenever you can go in with guns blazing and just mow them all down, it's like, all right, I guess that was that. I I just I I don't know. I I the art is amazing. Like the art's really good. Just the gameplay. I didn't feel The Last of Us at all. I I did a little more, but um they this is just an iteration of their whole Escape the Dark Sector. Yeah. Uh Escape the Dark Castle um uh games and they got this IP and put it out. That's why the art all the art looks like that and all that stuff and it's all that how black and white and grays.
Um and uh so I think it kind of follows a lot of the similar vibes of that game. I haven't played those, but from the way I've what I've seen and looked at it, it kind of has kind of a little bit of a similar deal. I know it's not exact. Almost kind of like a choose your own adventure. I It again I have played the Dark Tower one. It has been so long though since I have I want to say it was almost a it was almost a a deck of oh event like pretty much events which is kind of what you do here except it's at different locations. Uh and you it's roller resolve. So, it's definitely not a game geared towards me because I don't want to just sit here and roll dice and oh, what' I get and waste an hour. Um, not that it again cuz like I what's what's worse like a painfully boring game or a inherently bad badly designed game? And my my stance on that is always kind of like a boring game kind of like watching a boring movie. It's like this I I'm feeling nothing. At least with a bad game or a bad movie, you can make fun of it and you can have a good time with the horrend horrendousness of that.
This one I was just so Yeah, we'll go here. We'll go here. We'll stick together. I don't see any reason to split up cuz the one time we did, it's like, oh, we're going to lose, right? You're over there and Ellie's in the sewers about to die because it's a child in the sewers of this horrible world. Yeah, that couldn't roll a dieice. That couldn't roll a die. Yeah. I mean, I the the the single die for every person is like pretty much just changes your odds. Mhm. Um I did like the special ability part. I kind I like that everyone chooses and everybody has their own layout. Yeah. Virtually the same though. I'd imagine with the take the lead and draw blind, but then there's like one that's different. Yeah.
From everyone probably. I mean, I haven't really looked at this. Take the lead, draw blind, sneak, draw blind, take the line, listen. This one's fight alone, draw blind, take the lead. So, take the lead and draw blind or everybody. Bill and Joel are the same. And cuz you have all those all those characters, but they're virtually the exact same, right? And I don't know who's running to The Last of Us to go play Bill. Yo, Bill's my favorite character. The guy who was in like one scene in the in the game, right? Is that the guy in the garage segment when you go to his little town and stuff? But yeah, but I mean in terms of gameplay, you you go to a location, you flip a card, read it. It might be a combat, it might not. If it is a combat, it's just a multiplicative amount of dice that you roll a dieice to. Oh, I got a fist. Remove a fist die. Oh, I got a crit. I get to choose and remove it.
And oh, I got a I got a fist and a shield. That means I'm not taking retalatory damage. And I mean, you get a gun. Then you get a good gun, I should say. Not the starting guns. Those suck. Then I mean you just that assault rifle whenever we went to the university and that was like the intel we got. It's like okay well yeah time to mow down like there was a few times cuz I rolled it probably what six times something like that. One time I rolled all hits and then a couple times I rolled all misses. Yeah. So it's like you know of course that's a a 9-year-old shooting at us and I'm over here taking damage from it. It said Zombie Side Rules. He just unloaded into me. I was like, "Ah, god damn it."
But how much was this? Uh, the regular version, retail version is like 80 bucks MSRP. So, I mean, you know, bumping up the price for that IP. The collector's edition. This one I think I spent like 120. You know, I mean, componentwise, everything's nice. The board's nice. The art is really good, like I said. I mean, the art is, and honestly, in my opinion, the the best thing about the game. Car quality is good. Uh, dice are dice are good. So, I mean that there's nothing really cheap about it in terms of like components. Man, I would find it hard to be like this is a $120 game in terms of gameplay. Like 80s pushing it, but it's like what we get in terms of gameplay. It's like this feels like it's like a $50 game, but they're like, "Well, it's The Last of Us, so got to jack up that price." I like I I I feel decent on the purchase cuz I'm going to play it quite a bit. Are you?
Yes. Well, because like just like yesterday when I was learning the thing and we were I was going through the deal, you know? It's just like, you know, get set the mood, play Yeah. play your music, roll through it. I mean, it's it's a quick game, especially when you're playing a solo double, you know, you just if you know what you're doing, you just go through and turns are quick because you're just rolling. That's all you're doing. Read the story and go. I mean, it's it's it's not a brain burning game whatsoever, and you don't need to go into it expecting that. Yeah. But like I would say if this did not have this is why I don't think I'll get the other games and stuff like the theme is why, right? Because like little like how you started off the Last of Us series is is my favorite. So like that alone is what gets me to enjoy this game because it puts me back in that world even if it's abstractly, you know, a little bit and stuff. And the entire time you're playing this, you're like, "Oh, if only I could play something better, like the video game, like the clearly superior video game, but instead I'll play watered down pasted on theme like this, cuz come on. This is clearly based on."
Well, I don't know what the other games are like though, like cuz if it if it was just a matter of if it had the same layout and you were just different location. I know it's definitely not the same layout, right? So, I mean, this has a little bit of the theme where you have the threat and you have the campsites and you have stash, you know, where you're getting items. Um, these are thematic to where they're at. Even though they aren't necessarily a whole lot different, that the theme of the story is different cuz the sewers, everything was in the sewers and it's brings in parts of the game where when you're in that sewers, there's when those skitterers are going around and stuff. And just like that one card when you I caught the one with the flashlight, you know, and you could, you know, there's there's different parts that it does bring into it. And yeah, like it's not identical by any means to the game, but there's enough callbacks to the game in this, you know, just like just like this. If you don't if you did not watch or play The Last of Us, like you get this switchblade. It's just switchblade.
Right. I get the switchblade and it I just automatically think of all the whole story of everything to do with that switchblade with Ellie, you know? So, it's like that's the kind of stuff I can pull out when I'm playing this game, you know? Yeah. Just like when we were picking weapons at the beginning, Joel uses the revolver. So, you got the revol, you know, and stuff like that. It's just stuff that like that that kind of Yeah. I guess that's just the major difference between like like you and I and then also just me and a lot of people IP games. It's like it has to be so radically different that why would I ever choose to play the board game over the better version of a video game inherently. That's why Slay of the Spire was such a great game to me because I'm like, "Oh, it's now Slay of Spire, which is great, but co-op and now that completely kind of changes the whole dynamic, right?"
Uh, with but it's with games like this. I mean, because Slay of Spire is a video game as a deck builder, but whenever it's Bloodborne, the board game, I was like, "Oh, you know, this is kind of interesting." And then as I kept playing, I was like, "Oh, this is worse. I think I'd rather just play the video game." and like coming to this and seeing ah yes, this is the, you know, a switchblade item and Ellie has that. Oh man, if only I could just go play that scene again. It's it's just so so strange to me. And speaking of the threat, that's so that's that track is so stupid. That's something I actually inherently dislike because to progress from location to location, it can't be blocked. And pretty much you do a some you do a spot and then it's like oh remove a threat and then you remove a threat and you're like cool now we can move. Nope. You can only move at the beginning of the next day. So new day and put that threat back. So every location you're just kind of it's like a tugof-war for like pretty much the beginning of the game. So you're you're getting things undone. So you're not really progressing until you really get past 10 rounds and then it's like okay well now we can just kind of make it. I never felt any pressure from us. Well, and we could have cuz we would have early in the game if we would have used that campsite.
Yeah. You know, because we went through it. We were fortunate with a lot of our roles and how things worked out, not getting the events. We we did, you know, getting that stuff cuz we never had an event pop off. We always have to find them cuz that changes. Yeah. And then um and I I did get close to lo we did get close to losing the game because of my stupid ass and my not almost dying in the sewers. But sure if we would have done that or whenever we searched if we would have done the lose a day. Yeah. I mean we were only a few away you know if we would have done that a couple times. Yeah. There's that threat. We managed to not do that. Plus, um, you know, just just the the Yeah, the events are all like I mean, most I mean, trip wires is you just lose health. But, uh, the the other two that we bypassed by gaining intel was lose a day, add a boss token, and then these boss tokens would probably I mean, I know we had a deal, but this would have really could have really sucked. I like that those are different. I like that they're not just, oh, add extra dice, but some of them are are um some of that could have sucked down the deal. I will say if this game intrigues you at all, I mean, you you can't buy the collector's edition on their website. You have to find it secondhand. Um the retail edition though, like these tokens with the X's and exclamation points, that's
what goes there instead of minis. So that takes away visually quite a bit honestly. I mean I mean you know just having the tokens. Plus you also um don't have your character minis. You have these tokens and they're on the white side when you take your action and you turn it over and stuff. So, I mean, if if this is a game you want to try out um for the extra I mean, if if you're going to spend $80, you might as well try to find one for a little bit more and hope someone's not scalping the price. Oh, that most of it is. I found a guy that wasn't scalping. He he pretty much to me a cost. Yeah. Which is which is great because that's how it should be, but people are like going to charge up because you can't find it except secondhand. I actually got this for cheaper than 120. Oh, really? Yes. Cuz I robbed the No, because the guy I was going to buy it from had it in shrink for 120. Okay. But I bought this one. It was once played and I got it for 90.
Okay. Forget from the guy. That's right. Cuz I 90 with the minis and all that is definitely more palatable. Uh, I just what I like it's so weird because like I just said I I much I want the games to be radically different if it's I don't want like you know a physical version of the video game you know. Mhm. And that that is this this is not it is different. Um but for this is like the one instance where it's like you know I think I would have rather had a zombie side game but Last of Us theme. Yeah. Uh, it's not a campaign, which is nice. Like, I was expecting it to be. You just do the story of the the game.
I think the game is lost in translation with all this was I don't even know if you remember this, but if you BGG, The Last of Us. There was Seimon announced a Last of Us game about four years ago. Oh, really? Saying, you know, coming soon. It hasn't been talked about since. So, I don't know if it was in the works. $2 million or something. I don't know if it's in the works or if it's something that just got played, but it's still on on uh Oh, you're right. And that really excited me, but then I just kind of disappeared. So, I almost wondered if they were going to go the zombie side route, but there really wasn't no info and I nothing else has really been said about it. Yeah, cuz there Yeah, there's two things that pull up. There's The Last of Us, which is by Seamont, and then Escape the Dark, which is um theme. You know, people say it's bested too. Yeah. So, I'm just like I'm curious. Best of two because you have to control two characters anyway. So, I'm curious like if Sean will ever come out with with that, you know, like if if any company was to make a Last of Us board game, I think Sean would do it better justice than than this.
Uh I it's like it's so obvious I'm not the target demographic. Uh, but I would enjoy a Last of Us board game if it was, you know, fun. Like I I didn't have I didn't not I didn't not have fun. Um, but it felt like every single location you're just going through the motions, which maybe Yeah, that makes it better solo cuz you're just not having to really interact with anyone or anything and you just sit there and roll dice in the dark for an hour. Well, cuz your setup is like one weird lamp that you just sit in the dark with the lamp on. Pretty close. Pretty close. That's in your underwear. It's a shop. It's a shop light over my table. And that's that's about sweaty. Not bad. But honey, I'm playing Last of Us. It's like uh all the cards are worn. Just have that visual now. Um, I really don't have much else to say, honestly.
Uh, do you have anything anything else for it? I don't think so. I mean, it's it's what I expected it to be. Okay. I mean, I guess that's the thing like cuz I when this was a Kickstarter campaign, I thought about backing it, but then I was like I wasn't sure about the art necessarily. I was kind of like hesitant on it and I cuz I hadn't heard much about the other games in their their library. So, I kind of waited on it and then I regretted it and I now I'm rolling super well. Every time I rolled it was it was either a hit or a Oh, there's my double miss. So, yeah. I mean, I like the crafting. The crafting is nice. It's simple. It's not like stupid like folklore where it's this most convoluted. You're able to craft pretty readily. Um, it wasn't overly I mean, I wouldn't even say it was difficult at all. Uh, but it wasn't like stupidly brutal. The only thing mechanically again that I did not like was, "Oh, let's do an event.
Cool. We remove a threat. Oh, nope. Now put it back. Do it again." And then by that point, there's like one card left, so you're just might as well clear it out. And you're incentivized to clear it out, which is nice cuz it'll never go back. And you get a bunch of stuff for doing so, which allows you to heal and allows you to I don't have the card, but basically gives you items unless you heal and but they're again the same. Every location isn't really different on clearing, but it is nice that you get something versus just constantly being brutally beat down and maybe you'll draw a granola bar and like, "Oh, thank I get one health back. I'm down. I'm from four to five. Maybe I'll make it." Uh, I think I sat at like 13 for a pretty good amount. I went down to three and then bolstered myself back up with rest. But you also pushed it. You could have just left and then I could show up and then we beat it. Yeah, it's fine. So, on a scale of 1 to 10, what do you give in The Last of Us? Um, giving what I said earlier about it being what I expected it to be.
Um, the theme pushes it quite a bit and then being it we're a game I'm probably just going to play by myself most of the time unless Amy decides she wants to do it cuz she loves that the TV series Last of Us. She actually said she would play this, which is surprising since it's co-op. It is co-op. Did you tell her that? Yeah. I told her I was like, "And so I was like I had this game cuz she saw it and I was like, it's co-op, but does what the theme push you into still playing as a co-op?" She goes, "Yeah." So, I'm going to I'm going to give a seven. Okay. I'm not going to go way crazy on it because it's not it's not the greatest game ever, but it puts me back in that universe enough that it's that is a respectable fan score. I thought you were going to if you said nine something I was going to throw up. No, no, no, no, no. This This is a seven game, which is is good. I think that's what it's saying on BG. If if you do not like The Last of Us or don't know anything about The Last of Us, it's probably going to be it'd be like a five. That's where I'm at. But if you like The Last of Us, that pushes it up those couple points to me and pushes it to that seven. No, I mean, well, kind of. I'm I mean, I'm at a five and and I do like The Last of Us. It has been many, many years since I played the first game. Uh, but the video game was great from what I remember. But yeah, this one I'm just like I maybe it's cuz I haven't played it in so long, the the video game. And
I'm just like, uh, like, yeah, I guess it has some references. So, but gameplay-wise, I'm like, I I guess it made me want to try the video game again. Yeah. You know what? I should go and play part one and part two. Yeah. Yeah. This is as as average as as they come. But luckily, I didn't have to pay for it cuz if I had to pay for it, it would be probably less. Yeah. And but yeah, I guess if you are a fan of the the show or the the v the video games, it might bump it up a few points, but I think a seven for like a fan base kind of score is respectable. Uh yeah, and that's pretty much it. That's our thoughts on The Last of Us Escape the Dark. Let us know what you think of the game in the comments below. Other than that, like comment, share, and subscribe and have a wonderful whatever time of day it is for you. Hey everyone, thank you for watching and I really hope that you enjoyed the video. If you would like to see more of my content, go ahead and click that subscribe button and the bell to be notified whenever I upload any new content. If you feel like supporting the channel, you can go ahead and click that Patreon link to be taken to my Patreon.
And any help is truly appreciated. Other than that, stick around for any any other runthroughs or reviews or cool top 10s or whatever I feel like putting on. Other than that, like, comment, share, and subscribe, and have a wonderful whatever time of day it is for you.