Prior to The Last of Us hitting the market, zombie video games have been around since nearly as long as the medium has existed.

In the 2000s, it hit heavy saturation when games such as Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead, and even the zombies part of Call of Duty were at their peak.

When The Last of Us was announced for 2013, it was fair to assume that it was also following what had been a popular trend for nearly a decade at that point.

This isn’t the case according to series creator Neil Druckmann, who noted the developer had aimed to avoid the common tropes found in this subgenre.

“We wanted to do the opposite of Resident Evil” He says (via an interview with The Hollywood Reporter), “which I love, but it’s so over-the-top and you’re fighting giant spiders and it’s all about enemy variety.

“What if it’s about intimate relationships — an exploration of the unconditional love a parent feels for their child and the beautiful things that could come out of that and the really horrible things that could come out of that?”

It seemed this mindset birthed The Last of Us’s focus on main characters Joel’s and Elle’s relationship. Considering that the franchise has now amassed over 37 million sales, it seems the idea has worked.

Meanwhile, The Last of Us HBO series will be airing on January 15th, 2023.