The Last of Us is now a board game
Joel and Ellie's first adventure has come to the tabletop
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: The Last of Us hits tabletops
😮 A board game adaptation of The Last of Us is coming
👨👩👦👦 The Last of Us: Escape the Dark is a co-operative game for one to five players
🏃♀️ You’ll take on the roles of familiar characters from the video games, and try to make your way across ruined America
📅 It’ll be hitting Kickstarter next week
The Last of Us is receiving the board game treatment, as Naughty Dog has announced a tabletop adaptation of its blockbuster franchise.
The Last of Us: Escape the Dark is a co-operative board game in which one to five players take on the roles of Ellie, Joel, Tess, Bill, Tommy or Marlene to journey across the post-apocalyptic US. You’ll be working together to resolve ‘chapter cards’ based on familiar locations from the video game, combining items in your inventory, and rolling dice to overcome Infected and rival survivors.
You’ll have access to a crafting system and weapon upgrade mechanics, too, adding a layer of strategy to the game. Plus, you’ll have options to either stealthily avoid scenarios or go in guns blazing, just like in the original video game.
The board game also looks to be staying true to The Last of Us’ emphasis on narrative, focusing on the development of your character. Each survivor starts the game with a ‘Hang-up’ that describes their journey of personal growth which, once complete, will unlock new abilities.
Produced in partnership with Themeborne, The Last of Us: Escape the Dark looks heavily based on that publisher’s previous games – Escape the Dark Castle and Escape the Dark Sector. In those, each player took on a predefined character before co-operatively overcoming traps and challenges across a series of randomly selected chapters. There’s no turn order, rather players simultaneously perform their actions together.
Both Dark Castle and Dark Sector are much-loved for their streamlined rules, replayability and striking monochrome art. And even if you’re not usually the kind of person who plays board games, don’t worry. These aren’t the kind of games that require you to spend hours poring over a rulebook.
The Last of Us: Escape the dark will go live on Kickstarter on November 8, so expect it to hit shelves (or your post box) sometime next year. A collector’s edition will also be available and we expect a few pre-release expansion packs will be up for grabs too. As with most tabletop Kickstarter campaigns, though, don’t expect the base game or its expansions to come cheap.
It’s all popping off in the world of The Last of Us. HBO just accidentally leaked the release date of the upcoming The Last of Us TV show. Between that and the excellent The Last of Us Part 1 PS5 remake that recently launched, series fans will have plenty to enjoy.