The Last of Us is getting a tabletop adaptation, with The Last of Us: The Board Game announced today by developer CMON. This won’t be the first time that CMON has worked with Sony on tabletop versions of video games, as the company previously created God of War: The Card Game and Bloodborne: The Card Game.
While tabletop adaptations of video games may not usually get as much attention as their source material, the trend is nothing new. Along with Bloodborne and God of War, X-COM, Fallout, Portal, Dark Souls, and more have all been given the tabletop treatment. CMON certainly has a lot of experience translating video games into a format that makes sense for a board game, but it’s not the only board game publisher out there looking to create physical versions of beloved video games. The Witcher series has even been adapted into a tabletop role-playing game by R. Talsorian Games, the publisher of Cyberpunk 2020.
The Last of Us: The Board Game will mark the first time that a tabletop game has been set in the game’s world, according to CMON. In the game’s announcement, CMON praised The Last of Us for its ability to mix thrilling action with an emotional story, something that the publisher will presumably try to emulate in translating the game into a physical format. Aside from the news that The Last of Us: The Board Game is in the works, the announcement was light on details. So far, there’s no word on how the game will play or when it will be released.
News of The Last of Us: The Board Game came the day before what developer Naughty Dog has dubbed “The Last of Us Day,” which it says is meant to celebrate the community that’s sprung up around the game since its release. Today also saw the announcement of new Joel and Ellie figurines, a free PlayStation 4 theme, and a cosplay guide for The Last of Us Part II character Abby. Naughty Dog says it has more in store for tomorrow, which could potential mean the announcement of DLC or the previously announced multiplayer mode for The Last of Us Part II.
Capturing The Last of Us’ tense atmosphere and heart-wrenching story in board game form may prove to be a difficult task, especially since the game naturally won’t benefit from things like the video game’s stellar voice acting work to help bring its world to life. Still, The Last of Us: The Board Game could be worth keeping an eye on for fans of the series and fans of tabletop games alike.
Source: CMON