There's a The Last of Us rip-off on Nintendo eShop, so of course I played it
Mushroom for improvement.
Last year, we saw a God of War rip-off turn up on Xbox. Now, we have another PlayStation rip-off turning up on another console. In this case, it is Naughty Dog's The Last of Us on Nintendo Switch.
Yes, that's right. If you head over to the eShop right now, you can get your hands on The Last Hope - Dead Zone Survival, an "intense storyline game set in an apocalyptic world overrun by hordes of ravenous zombies". Launched on 30th June, it normally costs £8.99 but is currently on sale for just 99p.
Having played The Last Hope myself, I would advise saving your pennies for something more worthwhile. Toothpicks, perhaps. You can see a trailer for The Last Hope below (and if you were still interested in playing the game afterwards, please note there are spoilers for The Last Hope below).
The Last Hope begins with a strummed melodic beat clearly inspired by Gustavo Santaolalla's main theme from The Last of Us (you can have a listen in the next video, below).
Once you actually start playing, the The Last of Us similarities keep on coming.
While The Last Hope does take a wild step away from Naughty Dog's story by introducing a time machine, its main core remains pretty much the same. There is a zombie outbreak, the world has been "plunged into an abyss of unprecedented calamity" and a father/daughter escort mission seems to be the main crux of the narrative.
You play as Brian Lee, a man sent to the future to continue a "governmental investigation" into the zombie outbreak. After making your way out of a hospital ward you wake up in (by wielding a baseball bat at any zombies that block your path, or just running past them, which seemed more effective), you then find yourself on the streets and in need of supplies.
Here's where things get more familiar. When searching the library, you will come across a young girl cowering in the corner, who is unmistakably "Ellie". She has the same hair, T-shirt, shoes, you name it.
In The Last Hope, however, she is called Eva (or Eve, the game can't seem to make up its mind).
Anyway, Eva/Eve assures Brian she is not infected, but needs medication, so you head off to a pharmacy. She is comforted you are with her, and she trusts you. After all, you saved her once from her cowering position at the back of the library.
Then, when you get to the pharmacy after a lot more crouching and cowering from Eve/Eva (no, she does not run through your line of sight), you chat a bit and - what?! She's only the daughter that you hadn't met yet because of all that time travel stuff!
Eva/Eve was with her mother, presumably your partner, who died on her way to "a safe facility for survivors in the sea". The virus can't cross the water, or something.
I stopped playing after this point. Never before have I found the "we have the Last of Us at home" meme more appropriate and disappointing.
Eurogamer has contacted Sony, as well as The Last Hope's developer and publisher, for comment.