How Many Chapters Are In The Last Of Us Game

The Last of Us game contains 12 chapters.

Embarking on the gripping journey of The Last of Us? Many players often wonder exactly how much narrative awaits them. Understanding how the game is structured helps you plan your playthrough. You may be curious about how many chapters are in the last of us game.

The game divides its emotionally charged story into a set number of segments. These segments create a clear path as you traverse the post-apocalyptic world. Each chapter presents new challenges and plot developments.

How Many Chapters Are in The Last of Us Game?

Okay, so you’re ready to dive into the world of The Last of Us, a truly amazing game with a super cool story. You’re probably wondering just how long this adventure is going to take, right? A big part of that question is: how many chapters are in the game? Well, let’s break it all down so you know exactly what you’re getting into.

The Original The Last of Us: A Chapter Breakdown

The original The Last of Us, the one that first blew our minds back in 2013, is actually divided into quite a few chapters. It’s not just one long, continuous level. Instead, the story is told through different parts of Joel and Ellie’s journey. These parts are called “chapters” and they are, in turn, often broken down into smaller sections.

How Many Main Chapters?

The main story of The Last of Us is made up of 12 main chapters. This means the game feels less like an endless quest and more like a carefully crafted story told in acts. Each chapter takes Joel and Ellie through different areas, and you’ll experience diverse environments and meet various characters. These chapters aren’t all equal in length, some will be short, others are longer depending on the story being told. This keeps the game interesting and moving at a good pace.

Prologue: This is like a sneak peek, setting up the world before the main story begins.
Hometown: Where we start our journey with Joel and his family.
The Quarantine Zone: Joel’s life in the walled city is introduced here.
The Outskirts: The adventure starts to get real!
Bill’s Town: Meet a new character, Bill, and experience some unique gameplay.
Pittsburgh: A very dangerous and intense chapter in a city overrun.
The Suburbs: Exploring more of the outside world.
Tommy’s Dam: A place of safety for Joel and Ellie for a bit.
The University: Another important milestone for our characters.
Lakeside Resort: A change of scenery with dangers lurking.
Bus Depot: Preparing for the final push of the journey.
The Firefly Lab: The intense finale of the main story.

Subsections Within Chapters

Now, within each of those 12 main chapters, you’ll find that they are divided into even smaller segments. These are not always explicitly shown as separate titles in the game’s menu, but they are very clear in gameplay. For example, when you are in “Pittsburgh” chapter, you don’t just go through one continuous area. You’ll find small sections within the chapter where the location or situation changes, keeping things fresh and the story is progressed within these sections. These sections also make it easier to follow the story and create natural stopping points.

These smaller subsections are important because they help to break up the longer chapters into more manageable parts. Each subsection provides its own goals and challenges, ensuring that the game doesn’t become too repetitive. This also allows for a more varied gameplay experience, with a mixture of stealth, action, and exploration.

The Last of Us: Left Behind – A Story on Its Own

It’s super important to know about Left Behind too! This is a single player expansion to The Last of Us and it offers an extra layer of the story. It’s like a really important flashback, showing us more about Ellie’s life before she met Joel. This extra content is not part of the main game’s chapters, it’s a separate story altogether.

How Many Chapters in Left Behind?

Left Behind has 5 main chapters that tell Ellie’s story in the past. These chapters are broken up to show us two timelines, one is when she is on her own after something has happened to Joel, and another one tells the story of Ellie and her friend Riley. It’s emotional, engaging, and gives a much deeper insight into what makes Ellie the person she is in the main game. Just like the original, these are also broken down further into small sections. Those sections are more like different parts of a single storyline.

Back in a Flash: Sets up the starting point of the DLC in relation to the original game.
So Close: A very important part of Ellie’s backstory.
Mall Rats: We get to know Ellie and Riley’s relationship.
Fun and Games: A section filled with more lighthearted scenes.
The Tunnels: When things begin to turn darker for Ellie and Riley.

Why ‘Left Behind’ is Important

Left Behind is not just extra content, it is incredibly important to the overall story. It helps you understand the relationship Ellie had with her best friend Riley, and also see where Ellie learned some of the skills that she will use in future. It gives a greater appreciation for her character and the choices she makes later on. It shows how Ellie was before the events of the main game, giving extra depth to her character. It also allows players to see a more youthful and carefree side to Ellie, which is a stark contrast to the main game.

The Last of Us Part II: Chapters and Structure

Now we get to The Last of Us Part II. This is the sequel and it has a bigger scope and more characters, and as such, it also has a different structure compared to the first game. It’s not just a simple continuation of what happens after Joel and Ellie’s adventure in first part. Part II tells two main stories and follows the characters Ellie and Abby as they go on their own journeys and the consequences of the actions of the events of the original game.

How Many Days and Chapters?

Unlike the first game which had main chapters, the second part is broken down by days. Part II has roughly 11 days, which can be grouped into two separate main stories. The first story follows Ellie in Seattle, and second story follows Abby in Seattle. Each day contains multiple smaller named chapter sections. The number of sections in each day varies and the story will switch between the two characters at various points. This can feel a little different than the first game, because each day can be considered a larger chapter with smaller sections inside of them.

Ellie’s Story Structure

Ellie’s journey is structured around her days in Seattle, broken up into multiple sections within those days. For example, Day 1 with Ellie has many smaller sections that guide you through the gameplay, and similarly Day 2, and Day 3 with their own unique gameplay sections. This way the story feels more like you are living in the moment with her. These sections have their own specific goals, which keeps things interesting and engaging. This gives you more time with Ellie and her story, making you really feel the emotional ups and downs.

Abby’s Story Structure

The other half of the story is about Abby, and her days in Seattle are also very similar to that of Ellie’s. Abby also has Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 in Seattle and they also contain their own unique sections. This structure allows you to experience the story from both perspectives and see why Abby made the choices she did in the game. This adds a complex layer to the story, making it more interesting and thought-provoking.

Why is Part II’s Structure Different?

The different structure of The Last of Us Part II is very important. The days help players to connect to the emotional state of the characters better, and gives a clearer picture of how they are feeling in the different moments. This style of storytelling is more focused on the characters and how the events change them over time, and makes the story much more impactful for the player. It’s not just about going from point A to point B. It is about the complete emotional journey that the characters are going through.

Chapter Length and Gameplay

Let’s be real: not all chapters are created equal. Some chapters in The Last of Us are super short, maybe lasting just 15-20 minutes. These are usually the chapters that focus on story advancement or character interactions. But then there are chapters that can take you over an hour, especially if you are playing on higher difficulties. These longer chapters have more complex environments, puzzles, and many enemies to take down.

Factors That Affect Chapter Length

Difficulty Level: The difficulty you choose can change the gameplay and how long it takes to get through a section. If you choose a hard difficulty the enemies are more challenging, meaning you may take longer to get through each section. On the other hand, on easier difficulty settings the enemies will not be as challenging and this can reduce the gameplay time.
Exploration: If you like to fully explore every nook and cranny, then you will find chapters will take you much longer to complete. If you are more focused on finishing the game you may just skip through some side sections, which can shorten the time it takes to complete the game.
Playstyle: How you play the game also matters, for example are you a stealthy player or do you like to go in all guns blazing? If you play the game with stealth, it may take longer to plan routes and take out the enemies without being spotted, whereas if you go in with all guns blazing you will clear enemies more quickly, but might find yourself failing more and having to replay sections.
Puzzles: Some chapters contain puzzles, and these can add to gameplay time. Depending on how quickly you can solve the puzzles, they will add extra time to your overall game time.

Average Playtime

The average player might take 15-20 hours to complete the original The Last of Us, and 25-30 hours to complete The Last of Us Part II. But remember, this is just an estimate, and this time will vary depending on the factors above. If you’re someone who likes to search every corner and listen to all the conversations, your playtime will be longer.

Replaying Chapters and New Game Plus

A cool thing about The Last of Us games is that you can replay any chapter you like. This is really useful if you missed something, want to try a different strategy, or just want to experience a section again. This feature is also fantastic if you are trying to collect all the collectibles in the game. The Last of Us Part II offers a New Game Plus, which allows you to start a new game with the upgrades you earned in a previous playthrough. This means that you have all the weapons, tools and skills to take into the game from your previous playthrough, which can be a different experience as you are much stronger from the beginning.

Replaying chapters is super helpful if you want to get better at the game. Maybe you had trouble with a certain section and want to try it again. Or perhaps you want to try out a different gameplay style. Either way, having the option to replay sections really adds extra replay value to the game.

So, there you have it! The chapter breakdown for both The Last of Us games. Hopefully, now you have a much clearer idea of how long each game will take to complete and how the stories are divided.

The Last Of Us Stages of infection development

Final Thoughts

The Last of Us game contains a specific number of chapters within its narrative. The game presents a linear story which divides into various sections. Players progress through these stages to complete the game.

So, how many chapters are in the last of us game? The original version of the title contains twelve chapters. It is an essential structure to know as you navigate the game.