Highlights
- A Last of Us speedruner set a new Grounded mode record at under 3 hours.
- Twitch streamer Anthony Caliber accomplished the incredible feat.
- Caliber's impressive gameplay techniques save crucial time.
A notable Last of Us speedrunner manages to beat an incredibly challenging world record while playing on Grounded mode, the hardest difficulty in the game. This impressive feat goes to show just how dedicated the speedrunning community truly is, even when it comes to rushing through linear, narrative-driven titles like The Last of Us.
Ever since the first game's release in 2013, fans of The Last of Us franchise have been finding new ways to crack the codes of Naughty Dog's acclaimed titles by completing them as fast as possible. In October 2022, for instance, one highly-skilled gamer showed off an astounding speedrun through The Last of Us 2's "The Seraphites" level, which includes one of the toughest stretches of gameplay in the entire series. To make matters even more impressive, that particular speedrun was completed in Grounded mode. For the uninitiated, this difficulty level essentially turns The Last of Us 2 from a decently challenging action-adventure game into a ruthless survival-horror experience by removing helpful gameplay elements, adding more challenging enemies, and reducing vital resources. As impressive as that feat from 2022 may have been, though, a recent The Last of Us speedrun might just take the cake as one of the most remarkable records in gaming history.
The Last of Us Deserves a Breather That Only Naughty Dog Can Give It
Naughty Dog's The Last of Us series remains popular, but that doesn't mean the franchise should forfeit a chance at a breather.
The well-known Twitch streamer, Anthony Caliber, just completed the entirety of the original The Last of Us by surviving through Grounded mode in less than 3 hours. He successfully beat the previous world record on this difficulty level by finishing the game in exactly 2:47:55. This speedrun of his took about 3 minutes less than his previous attempt, which emphasizes just how much time Caliber managed to shave off a record that he initially thought was "impossible" to beat. In fact, in a recent post on his Twitter account, the Twitch streamer even went so far as to call his latest effort "one of the best speedruns of [his] career." Though this may be a bold statement to some, it may very well be accurate, considering the challenges Caliber had to face to achieve this record of his.
During the speedrun's livestream, Caliber showed that he was able to save time in the game by grabbing loot as late as possible when running and refusing to carry a flamethrower, among other things. His playthrough was going smoothly up until the very end, however, when Caliber was close to almost dying in the hospital section of the game and ruining his entire speedrun. Fortunately, though, this didn't happen, and the popular Twitch streamer was successfully able to beat his previous world record in time before it was too late.
The Last of Us Speedrunners Continue to Break Impressive World Records
No matter how insanely difficult it may be, it appears the speedrunning community will always find a way to beat seemingly unbreakable gaming world records until it isn't humanly possible anymore. The fact that Anthony Caliber managed to accomplish such a wildly challenging speedrun of a game like The Last of Us is perhaps the perfect example of this.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is a 2013 game set in post-apocalyptic America. Players will take up the role of Joel, a smuggler, as he attempts to help a teenage girl named Ellie across the country. The two must avoid mutated cannibals and other dangers in their adventure.
