CES 2025 is home to many world-first experiences, but while the show is still in its early days, I think I’ve already tried my favorite: a The Last of Us interactive exhibit. It drops you into the world of the game and shows in a new, more immersive way – because the creators weren't content to merely give us a release month for season 2 of the show.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t capture any footage of the experience or take any pictures, so you’ll have to make do with my written description based on what I remember.
I entered with three other players, and we were split into pairs. One of us (me in my demo) was armed with a virtual shotgun – which took the form of a 3D printed plastic tube with motion-capture dots on the tip – while the other carried a similar prototype-level quality flashlight that could illuminate the dark spaces the infected would emerge from.
Before entering, an actor playing a member of the Fireflies (I think) greeted us to explain we were exploring former subway tunnels so we could connect with some of his comrades elsewhere in Seattle. Another Firefly had been sent to scout them out before us and never returned… bodes well for us, doesn’t it.
The space itself was a 270-degree panorama featuring real prop barricades in front of wall displays, showing us a virtual recreation of the Seattle subway tunnels. After a brief encounter with a virtual Clicker – which got a little too close for comfort – and a massive disturbance caused by Ellie and, I think, Dina (it was quite a quick sequence, so I didn’t get a good look at her, nor was her name said) involving a suspended train collapsing loudly to the floor, a steady flow of infected appeared to investigate the commotion.
We did our best to fend them off by working in pairs to spot and shoot the monsters, but after a couple of minutes, an unending army rushed us, and the demo was over.
Even though it was short and very much at the in-development stage – with a few bugs in terms of tracking the weapons – it was a super awesome experience. I loved the blending of real and virtual elements to create an immersive interactive story that felt like you were thrust into the game world.
By far, the best bit was the fantastic in-floor haptics that made the ground rumble at appropriate times – such as the aforementioned train collapse – and added to the immersion beyond the more standard elements like the displays, props, and surround sound.
It’s available for other CES attendees to demo if you happen to be at the event in Las Vegas. Alternatively you’ll have to wait and see if this experience launches as a more widely available interactive exhibit in the future.
While the Sony team were careful not to say too much, there was a strong sense that this demo was intended to be the first step in creating a more fully realized experience at some point in the future – whenever and wherever that may be – with staff asking us for feedback afterward. Hence, they want to know what worked and what needed to be improved. So keep your eyes peeled for a The Last of Us interactive experience at some point down the line.
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