Starting from the seventh generation of consoles Naughty Dog have cemented their place as the most reliable developers in the industry, with their Uncharted series being one of the most critically acclaimed trilogies to be released it was basically a given that The Last of Us would be a major success as well and the end result supports that view as this game delivers exactly what was promised. Naughty Dog had revealed that this was "a love story between a father-daughter like relationship", for most of the people who will play this, the game play will probably take a back seat. It's not because it's not fun to play which it absolutely is, it's just that the characters are just so intriguing it's impossible not to wait for the next cutscene and see what happens next.
The main character controlled is the protagonist Joel, however, at the beginning of the game you control his daughter and midway through Ellie will also be playable. On the face of it The Last of Us has a pretty generic storyline. Normal lives are changed when a global pandemic breaks out leading to nation wide panic where Joel and his daughter live. After a personal tragedy, 20 years later in a world filled with Infected and humans fighting against each other, Joel and his partner Tessa stumble upon Ellie who is mysteriously immune to the virus and take responsibility of her at least until they get to the fireflies, a group of rebels who are against the government. As said before the story is pretty cliche as there have been several similar plots seen in movies, however the main standout for the game is how its characters shine. It is the character of Joel who is subject to this the most, it is really engrossing the way he changes from a helpless person to a harsh individual to a more soft personality. The one to drive this growth in him is Ellie, the "father-daughter type relationship" is in full display throughout the game and it cannot be said enough times how extremely wonderful the chemistry between the characters is. The interesting part is that the reason that you get to like the characters isn't because they are kind or nice people, it's almost the exact opposite. Joel can't be called a hero considering for the most part he is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way but there is justification for those actions as killing in this world just isn't a big deal anymore, basically it's survival of the fittest. The Last of Us features such complex characters and even more unfortunate scenarios where they are faced with near-impossible choices that there can be many theories as to whether a person can be termed as good or bad.
Players won't have it easy like Uncharted, here the control over the character is much more realistic giving a feel how it would be like to fend off enemies in a post apocalyptic world. It is up to you how you would like to deal with a situation, whether go with all guns blazing which carries the risk of being overwhelmed by the hordes of Infected or go with the stealthier option which takes more time and the risk of being detected. This is a wonderful situation as far as game play is concerned because the player can go forward as he wishes, whether your decision was right or wrong you gain experience how to deal with your enemies the next time you come across them. There are a range of guns available, however the simpler ones don't carry enough punch though they have more ammo, so it is better to stick with the longer guns which have more power at least when facing the Infected. Guns will only get you so far though, bombs and molotovs are valuable allies as well and will help you in circumstances when you're surrounded by a bunch of enemies.
Hand to hand combat is necessary, for an old guy Joel is a pretty good fighter but when dealing with numerous foes you'll need your melee weapons which could be anything from wooden planks to lead pipes. The player collects parts to modify the weapon arsenal to make them stronger, the environment is filled with all these materials so you'll need to constantly look around for them. The player must craft items quickly and at a carefully chosen time, due to the action not pausing while crafting takes place, and enemies potentially taking advantage of Joel being occupied. Usually players are motivated to simply shoot around to fight opponents so an incentive is added to give the stealth option more flavor, this is the hearing ability which gives the player a kind of x-ray vision look around of the area to see whether an enemy maybe lurking around a corner. The higher kinds of infected are blind, however when provoked they proved to be deadly even having a one hit kill ability, the stealth technique is the best way to kill these enemies. To increase the sense of realism in game play, Ellie and Joel have their different styles, Ellie cannot fight too well and one on one combat isn't a good idea there. You will feel the connection growing between the protagonists in smaller moments such as when Joel is required to find a raft for Ellie to get on, and for him to push her forward, as she can't swim.
Graphics in the Last of Us are beautiful enough to keep the player captivated in it. Rather than the cut scenes, the in game environments are well made. The game is set in one year and chapters in to seasons which have their own theme and the characters' clothing style also changes with them. The winter theme especially exploits the cold weather in the game and the storyline could be classified as part of the horror genre, that's mainly made believable due to the excellent voice acting done for the characters. The intensity with which Ellie and Joel are voiced just makes you feel the raw sadness that they are experiencing. Another character David is executed perfectly, he provides a good example how the world works in The Last of Us as you see how mankind have turned during this time. The sudden burst of music or the immediate silence around you during game play may make you jump once or twice or if you want to shed a tear just play through the more painful moments of the game.
Multiplayer is available for those who won't be satisfied with must going through the story, even in online the infected plot is incorporated and you get to choose which side you want, you complete tasks and the out come depends on whether you were successful or not. There is the standard deathmatch along with the elimination match type. The campaign game play elements are available here as well although you are given limited resources. Although online feels a step lower than the campaign, lacking in charm and occasionally feels relatively dull. It isn't as good as the Uncharted multiplayer but to each their own and this could be enjoyable to some.
Rarely does a storyline drive a player to complete a game than the actual game play itself but The Last of Us does just that. Playing through the story again may not be as rewarding another time round as the first time drains you of your emotion so much that the experience is one you would treasure but the choice in game play is diverse enough for you to try again. If that doesn't compel you to play further there's always the multiplayer to engage yourself in. Needless to say your money will be well spent in buying this game, The Last of Us proves that even video games can make you feel as much as any film or book could as long as you have a compelling story but more importantly if it has wonderful characters to keep you enthralled.
"The Game Music Foundation are today very proud and pleased to announce an additional concert, circling back to the roots of Game Muisic Festival in Poland. On April 28th, 2024, the National Forum of Music in Wroclaw will once again become a place to celebrate the art of video game music, featuring scores from The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II." - The Game Music Foundation.
Najam from eXputer writes "It's time fore a new installment in the series, not another pointless remaster."
They are working on something new. Not to be rude but it is impossibility stupid to think ND next major announcement is going to be a remaster or their next Last of Us entry is going to be another remaster.
I think this is in response to them releasing a remaster for the sequel, a game that didn't need a remaster.
Basically a "why did you put out a remaster no one asked for when you have all there options available"
They remaster is to put out something quick while they are deving new stuff. I don't get how people can be so static.
That was a Remake. I guess they could do that to 2, but man…. They should wait a couple generations so it can look like a major upgrade.
Naughty Dog released The Last of Us Part 2 over 3 years ago, and since then, the only good thing we have received is a TV series.
not complaing tbh, i love the last of us but for me the story is done, i dont need more it. they couldve left it at 1 and i wouldve been happy with it.
i have no interest in playing as abby what so ever or anyone else not named joel or ellie for that matter.
give us a new IP naughty dog, its bloody time, insomniac has snatched your throne as sonys best studio, remind us again how talented you are!!
I'm with you on that. People might not have noticed yet, but Naughty Dog has worked on basically only Uncharted and The Last of Us for almost two decades now. It's pretty much 3/4 of their entire history under Sony, dedicated to those two franchises.
This series should have been put to rest since the first one.. tlou2 was absolutely not needed because the first one was perfect.
Now i how ND wake up and give us something to be excited for
Honestly even if Joel was was still in it, I'm still fine with just not having another game period. Like even after the first game, I was fine with the option of just leaving things as they were, and I feel the same about TLOU2. yeah they're great games but the story would be fine left as it is imo, just takes if a messed up situation in a messed up world
insomniac is only big because they are working on Spider Man. Give that ip to any good studio and they will succeed. So i don't feel that is fair to say for that reason. i would like a part 3 with ellie only, where she is old 40 years old or more and end the story there somehow but there were some rumors of multiple playable characters which makes me not so interested. A new ip is a hard sell, i trust them but at the same time not sure about current ND talent to deliver on that front.
Yea let's just ignore 4 games in 5 years and ratchet and clank.
All absolutely quality quality games, theybdeserve the kudos!!
It did! It’s called The Last of Us Part II and it currently holds the record of the most awarded game of all-time! Highly recommend it!
And yet I could give you a dozen games which didn’t get as many awards but are better.
Even 2020…Ghost of Tsushima gave us not just one great revenge tale but two.
Well that's on you Fox. Most people seems to like it wich the awards are a proof of.
Honestly, TLOU2's story came off as more of a comedy of errors masquerading as a 'serious' game.
Not to mention, despite having all of these awards much of which only existed once, TLOU2, a sequel to a critically acclaimed game, took as much time as Horizon: Zero Dawn, a new IP and a huge gamble for Guerrilla at the time, to hit 10 million sales. Heck, Ghost of Tsushima nearly hit 10 million sales by the 2 year mark and that one was also a new IP.
@CombatEmu
"Heck, Ghost of Tsushima nearly hit 10 million sales by the 2 year mark and that one was also a new IP"
Exactly
And they were only behind TLOU2 by like a million
Put it into perspective
A brand new IP which could have gone either way vs a massive 7 years in the making sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed games in the last 10 years.
Yet they only managed a million more...
People are still mad about TLOU2. 😂😂
Great game and I’m prepping for another playthrough. Might have to wait until they release the PS5 version and see how that is
The rumors say it's development wasn't up to par with internal expectations, so it's on ice for a while, but there's been nothing official saying what's happening with it for a while.
We should have gotten some new information once the remake of Part 1 was done.
ND has to have something new to announce, they've been quiet for a while now.
Meanwhile half their dev's are now unemployed... I wouldn't count on anything for quite awhile.
@JackBNimble: The studio had over 400 Staff back in July, about 25 staff have been made redundant, this could very easily be because a game has had a large part of it's development finished and ND are the biggest they've ever been.
Scaling back to focus more and cut the fat isn't a bad thing.
The studio could easily still have close to 400 staff, it's also been 3 years since their last release, it's very likely that they're gearing up to announce their next game and release it within the next year or so.
Another good TLOU user review. However, U guys on n4g don't seem to like the multiplayer too much.
Agree, another good review, but I really disagree with the MP score and comment.
It's a different way to play a MP and I think someone just didn't "catch" the "essence" of this MP.
Maybe you may give another chance at the MP :)