Last of Us Remastered has dropped, and I wanted to remind people: give the multiplayer a good look! It did not surprise me to see that a lot of people overlooked the multiplayer experience, but with a fresh new start on PS4, I wanted to promote what I feel was an incredibly unique experience that deserves to be played!
When people usually ask "why is Last of Us's' Multiplayer worth playing?" my answer is simple:
It's a really, really solid experience. Many multiplayer games are the opposite with how they approach their game: you rush hard. But this is different. Most multiplayer games don't have you utilizing a crouch effectively, or being cautious around turns, or sticking together, or playing a metagame (collecting items, building weapons).
Add to the fact that there is no regenerative health, high health, a reviving mechanic, limited lives, and limited ammo (you can easily run out after a stressful firefight due to constantly reviving/downing enemies/missing shots) it makes for an incredible experience. In addition, there is no "hipfiring" so you aren't spraying like a madman, you must aim all your shots. One of the best words here to describe the multiplayer is that it requires thoughtfulness.
The above list of Last of Us's features actually runs contradictory to what is seen in standard multiplayer affairs. Usually, you spawn into a game at the cost of giving the enemy a point, or losing a ticket (if you fancy Battlefield). Your health is usually low enough so that twitchy "first sight, first kill" scenarios are common, at which point you simply respawn upon death. This often removes the significance of death, as it becomes a recycled, repeated exercise. Not so in Last of Us! And while most standard multiplayer games have you crediting kills to reach a kill-goal, Last of Us has you surviving to outlast your opponent while reducing their ticket count. While most games have you respawning constantly (thereby negating any reason to consider managing your resources, such as ammo), Last of Us has you carefully considering each bullet fired. This not only makes each shot significantly worth something, but it also significantly increases the danger of surviving your enemy. You walk away from a battle with less health (which needs to be healed manually), and less ammo (which you must purchase with in-game credit known as "parts", or from supply boxes/dead bodies).
Another word I like to use here is "clockwork". Things can happen like clockwork, like rock paper scissors. It's 4 on 4. It's about predicting your opponent's moves. No super moves, no killstreaks, nothing that extreme to destroy the flow of play. This is a multiplayer experience whose reward is the gameplay itself.
Consider this scenario:
Both teams as a single unit, 4 people on each team. Suddenly, you spot an enemy, and he spots you, and you may engage in a good, 7 second firefight where you eventually down your enemy. Yes, 7 seconds. You may run into cover after getting fired upon, and heal yourself to reset the advantage the enemy has on you. Battles are drawn out, and this makes each shot, each encounter, and each play much more significant.
You go in for the kill (enemies are downed first, and you must finish them off before they are revived), only to realize that their partner is around the corner... you are killed by that partner because you got too excited, sprinted towards the first enemy, eager to finish him off (known as an execution, which forces the enemy to respawn).
Now you and the first enemy are downed, crawling for your team to revive you. The second enemy player decides to revive his friend before finishing you off, because it's the smart thing to do. After he revives his teammate, he comes looking for you, as you crawl towards your own partner. Your partner fails to save you, you get executed, but your partner fires a molotov that destroys both enemies instantly. Then your partner immediately dies by a shiv by the third enemy, who was flanking around the building. Just then, your third partner may show up to the scene of the action, only to die with an easy hail of bullets from the third enemy, because your partner turns out to be a newbie.
All the while, your fourth guy is nowhere to be seen, because he has strayed away on the other side of the map, looking for supplies to craft his awesome 2x4. The enemies fourth player is somewhere on a balcony, overseeing the rest of the map with a sniper..
Such battle scenarios are common, with a great flow of one upmanship happening like clockwork.
Crafting is the other big thing. There are points in the maps where there are supply boxes where a good team is always moving to find items to craft. In fact, at the start of the game, both teams are rushing their side of two supply points, and then either battle for the middle box (usually supplying the 2x4), or flanking around. This is a constant metagame that helps the game moving, deters camping, and promotes a feeling of survival. It's slow, methodical, but all the while intense and fast.
That "clockwork" scenario is always fast, always deadly, and always well timed and planned. Everything happens as if you are a cog in the wheel, and sometimes, if you are good, you see a counter coming and your team pulls ahead to wipe out the entire 4 man team in that firefight.
I love the firefights that actually feel like drawn out battles as opposed to "one shot, one kill, and run around looking for more enemies", I love the metagame, I love the reviving and teamwork, I love the planning.
If you plan on picking up Last of Us for the first time, or if you plan on picking it up again, but have never tried the multiplayer, I urge you to give it a go!
It is quite unlike other titles, and I feel offers a refreshing and addictive experience that is both competitive, and fairly easy to get into. Considering the drought of games to play during the summer, Last of Us Multiplayer may be something worth checking out!
See you out there!
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I only wish they would have had more MP modes, especially considering the incredible A.i. infected. 2v2 survival mode try and outlast the other 2 guys/gals.
That or just a mode where one guy is a deer and the other is ellie playing cat and mouse... what?
I was enjoying the MP on PS3 until it got hacked to sh!t. I've not tried the PS4 online yet but i'm hoping it doesn't happen all over again.
Nice write up but i think you have done the game a disservice by only talking about the respawn mode.
The no-respawn game mode is even more tense and tactical with a greater emphasis on teamwork - which are all things you seem to value. Its very reminiscent of CounterStrike or Socom in that you have to play smart rather than just play twitchy.
Regardless of the mode the multiplayer in this game in superb.
send me an invite/friend and we can party up. Love this MP, will be playing it for a looooong time.
LordConzul