…………………………………………………

The Last of Us Game Review

The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and first released on PlayStation 3. I played the PC remake. It is one of the greatest video games of all time.

………………………………………………….

“I really shot the hell out of that guy, huh?“

…………………………………………………..

When this game was first released, it was renowned for its story, gameplay and characterization. It still continues to receive great praise and is rightfully regarded as a masterpiece. It is one of my personal favorite games of all time. Let’s first talk about its masterful story.

When a mutant fungus ravages the country, Joel has to escort a girl named Ellie to a hospital that will hopefully use her immunity to create a cure for humanity. The fungus creates zombies out of people, though the word zombie is never explicitly used. The zombies are more fungal in their look, at least the so-called Clickers. This made them more original. The story is an action-adventure that takes the form of a very dark road trip where the protagonists travel through the country while meeting other people who either help them or try to kill them. It’s a terrific structure that really worked.

This is the story about the importance of living your life in spite of everything stacked against you. It is about hope and optimism even in the worst of circumstances. The game is extremely dark and violent, but eventually it all leads to such a positive outlook that was earned because the game is so raw and realistic in every single situation and character depiction. The twist ending remains iconic to this day for a great reason – it made sense in the context of the story and Joel’s character and it’s very easy to agree with his decision. The dialogue is exceptional, especially for a game.

…………………………………………………..

And that brings me to the characters. It is very rare to play a game that takes such great care of its characters to the point that they not only felt like movie or television characters but real people in their own right. Yes, Joel and Ellie are two of the most iconic game characters of all time. Joel is this this hardened, tough man who lost everything, so he is grumpy and always in the bad mood. But eventually he shows his human side as he becomes emotionally attached to Ellie, who effectively becomes his adopted daughter. Joel is an unforgiving brute, a man who would stop at nothing to protect Ellie and himself, which made him more of an antihero at times. But that complexity led to an intriguingly dark game where you have to kill so many people mercilessly, making you question your own actions.

But Ellie is actually my favorite of the two. Both are incredible, but Ellie is a tad more interesting as this very capable and badass girl who is after all still a child. There were so many utterly devastating sequences in the game where we are reminded that she is still a kid and that she effectively lost her innocence and childhood due to post-apocalyptic circumstances surrounding her. Her distrust of people is very well explored and her complicated dynamic with Joel was so well realized. I particularly loved their comedic interplay as the game had a solid sense of humor that was sporadic, but definitely present.

…………………………………………………..

The Last of Us also took its sweet time to properly develop its supporting players. Sarah’s death very early in the game came as such a shock and it made that beginning unforgettable. Joel’s brother Tommy also got a solid arc and I really liked their complicated sibling relationship. Tess was a wonderful companion who sacrificed herself bravely for the two. Sam and Henry are these very interesting companions who at first abandoned, but then rescued our heroes. Their faith was downright horrifying and so tragic. As for Bill, his homosexuality was subtly revealed to us, which further exemplified how nuanced and sophisticated this game is. And of course David was the ultimate human evil in the story – a guy who is so conniving and manipulative that the eventual twist about his cruel intentions was quite disturbing. He’s such an incredible villain.

The Last of Us is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. The game resembled a third-person shooter in its combat, but it also had significant stealth elements to it. It is extremely minimalist in the number of weapons that it gives you. You mostly have at your disposal basic guns and rifles, though there is an option to craft more powerful weapons from parts that you gather in abandoned houses etc. This RPG element to the weapon system worked, though most weapons required too many parts, so I ended up not using them for the most part. But whenever I got a bomb or a flamethrower, I felt super powerful. A bow was also quite effective and of course Molotov cocktails were super cool to use. There is a strong puzzle element to the game where you have to help Ellie cross the river or perform similar actions and those were all very well done.

…………………………………………………..

You mostly control Joel, but you also get to control Ellie from time to time. Joel isn’t a particularly skilled shooter and Ellie being a small girl makes you super vulnerable when you control her. This added realism made the game both grounded and pleasingly demanding in difficulty. You get health kits while scavenging, which are crucial, but so are shivs, which you use to kill zombies with one strike. These are essential for close-combat with the infected, but otherwise they are much better tackled with firearms. You can also scavenge some maps or interesting reading material, which made the game extra atmospheric.

You can fight the enemies regular style or take them down one by one through stealth. I did the latter for the most part as I prefer playing my games like that and I had a blast doing it in this game. There were a couple of shootouts where the game reached a genuinely exciting, intense feel as humans were quite capable and smart and taking them down was not easy at all. The stealth is so well done in this game that it quite reminded me of ‘Batman Arkham Asylum’, one of my favorites.

You can cover and wait for enemies to strike them when they arrive or sneak behind them or stun them with bottles before finishing them off. Usually, Ellie would help you out by pointing out enemies’ locations or throwing objects at them or even shooting some of them. The artificial intelligence system on the enemies is absolutely fantastic as it is rare to find them behaving in such a realistic and complicated manner. They can call for assistance, take cover or ambush you, making fighting them quite hard at times and just so much fun. Overall, I loved the combat system and every single scene where I had to take on hordes of humans or zombies was delightfully entertaining.

…………………………………………………..

The Last of Us is often regarded as one of the best-looking games on the PS3 and of that entire console generation. It surely looked phenomenal for the time, but I played the PC remake myself and it looked absolutely stunning. The effects, smaller details such as gore and clothes and lighting were particularly inspired and the polished backgrounds were consistently gorgeous to behold. The darker areas such as sewers looked great, but I particularly loved the natural landscapes. There is a forest sequence in the winter that involves hunting a deer and that entire section looked incredible. The giraffe scene was simply magical.

The world building is truly something else. I have a thing myself for technology mixing in with nature, so seeing the abandoned skyscrapers covered in trees and moss was very appealing to me. Rare are post-apocalyptic settings that are rendered this well and I find this to be a much stronger zombie and post-apocalyptic story than the vast majority of movies and television shows set in that genre. The game is particularly inspired in its fantastic structure as the cutscenes are very cleverly incorporated into the gameplay and they never overstay their welcome. By making you care for its characters, the creators made you feel not just for their faiths in the story, but for every scene where they would escape from humans or zombies. That feeling of immediacy and raw survival was perfectly struck and it made for such a cinematic experience that is both big-scale in world building and small-scale in its intimate emotions and character arcs.

…………………………………………………..

If there is one thing where The Last of Us lacks in it has to be the length. I beat the main campaign at about thirteen hours, which was just too short for a modern game in my opinion. There isn’t enough side activities to do and the options besides the main campaign are limited. I sorely wished that it had been longer as I just loved playing it so much. But the difficulty curve is just right, the game controls stupendously well and the voice acting is phenomenal – Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson were especially worthy of praise. The level design is great, the larger zombies are fun to fight against, though scarce, and the sound design is superb. The score is also genuinely moving and grandiose, evoking a sense of nostalgia and melancholy. It’s reminiscent of westerns, making the case that the game should be considered to be essential Americana.

All in all, The Last of Us is a masterpiece. Technically stupendous and beautifully designed, this is a fantastic game that features excellent action-adventure, shooter and stealth elements. The A.I. is fantastic and because you care for the characters, you feel especially drawn to its world throughout. This is an epic game that features truly impressive world building, an unforgettable story and iconic characters. It’s, thus, one of the best and most cinematic video games ever made, a classic that transcended the medium itself to create something that will stay with me for decades to come.

My Rating – 4.9

LEFT BEHIND

2014’s Left Behind is the one and only DLC that we got for this game, but it’s a wonderful one. Yes, it’s short at just around two hours, but it’s worth experiencing as it features one incredible shootout at the mall that was both difficult and very entertaining to play. The visuals are fantastic and the mall was superbly utilized as a setting and a storytelling device.

This DLC is actually very important for the overall story as it features Riley, who is Ellie’s deceased friend and love interest. The twist about Ellie’s sexuality was handled so well and their relationship was incredibly well developed and eventually quite touching. The background of how Ellie got infected was so well told. This is a smaller story in scale, but a crucial one in its emotions and Ellie’s character arc. And it was quite daring from the creators to at first just let you to traverse this shopping mall and play around it with your friend. These small moments only further led to the final scene being so emotionally powerful. It’s perfect storytelling.