The Last of Us (2013)

The Last of Us is a very dense and intensive journey of a game. The writing and storytelling was way above industry standard at the time (and still is) and the beautiful score and lightning evoked some of the most nostalgic and atmospheric moments I ever experienced in a game.

Yes, I think these were the best moments of Last of Us, when you encounter a new area like a street somewhere in some deserted suburban homes, the sun is setting and bathing you in beautiful lightning and some slow acoustic guitar music starts to sound in the background. Last of Us really manages to make the post-apocalyptic setting and it's melancholic lonesomeness breathe and come alive.

The stealth-shooter gameplay is not bad, but generic, and sometimes up to the point that I have to roll the eyes, because it's so 'videogamy' what I am doing there. But, again, smashing buttons became an industry standard as well, and Last of Us does not overstay its welcome: it's short and precise and I did not get fed up with the mechanics in its short duration. When you have to move a floating piece of wood once again to cooperate with your companion the characters in the game even comment on this repetitiveness themselves, and that sold it to me in a way lol.

A very good game, I see why it's a gold standard - but as a AAA-stack, it's also devoid of any genuine idea or daring, compelling design choice. But that's okay.

Didn't expect this after God of War, huh?

I may sound like a hypocrite here since I like TLOU but hate God of War so let me explain myself. God of War had a lot going for its gameplay. The combat was deep with a wide variety of moves, so it feels like it wanted the player to keep replaying it. God of War wanted the player to get better but didn't give a reason as to why. The thing wrong with God of War is that the cinematic 3rd person walkie-talkie formula worked against it being a replayable game. Sure, New Game+ exists and you can skip cutscenes, but not every slow walking moment nor can you speed through puzzles. The Last of Us, while less like a game, had simple combat that didn't want the player to get better. It feels more like a game that you can replay once in a while instead of one that you can keep playing over and over due to its gameplay loop. Its focus was more on its story and succeeded while GOW wanted to do both, but failed. In my God of War review, I criticized the lack of a jump button and claimed that a more grounded in reality IP like The Last of Us would work better than it would for a game about gods with magic weapons. In here, you're an old man with a ton of weapons in his backpack, it makes sense for him to not jump.

The gameplay may be very rudimentary, but it does make up for it with its resource management and decision making. It does a really good job at making you feel hopeless in this post apocalyptic world. You find single bullets instead of full magazines. Your only weapons for a majority of the game are pump action, bolt action, or semi auto. You can't go guns blazing due to how little ammo you get, so you have to be extra careful with your shots. The gunplay feels clunky to its strength to make your heart sink with every missed shot from each trigger pull. I think that it is a neat idea to craft items in real time as it adds to the moment to moment gameplay. You can find scraps and use them to take a few seconds to craft during a gunfight. Enemies will try to flank you so you gotta keep moving to a spot where you can craft your items and then heal yourself. Some upgrades are made superfluous like faster crafting and healing since you can just do them from afar or before gunfights. The enemy variety is very limited, but instead of all of them playing too similarly to one another, one enemy type in particular changes how encounters will work out: the clickers. They provide incentives to play more stealthily, thus being conservative of bullets. They make the player play a different game which can be refreshing if you usually go into stealth and shooting against human enemies like I did. While a much more grounded game than Uncharted, The Last of Us still manages to pull off some setpieces. Not all of them are as QTE-ish as God of War and some of them do pull simple twists to the core gameplay like shooting upside down. They don't make you do the impossible like with Uncharted, but they still feel dangerous and up the stakes for a brief moment. I will say that playing The Last of Us isn't fun. Killing people isn't meant to be fun. When Joel tells Ellie that he played both sides, Ellie asks him if he killed innocent people. Joel doesn't really answer and provides an implication to the player that he felt remorse doing it. The game is aware of the gameplay not being fun. I understand and agree to an extent with both sides that it isn't fun for a reason and those that dislike the game for how unfun it is. I did not enjoy playing the game because while it works, it didn't offer much compared to another 3rd person zombie-ish game and I found the light puzzles to be lacking in ingenuity. I will say that I did, at least, enjoy the journey.

The world of The Last of Us, from east to west, is merciless and lacking of any joy or hope. Having fun is way too risky and everyone is likely to die, regardless if the killer has a conscious or not. Rabbits, rats, and deer have been increased in the priority list, raiders and hunters kill other humans rather than cooperate to get more to themselves, minuscule amounts of resources are present. There are no noble people in this world. The saying, "desperate times call for desperate measures" rings especially true in The Last of Us. Although desolate and depressing, walking moments serve as brief moments of peace for Joel and Ellie as they walk through cites that were once bursting with soul, now taken over by nature. While the story is more focused on the relationship between our two main characters, the post apocalyptic world serves as an engaging backdrop and to elevate what is a decent story into a greatly told one.

What stood out is how well paced the dynamic between the two characters is. I never thought that I'd enjoy walking sections, especially just after playing God of War 2018. Like I said, I don't mind it as much since it feels like a one off game. The dialogue adds a lot of flavor between characters. Joel in particular, feels nuanced. How his arc came full circle was beautfully done. When people argue with weight, they mellow out for a bit. Important scenes carry a lot of weight. Really like how the structure of this game played out. With the beginning by being in Sarah's perspective and then Ellie's at the end. Not every choice is black and white. Instead of talking about whatever, there is room for silence. Never have I heard a piece of dialogue feel unnatural in this game. And the writing is carried by the game's voice actors. Especially with the prologue scene. Personally, I wasn't as into the story, I really liked it, I didn't cry or tear up, it took me a while to return to the game and beat it because of other games, but I can see what it does well and I mean really well.

I don't think The Last of Us is a masterpiece or game of the year. My game of the year still goes to the funny man with no limbs. But I still think it's worth trudging through the super basic gameplay to experience a remarkably paced, well executed take on a post apocalyptic zombie at least once. Did I prove well enough that I'm no hypocrite? I don't know. I understand why people love and dislike this game, but I didn't love it enough and I didn't dislike it enough. I just liked The Last of Us.

7/10

The Last Of Us is one of the most engaging pieces of fiction I've ever experienced.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Joel must travel the country with Ellie in hopes that they can get a vaccine for the virus that has spread through the world. A simple story... But it executes it so incredibly well.

Joel and Ellie go through really screwed up things in this game... And I mean REALLY disturbing stuff. And you can see them get closer to the point where it's almost Father and daughter. It's beautifully done with amazing voice acting, writing, moments, characters, and making the gameplay flow with the story.

As for gameplay, the game is incredibly designed, forcing you to think outside the box by throwing you in intense situations. You have to solve puzzles, outrun zombies, and many more moments in the game where you need to be constantly on your toes. The upgrade system for your weapons and attributes is really well done and it contains a very organized weapon system. You have to learn how to manage your resources while being prepared to improvise at any moment and it is so immersive and ties into the story incredibly.

The music is fantastic. It's often ambiance or a soft guitar. The game really succeeds, however, with the silence. Makes you feel immersed in a world where humanity and society is truly dead.

If I had to think of some problems... There are definitely some glitches and sometimes enemies don't respond to what you are doing which can lead to a lot of frustration.

With that being said...

The Last Of Us contains one of the most engaging stories, full of jaw-dropping moments, and wonderful characters. It has fantastic gameplay (With some annoying glitches here and there). A great example of a game that makes you feel absolutely immersed in the story it wants to tell.

Would Recommend

4/5

I was anticipating the release of the Last of Us for months. I bought it the day it came out, played a bit and somehow got distracted and never finished it. Fast forward about 6 years and I got the remaster on PS4 for $10 while it was on sale.

This is another game that should not be ignored by anyone who enjoys a good story rich single player game. The relationships between the characters is an impressive example of a game capable of dramatic real world problems set in science fiction.

I think it's fair to say that the chapters can be predictable. It's one thing to be bored by your predictions, but it's entirely different to have an expectation of what may happen and be on the edge your seat anxiously waiting. This game is an example of why I prefer games over movies or TV shows. The developers meticulously worked on the settings and gameplay, then punctuated it with story building cinematics. This is the type of game that will make you ravenously devour the entire story and want more.

I'm so glad they remastered The Last of Us because I may not have gone out of my way to fire up the PS3. This game has some unforgettable scenes and I can't wait to see what they'll do in the sequel.

For anyone curious about the behind the scenes making of the game, here's a link to their video. Beware of spoilers.

I honestly didn't like it, at all: I went in expecting an amazing plot (something chided by thousand), good gameplay (again, something chided by thousands), good and solid caracters (something chided by thousands, again) and I got nothing.

I got nothing but a cliché story line that you have seen a thousand times done in thousand different sauces but with slight different adjustmenets. Good graphics but I would've preferred if the games was true to its own "movie" feature and decided to take the same way Quantic Dreams did.

Joel is as solid as a brittle rock eroded by time, Ellie is by far one of the most annoying characters I could've ever hoped to be stuck with.

All in all I wouldn't give any replay to this.

This game by far (in my opinion) has the best portrayal of a post-apocalyptic setting. Limited supplies, limited ammo, and limited people you could trust as everyone fights to survive for their own cause.

Naughty Dog did a great job on making the gameplay (specifically the gun fights, brawls, drawing weapons, crafting tools, and healing yourself) as realistic as it can get. As for the story, man.. so much feels. Although some parts may have been easily predictable, you gotta admit that it still made a strong emotional impact on you. Especially when you've already related yourself to both the main characters because that's how it went for me as the story progressed and I think that's how Naughty Dog wanted things to happen. To put yourself in either Joel or Ellie's shoes and see/feel things in their perspective.

And that ending! It couldn't have gone any better. Well played Naughty Dog, damn feels straight to the end. It could be the "Game of the Year" every year. But for now, I'll be looking forward on the sequel. It better be good!

“The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.” -Antoine François Prévost d’Exiles, Manon Lescaut

What are the differences between video games and movies? As time goes on and technology advances, the differences have become increasingly minimal. Can we expect games that are 100% cutscenes with quick time events in another 10 years or so? In what sense would they still be video games and not interactive movies? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

By 2013, video games had embraced their evolution toward becoming more “adult”. Like any true maturing entity, gaming generally derided the cartoonish whimsy of the retro era and adopted hard-boiled anti-heroes, gritty realism, language, sex, and violence. The former became old hat while the latter became mainstream. The Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 delivered experiences which could appeal to mature audiences without flinching. Of course, there was the Wii, as well, busily outselling both on the grounds of its (in hindsight) gimmicky motion controls and party games, but the Wii’s simple fun didn’t define what games had could resemble now. Not really.

The industry had reached a point where games could begin to tell stories in cinematic fashion. We could sit back, set our controllers down, and watch full-fledged cutscenes which play out like movies, lasting for minutes on end. With the advent of voice acting, casting real actors, face mapping and motion capture, creative direction, orchestral sound design, and talented screenwriting, the possibility arose of creating games which could engage players the same way that films engage audiences. The gap between film (a universally accepted art form) and video games (in 2013 still perceived by the general populace as “kidstuffs”) had shrunk. A big part of that shrinkage belongs to the contribution of the game under my microscope today.

2013 saw the release of The Last of Us by Naughty Dog, a game which was definitively “adult” in the gaming sense of the term (that’s important, more on that later). The Last of Us was universally acclaimed by critics and gamers alike. It quickly became one of the best selling games of the seventh generation of consoles, selling over eight million copies in just over a year and some change. It helped sell Sony’s PlayStation 3, which got off to a rocky start, on the basis of profound exclusives. Undoubtedly, one of the strongest games of its generation, decorated with “Game of the Year” awards, The Last of Us is a bleak, depressing, extreme, and personal journey predicated on obstinate survival, the persistence of hope, and the loss of innocence.

I vividly recall that nearly every gamer I knew was playing this game at some point that year. I owned a PS3 but it wasn’t a title that I jumped at. There are a few reasons for that which will become apparent as I go on but primarily it’s because I don’t jump at rated M titles, especially “zombie apocalypse” games. I’m not of the persuasion that simply because something is more “adult” that it magically has better storytelling or presentation than something which isn’t marketed on the basis of being “mature”. On the contrary, I’m more than leery when the term “adult” is thrown around because that can often mean shock value, splatter films, torture porn, or just actual porn.

But I do own one of my friends an apology. Mr. Miller (the jr.), I am sorry I made fun of you for “jumping on the bandwagon to play yet another zombie game”. Had I been assured of The Last of Us’ quality as distinct from its genre, I probably would’ve come on board sooner. I can only say that I look at it this way, by way of consolation: at least I had the chance to avoid the hype.

Hype, possibly more so than even nostalgia, is a creator not of rose-colored glasses but of blindfolds.

Click here for the full review... https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2017/06/29/the-last-of-us/