The Last of Us is wild concoction of genres, but the most straight forward description of it would be a third person shooter with stealth and survival horror elements. Just don't expect to rely on your cover-shooting skills to trudge through this title in one piece. Gunplay is incredibly frantic, dramatic, and chaotic. If you find yourself using your firearms, you know full well that your most recent encounter has turned into a tooth and nail struggle for survival. Guns go off with loud, startling pops and you can almost hear Joel's bat and lead pipe swings crushing bones with every blow. Every firefight and fisticuffs feels brutal and desperate and it only takes one mistake to end up a corpse in a pool of blood.
Its not only in the fantastic sound design, but in the scavenger gameplay after each battle that showcases the gravity of this post apocalyptic world. Bullets are scarce, max ammo capacity is shallow, bricks and bottles break, melee weapons deteriorate after a few hits, and shivs, med packs, and Molotovs cost valuable resources. An encounter usually leads to being drained of supplies, so its essential to explore every nook and cranny of the beautifully sculpted environments to scrounge up just enough tools to get you through the next area.
Because your cache can be spent so easily, stealth tends to be the sought after route. Being sneaky, however, doesn't always go as planned, as the enemy AI scours the area ready to alert their companions to your presence. More often than naught, you'll misjudge the enemy's vision range or knock over a glass bottle and find yourself struggling to fend off a wave of attackers. But its because of this challenge that successfully taking everyone down or sneaking by them altogether feels very rewarding, especially when you look back and consider all of the ammunition you saved.
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| Stealth is a challenge to be sure, but you'll find much satisfaction in saving the bullets. |
Despite the game following Naughty Dog's standard Uncharted formula (enemy encounter, world traversal, enemy encounter, world traversal) the combat stays fresh as you fight three diverse groups of enemies throughout the story; Military soldiers, the infected, and other survivors. The strategy used for each varies drastically. The military are heavily armored and equipped with superior fire power, Looters are smart, cautious, and brutal, while infected are less intelligent but boast greater numbers and Echo Location to help them detect moving targets. These Clickers will easily one-hit kill Joel, which can be frustrating at first, but its those blunt lessons in combat that teach you how to best clear out a room of enemies.
Each tool for survival has its own strengths for every scenario, leaving you with some tough decisions when it comes to allocating your resources. Molotovs require the same ingredients as a med pack. The spreading fire from a Molotov (when aimed well) can take out a pack of infected in one toss, but your health is still quite fragile to the many dangers. Where a precious shiv can be used to one hit kill a Clicker, it can also be disposed to force open a locked door with potential loot inside. All weapon switching and item crafting is done in real time, leaving almost no breathing room when narrowly escaping an assault. These situations will keep you wondering "What gear is best for my survival?" when determining how to advance through a regal world with no authority and no rules.
The visuals are simply gorgeous, and its no surprise with Naughty Dog behind the helm. The effects of the gore, particles, water, and weather are all breathtaking and the diversity in your surroundings prevents any exhaustion of one particular art style. Flora and fauna have overrun the populated cities and metros we know in our time, leading to some very desolate, eerie, yet captivating world traversal. Character models and their animations are rock solid. Controlling Joel has a comfortable feel as you sense the weight behind every motion. Melee attacks and their interactions with your settings are smoothly executed and even watching enemies carefully stalk around the corners cautiously is a stunning detail. You might notice a little glitch here or there and some minor textures coming in a little too late, but these are unrecognizable blemishes on a beautiful work of art. Combine that with some of the most memorable environments this generation of gaming has seen, and you easily have one of the most stunning looking games on consoles to date.
But the character driven story is where the meat of the game is. Traveling with Joel and Ellie never gets old and every temporary companion is likable and not without purpose. Every performance is well acted, believable and genuine, while the motion capture really drives home some exceptional character interactions. While Joel and Ellie are the centerpiece, meeting memorable characters like Bill or David is sure to be the focal point of many conversations to come. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson definitely steal the show though as the development between Joel and Ellie stays heartfelt and incredibly paced. Each character transforms the more time they spend together, but never too fast. In fact, they both have enough stubborn tendencies that keep them from changing as quickly as you'd imagine they would. This speaks volumes to the pacing Naughty Dog has instilled within the experience. Every line of dialogue feels real and you can imagine putting yourself in every scenario and making the very same decisions as Joel. The story unfolds through a very straight-forward narrative that has been done in apocalyptic and undead media for almost half a century, but the high polish and care with which its done, not to mention the incredibly tough questions the story brings up regarding humanity and survival gives this simple journey an overarching theme that has really never been done before.
Make no mistake, The Last of Us is a very draining experience. Some might have trouble even classifying this game as "fun", at least not in the traditional fashion. Though I tend to find The Last of Us is addicting in the same sense as most survival horrors. There is something immensely satisfying to barely scraping by, using limited resources wisely, and really facing a true challenge. Its the same reason why Dark Souls fans feel so rewarded, despite the game being so punishing and emotionally gut-wrenching. The gameplay has a way of transferring your mind into Joel's body; survival is your utmost concern. Playing becomes less about escaping a stressful day at work with a nice relaxing video game, and more about "If I can just make it through this next hallway... if I can just scrounge up a little more ammo... if I can just protect Ellie a little longer..."
You'll weigh heavy decisions, both in combat and from the story, and you'll lose yourself in this amazing and dramatic adventure. Any fan of a strong narrative would do themselves a favor by playing The Last of Us. It's a game that will be talked about for decades and stand as a prime example of what it means to set a new standard for gaming experiences.
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