Naughty Dog developers have created many games across generations. Their first masterpiece was the beloved Crash the Bandicoot for the first Playstation. When Playstation 2 arrived, Naughty Dog didn't give up and created Jak and Daxter series (Technically Jak but who can't love that otter-weasel hybrid?). They didn't stop as they have created the gem that is Uncharted series for the current generation's Playstation 3. Now, they have released The Last of Us and if you think that they won't stop making such masterpieces then you are wrong.
OVERVIEW:
The Last of Us is a survival-horror, and action-adventure video game that was set in a post apocalyptic United States thanks to a certain outbreak that happened twenty years before the game started. If you think it is just another "Raccoon City Incident" then it isn't really like that. Raccoon City Incident was thanks to a biochemical virus while in the Last of Us, it was unknown how the infection came to be but it was definitely related to fungi which we didn't see ever in video games.
STORY:
You are playing as Joel, a broken man who lived to tell the story in the infected world ever since the outbreak started. He is the protagonist who you can tell from the first glance that he lost everything he cared about, and that is a fact. He met Tess and became partners with her thanks to their smuggling business in many places including Boston. They were just supposed to continue their shady business until they met Marlene who asked them to smuggle a young girl called Ellie, the main spotlight of the game, to the group called...you guessed it! The Fireflies. They accepted since Marlene offered them to get their weapons back if they succeeded...and they had no idea what they were supposed to expect in their journey.
No matter how simple this summary for the story tells you, it is much more than that but I can't say those points since they are spoilers. Trust me, even the prologue of the game is a spoiler.
I have loved Joel's character and his development throughout the game, and in the end, you will ask yourself if Joel was a good man or not. That's what I love about in this game, and that is everyone is covered in shades of grey, not black nor white. You can't find a saint and at the same time, you can't find a devil. Ever single character has his or her own beliefs, and conflicts. They are survivors after all, and they will do whatever it takes to survive. Joel, himself, is like that.
GAMEPLAY:
This is the fun part. Naughty Dog changed from the over the top action from the Uncharted series, and turned to stealth mechanics. If you ever played Uncharted series, you will feel at home but at the same time, you feel that it isn't the same. Confusing I know but it is a fact as I started playing the game.
The game has you focused on hiding behind the enemies' line of sight while trying to distract them with bottles or bricks to pass right through them like wet soap, or just kill them one by one quietly. There is also an element to explore the world to find supplies, which are scarce in the game so make sure to scrutinize every single detail of the level if you are planning to complete the game in the hardest difficulty.
The hand to hand combat has been revamped in this game too. If you are fighting an enemy up close and personal in a non-scripted event, feel free to do whatever you want with the poor sob. It isn't some kind of "quick time event" like in Uncharted series but ever more fluid and exciting. For example, if you are near a table as you kept giving jabs to a looter, you can crash his thick forehead right to the edge of that table as he got killed from the impact with blood all over the table. Violence is strong and bloody in this game.
GRAPHICS:
If you ever thought that Naughty Dog won't improve the visuals in their games for the Playstation 3 ever since Uncharted 3's sand, then you are totally wrong. The visuals of this game are phenomenal as the Playstation 3 is nearing to its end for the current generation. The green trees, and overgrown grasses look beautiful with their natural color as the vegetation got overgrown in United States thanks to the infection. The characters look well detailed too as you look at Joel's beard until the enemies' corpses as they either got shot many times, or their limbs get splattered thanks to a nearby nail bomb. You would be surprised how Naughty Dog managed to make all of this possible in Sony's Playstation 3.
SOUNDS:
The soundtrack of this game was magnificent to hear as you explore in your journey, and the music changes once you are in a certain situation like if you are in a fight. The voice acting was well done too as Troy Baker (Joel) and Ashley Johnson (Ellie) made a great job portraying their respective characters, especially Troy as he managed to make Joel sound as a broken man because of his haunted past. Ashley did a good job too but I felt that she could have done better as Ellie. Don't get me wrong, I love Ellie's voice and character but she could have been much more. Maybe I am asking too much but I kind of felt like that towards her.
The sounds of this game from the footsteps of the nearby enemies until the "clicks" from the enemies known as the Clickers were just making you sit on the edge of your seat as you pray that they won't find your hiding spot. Listening Mode can help you escape but if you are playing on the Survivor mode, you have to depend on the quietest of the sounds, which is just satisfying if you succeeded.
MULTIPLAYER:
I was surprised how fun the multiplayer portion was. It looks like Naughty Dog managed to make the MP portion not to be like Uncharted's MP. Sadly, it wasn't that captivating for me to get back and play it again. It was good and all but I found it...lacking for a bit there. I am sure that Naughty Dog could have done more than that so I hope that they keep updating and add new content like game modes so I can play the multiplayer portion again and not let my survivors die.
OVERALL:
The game's story was extremely well written but you could complain that the ending was kind of abrupt but after some time, you will love it. The revamp for the combat system worked very well in this game. The music, voice acting, and the sounds were just incredible. Finally, the visuals were just phenomenal thanks to Naughty Dog's magic tricks with the Playstation 3. The only criticism I have was the multiplayer since it was kind of lacking but it is just a minor problem as I didn't find any bugs and glitches during my play through with the game.
I would say if you have, or planning to have a PS3, don't hesitate to buy The Last of Us. It is worth every single penny from your wallet as Naughty Dog deserves every single on of them. Just buy it and enjoy killing Clickers in your journey.
"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.
that was great review
will love to read more in the future
I bought this game on launch day and just finished it last week. The beginning was pretty fukin slow and i thought i hated it at first. With continuous pestering from a friend of mine i finally decided to try to get the game done. I had previously stopped when you first discover the truth about Ellie so i was still quite early on in the game. By the end of the game though i was completely blown away. This is without a doubt one of the greatest games i've ever played and i honestly haven't felt as impressed by a game since i first played MGS4 on PS3 way back when it first came out.
With the success of last of us i want naughty dog to continue focus on new ips as opposed to just uncharted games and last of us sequels especially on the ps4
I went through it and I thought the graphics were top notch, but the story wasn't all that to me, but to each his/her own.
Uncharted 3's sand! That was a glorified cut scene push the stick section. It didn't make me like sand sections.
They always show it in relation to the game because it makes it look mysterious but the actual section is just as tiresome as trekking through a desert.
great review thumbs up to you fogknight22 i agree with you on this review i just love this game hopefully we see a sequal in the future mayby ps4:)