The Last of Us Review | The Game Effect

The Last of Us is a very dark game. It wants you to treat its situations seriously and make you regret stabbing enemies in the throat. It also tries to make the gameplay match its tone, and sometimes it works. The emphasis on stealth, realism, and a heavy decrease in “gamey” style of play works well in the beginning, but towards the end, it becomes a bit hard to believe.

[pr0t0typeknuckles]

i fear for this guys life,giving the last of us a 7,the sony and naughty dog fanboys are gonna be pissed,imo though i can actually agree(please dont kill me guys)

[Paradigmthefallen]

Irony being that I'm actually a big fan of most of Sony's things. I think if any overall Sony fan is upset, they should wait on my upcoming Ratchet & Clank reviews before believing me to be an "Xboner" or "Nintenerd", or whatever other names they've come up with.

As for Naughty Dog fanboys... there's nothing I can do there. They don't want to hear anything I have to say in relation to ND this generation, although I do still look forward to trying Jak & Daxter.

[ziggurcat]

You should apply to polygon for a job - you'd fit in really well since they also gave an idiotic review score to what is obviously a critically acclaimed Sony title.

[SonyStyled]

your in for a treat with jak and daxter. 2 and 3 where my childhood

[trenso1]

i think you missed the boat on giving a sorta low score to a praised game so that your review will be viewed. It isn't a low score but seriously? We know its a great game and any review I've read that said other wise were grasping at straws to find faults in the game.

[bocajbee]

You're a bit late to the party mate.

[fossilfern]

All the disagrees you are getting is funny. People obviously cant have an opinion on this site. I played the TLOU and thouht it was okay the story was interesting enough but the gameplay was just average.

[B-radical]

The disagrees are killing you!

[LeCreuset]

I gave you a disagree, but in terms of killing you, you really didn't provide an argument to kill. All you did was babble some nonsense about fanboys before saying that you agree with a score that is well outside of the general consensus. You didn't even make an argument for why you feel that way. If that's your opinion, then oh-kay, I guess, but the rare differing opinion really isn't worth anything without an argument to back it up.

[pr0t0typeknuckles]

well maybe before disagreeing,you could have asked me why i agreed with him,instead of baballing about why i did and didnt mention why i felt that way,and to be more precise i never said i agree with the score,i just said i agree,though i agree more with some of his points,and the reqason i mention fanboys being pissed,is because its true,you cant say anything bad about the last of us without fanboys getting pissed and angry about it,people act as if you hate the game for not giving it a 9 or saying its near perfect,i actually like the game,but i dont think its close to being perfect or innovative as many others say,and i could care less about what the general consensus feels,there's this thing called opinions.

[LeCreuset]

@pr0t0typeknuckles

I'm well aware that there are opinions. I'll be blunt since you seem to be slow in understanding the point. Why should we give a crap about your opinion? Yours is an extreme minority opinion. So you have an opinion. Many more disagree with yours. Are you so arrogant as to believe that your opinion should carry more weight than all of those which disagree? You went on a rant about fanboys failing to consider your own words to me: there are these things called opinions. The majority believe TLOU deserves a higher score. Stop whining about it and present supporting points to your argument to validate your opinion, because just throwing a few minority opinions out against the overwhelming majority that disagree isn't going to cut it.

[sevilha82]

It´s not about being a fanboy,it´s about being a gamer and reconizing that the game is one the of all time best...

It´s irrelevant who developeded the game was it Naughty Dog or was it Bungie,the game is amazing if you don´t realize that don´t criticize other´s for noticing.

[Xer0_SiN]

people who actually sat down and really played this game would rate it much more than "7/10".

[Walker]

Hater gonna hate !

[B-radical]

A 7 isnt bad Haha

[Dark11]

it's just his opinion .. how is that hate?

[LeCreuset]

Hate can't be a fact. Hate is only ever an opinion.

[HeavenlySnipes]

Read the review lmao

Some of the stuff he's saying is comical

[Austin48]

This guy on the reviewer site obviously doesn't know a good game when he sees it the last of us is a 10/10 game and if eney won that hates this game runs there mouth to me on my own opinion then you are truly an idiot

[MidnytRain]

How are you gonna trash someone else's opinion then tell people who give you ish for your opinion that they're idiots? lmao at hypocrisy

Lots of angry people in here. I always look forward to these.

[Austin48]

lol are you trying to start an argument with me

[MidnytRain]

Nah

[Thatguy-310]

"When you first meet them, the Infected seem like a far greater challenge than any human opponent, but all it means is that you have to abuse Joel’s “listen” mode that makes all nearby enemies visible (even through walls), and makes him move as slow as possible. So long as you do
that and toss a few bottles, getting past them usually isn’t a big deal "

It's funny how many people complain about the ability BUT yet they use it at the end. If you don't like it then simply turn it off or don't use it at all. Then to throw it out there Ellie owned a pocket knife which allowed her to stealth a lot better than Joel. Joel simply had to make shivs. The whole review is basically a complain on how the game is so hard (upgrading system) or to easy (distracting enemies with bottles) which I truly disagree with but heck it's his opinion.

[Paradigmthefallen]

If you have to turn a key feature added by a developer to make a game properly balanced, the developer isn't doing they job right. Ellie was easier to stealth as, but they at least balanced that by making her far weaker at directly melee attacks and far more limited in gear.

Really? I didn't find it too hard, TBH. I got through most of the campaign without dying fairly easy from the first run onward. It's not that I dislike a hard game either -- I love Hexagon, Super Meat Boy, Dark Souls, Dragon's Dogma, and many other commonly "hard" games.

A well made masochistic experience is fantastic. A questionably executed mildly challenging experience can only at best be good. I think if Naughty Dog does a sequel though, they should be able to work out most of the kinks. As it is, it's not a bad game, it's just not the grand epic everyone swears it to be, and yes, that's purely my opinion.

[xReDeMpTiOnx]

Simply play it on survival with no hearing mode then.

I beat the game on hard first not using hearing mode for 95% of the game.

Just seems like complaining for the sake of complaining.

[HeavenlySnipes]

I didn't use the hearing mode at all on Hard and I'm currently replaying it on Survivor where its not even an option

Its not needed like the author implies

[SnotyTheRocket]

I didn't use it in my first play through. The part after Joel falls down the elevator shaft scared the shit out of me. The Last of Us is more Resident Evil than Resident Evil.

[DeadMansHand]

I turtled a few times trying to get that damn generator going.

[BlakHavoc]

Omg whatever dude lol, he reviewed a game that came out in march just now? Clearly an xbot, he probably gave Ryse a 10/10 lol. And who cares what this review says, clearly its a good game it won numerous awards and was nominated for goty. Can't believe how petty some people are.

[Paradigmthefallen]

...actually I called Ryse crap before it ever came out and have a PS Vita, PS3, PS2, PC, and Wii. Also, it's not my job to agree with awards given. People liking something doesn't mean I do, and saying I did just to please popular opinion would be extremely dishonest. And it's not like I didn't like the game, I just addressed issues I found in it. If it weren't for the hiccups, it'd be a solid 8, and considering on TGE 5 is Average instead of 7, I'm still giving the game a fair amount of praise, it's just not perfect. Why is that so hard to accept?

[Jury]

I accept you have very bad taste

[LeCreuset]

Why are you just now doing a review of TLOU?

[BlakHavoc]

I just find it suspicious that you did.a review on a 9 month old game during the heat of a console war, not to mention you've given it the lowest score I've ever seen the game rated...

[HammadTheBeast]

@Jay27wwood

Lowest "official" score is a 6/10 by Polygon.

[Flyingdog670]

He didn't enjoy it as much as others did, Nothing wrong with that :)

[LeCreuset]

Here's my problem with it: That game has been out for quite some time now. Here's why that matters. A review shouldn't be about the personal tastes of the critic, as strange as that may sound. The role of the critic is to do his/her best to predict the value which the consumer will derive from the experience. Many critics have forgotten this because today society promotes "personalities"—self aggrandizing talking heads. In this environment it becomes more about the reviewer than it does about the readers the reviewer should be serving. There is little value in putting out a review for a game that has been widely distributed to the fanbase for months now. The general consensus is already in. There is no need for a review, which if done correctly tries to predict users experience with the product, because users have had their hands on the product for quite some time now and let their opinions be known. A review at this point is like trying to predict yesterday's weather: pointless. Add to all of that, that this review falls outside the norm, coming as late as it does, and I'm inclined to suspect that the critic just submitted this to draw clicks with the outlier score.

[Flyingdog670]

Now that i re-read the review, i'm starting to agree with you. But still, even if something is really amazing and extraordinary, there will be those group of people that won't enjoy or will hat on it.

[TongkatAli]

YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.

[Am_Ryder]

Total bullshit.

A review is an opinion piece which ultimately comments on the quality of an experience that a work of art or tool or product or service provides.

It is entirely subjective.

It is entirely opinion.

End of story.

It's your "modern gamer sense of entitlement" which expects a review to cater to YOU. It doesn't. It tries to cater to the reader by giving a well balanced and thought-out evaluation of a product. And that can be any opinion. If the reviewer thinks the game is bad, they're recommending you not to buy the game. Which is a fine recommendation- AS LONG as they back it up with good argument.

Which is where this review falls down a little, and you can still argue this is a "bad" review because it doesn't seem to think out its arguments that well. A lot of the rhetoric is pretty flawed. The things he points out as issues are things which he doesn't posit a fix or improvement for, and which are side-issues, too. And the writing's not the best.

The Polygon review was still a bit stupid, because he praised the game a ton but ultimately said "emotionally, it's not my thing. It affected me badly." Which was irritating because he praised it generally, but was still fair enough. Though I couldn't agree less with him.

[Veneno]

Well said LeCreuest. I think he biggest offender is that Yatzee guy who does the Zero Punctuation reviews. I get that he is being entertaining which is great, but he isn't at all being informative in his reviews and only picks out the things he can rip on.

These people that are just trying to boost their Internet egos are doing everyone a disservice by calling themselves reviewers. They should rather call themselves "ranters" cause that's all they do. They don't care about the game at all, they just want to look important.

[DanielGearSolid]

Alitte late to the party ehh?

[JMaine518]

Didn't read.

[Philoctetes]

Not going to bother reading this. TLOU was clearly the best game of this year for me and one of favorite games from the last gen.

[franko]

...So cause you have PS Vita, PS3, PS2, PC, that proove what? That you have money? That doesn't make you a game journalist. So this is just your opinion about the game. And millions think you're wrong...

[Funantic1]

I'm pro Xbox but I would have gave this game at least 8.5

[Ron66]

7/10?? This guy must be one of those call of duty gamers.

[chito1016d]

This is one of the games i missed out on last gen since i only had a 360. Just by the gameplay videos I've seen i would of given it more than a 9. Probably a 10 if i could have a control in my hand and get fully immersed in the game.

[Veneno]

I'm telling you man, you should really play it. When you are watching the game being played you are just watching the characters. but when you play it with controller in hand, you ARE the character and you really feel like you are fighting for your life. It's a must play, my friend.

[corrupted_sharingan]

Seriously i just completed this game couple of days ago and it easily deserves a minimum score of 9, the melee combat is brutal like no other games, the graphics are one of the best i've seen, story is gripping, honestly i think u must b one of those gamers who feel happy about hating a highly rated game

[Veneno]

In this day and age, everyone is a critic. There's very few critics that actually know what goes into making a piece of art. Unfortunately gamers are the most opinionated of all critics and there's very few you can actually trust. there's too many that have the tastes and expressions of that of a child. it's either "blaaach, this is icky!" or "mmmmmm me like it!" They just don't know how to properly analyze and judge art. It's really not that different from judging something like which automobile is better than others. A work of art has components that range in success of execution just like a car can be fast but ugly. with gamers it's just like a baby. love or hate it instead of seeing the overall importance.

[psDrake]

He needed attention and he got some.

I guess the mission is accomplished

[Rock_On_PS4]

TLOU deserved its 95% metacritic ratings. TLOU rates up their with the great games of this generation/ great games of all time including GTA IV, V, Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted 2, Portal 2, The Orange Box, etc.

[SpitFireAce85]

This review is just like a fart in the wind ...;)

[StrawberryDiesel420]

This guy is trolling, Last of Us was awesome from start to finish.

[Brazz]

hey, look! another Site that want some hits and is talking bullshit...

[ziggurcat]

Is this a polygon sister site?

[jjonez18]

This article right here, this right here is... prime troll bait.

[Holeran]

My game of the generation, go figure.

[Black-Helghast]

Too obvious..

[bocajbee]

Gee, a bit late you think?

[MadMax]

I'm all about Sony exclusives, but I did find TLOU kinda boring. I got around 70 percent into it and couldn't bring myself to finish it. I found it too slow. Sure the story was good, but gameplay felt too familiar and generic. Felt like I was playing another Uncharted game. Maybe I'm just kinda spoiled when it comes to games.

[xHeavYx]

Wow, just wow. Uncharted and TLOU are nothing alike, other than being a 3rd person shooter

[MadMax]

Really? They sure felt the same to me. Same kinda slow movement, run cover hide and shoot. Repeat over and over again. Yea, definately the same style of gameplay. Different story is all. All story and repetitive generic gameplay. Waiting for some new type of games to come out, that have me doing something other than running around with a gun all the time.

[deadie]

It makes me wonder - what game do the reviewer think is better?

I have a hard time coming up with a title that could match up to the emotional level of TLOU?

Anyone?

[Big-Bruizzer]

Didn't this game come out in June? It seriously took 6 months to play and write a review for this game? HA!

[CEOSteveBallmer]

it took him this long to find anything negative about the game so he can write a low score. And saying he is a naughty dog fan. wow, even xbox die hard fans can claim they are sony fanboys.

[aRTCy]

Little late for a review don't you think

[ForgottenProphecy]

They knew they wouldn't get hits giving the game a 9/10 or a 10/10 this far after the game released, so they drop it to a 7/10 so people click the review to see what they could possibly have wrong with such a near perfect game.

[assdan]

Don't go to this site. This person is clearly just trying to get hits.

[jacksjus]

Wtf is this? Does this guy really think anyone gives a damn about his opinion on this game now? Sorry buddy but word of mouth rules. You're roughly 5 months too late. Smh!