The Last of Us

We actually had three older threads for this game, but they were all full of posts made by members before any of us had actually played the damn thing, so I just merged them all into one and renamed it "The Last of Us - Pre-release hype" and created this new thread for new discussions based on actual experiences with the game (feel free to browse the old thread if you want to though).

This was probably one of my most anticipated games of all time. It's not new or anything (it came out in summer of 2013), but my PS3 was broken at the time. It still kinda is, but recently I've rediscovered a way of making it play Blu-rays again and had a reason to buy The Last of Us now.

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So, after years of waiting, I finally played and completed this game... and honestly, it's pretty much everything I wanted it to be. Gameplay is quite tense and requires proper tactical thinking, especially if you play it on hard or survivor (though I recommend going for normal on your first playthrough so that you keep focused on the plot); for a third person action game/shooter with basic platforming and environmental puzzles it actually incorporates some decent stealth mechanics and the survival horror elements are taken much further here than they were in Metro 2033. Enemy types feel distinct and require different approaches to defeat, sneak past or avoid. Plus the level design is that nice kind of mostly linear with plenty of larger, slightly more open levels and little optional areas. Graphics are gorgeous, especially for an exclusive title that was released near the end of the previous console generation. There's plenty of content in TLoU as well - my first playthrough took over 22 hours, during which I tried to explore as much as I could without any guides, but even then I didn't get to see all the conversations or get all collectibles, so it gives you plenty of reasons to play it again.

The world created in this game is not only visually impressive, but the atmosphere is really spot on too and it should scratch that post-apocalyptic itch for many members of this forum (in some ways it is very similar to Metro, in others it is completely different, having that awesome American feel to it that reminds of The Walking Dead by Telltale but remaining unique at the same time). The soundtrack is perfect in a minimalist kind of way. However, the story/characters/dialogue are by far the best parts of The Last of Us. I don't wanna spoil anything for you, but the way the main characters in this game were written and the way they were performed made me really want it to never end. The plot is mostly quite grim and depressing (as it should be in this setting), with some really morbid stuff in there, but in other moments it was beautiful and tugged at my heartstrings. And the Left Behind DLC is just full of feels.

Overall, I think it may be my favourite console exclusive and perhaps one of my favourite games in general. If you have a PS3, you need to play this (preferably a bundle or GOTY edition with the amazing Left Behind DLC included). You can also buy a remastered version with slightly better graphics and a much better frame rate on PS4. I think pretty much the only glaring flaw of the game is its multiplayer. It's not terrible or even bad really, but feels tacked on and completely unnecessary, plus it stopped working for me entirely. Thankfully you can ignore it completely even if you're a trophy-hunter, because none of the trophies associated with it count towards the platinum.

Anyone else here played The Last of Us? Judging by those older threads, plenty of us were really hyped for it, so it would be interesting to see if it lived up to its expectations for others here. Please use spoiler tags when necessary though.

 

Have you played Left Behind?

And I'm not sure if I could decide which game I like more - this or W3 - they are just so different, but W3 really suffers by including those question marks. It's very Ubisoft-ish of CD Projekt to add content for the sake of content, which is a shame because practically every quest in the game is meaningful and worth your time. With the Last of Us, I can't really think of any major negative side to it that really sticks out in the same way... at least not in its singleplayer. Then again, much more time has passed since I played W3, so I've had more time to think about it.

EDIT: Below is a more critical take on The Last of Us, but full of spoilers, so please avoid if you haven't played it.

Spoiler

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He makes plenty of interesting points and I agree with quite a few of them (especially what he says about the game's messages and some of its mechanics), but there is a fundamental problem with his main argument - you CAN actually experience the story and personality of these people outside of cutscenes. There are many things that can be found in the game - be they secret areas, hidden collectibles or even more obvious stuff - that can trigger conversations between the characters. Sometimes even standing still in a particular area can cause Ellie to take out her pun book or do something else. However, if you keep rushing through the game, Ellie can't keep up with you because she is younger, smaller and weaker, thus much of that optional content is lost (yet key lines that are needed for anyone to understand the story will play regardless, giving them a sense of disembodiment as Chris mentioned). And I think that was the point.

The Last of Us clearly rewards exploration and patience more than it does rushing into combat. It even withholds some really awesome characterisation from the player if he or she doesn't behave like a father figure and wait for the NPC to catch up (or if you don't wander up to her when she stops to stare at some relic of the old world). In that aspect it is actually a bit similar to Metro 2033, in that some of the people who blast through it may interpret it as a fairly standard and shallow linear game, yet those who really take their time and poke around are rewarded with a much fuller and better developed experience. Sure, the strength of getting the fatherhood point across through gameplay is perhaps slightly diminished by including so many enemy encounters in the game, but even in those Ellie is not invulnerable so every now and then you may have to assist her - which serves to remind you of what Joel should be doing as a father figure.

One of the reasons why games are so entertaining is because we are given so much choice in our interactions with these virtual worlds, but sometimes there is a way to play a game that the developers intended for us to choose over others. With The Last of Us, Naughty Dog clearly wanted players to make the most out of the potentially lengthy periods of quiet time in between combat sections and I'm under the impression that Chris didn't really do that well otherwise his argument may have been a little different.

 

Was kinda hoping for a larger discussion here, but I'm not blaming you for not writing much since it's probably been a while since you played it. Still, it'd be interesting to see what some of the others who were really looking forward to it years ago think about it now. Most of them are no longer active here, but our favourite Aussie is still with us so maybe he's played it too.

 

Agreed on the first part, it was sometimes slightly immersion breaking, but for the most part they were staying out of enemy's sights appropriately in my playthrough (maybe they've patched it up a little?).

I disagree on the second part though.

Spoiler

I felt as though the whole part with so many soldiers at the end was completely unnecessary - it kinda staggered the flow of the narrative, plus the game already reached its ridiculous amount of human enemies around the parts with David's cannibals and there was no need to add more.

 

It might be something to do with that. I played through the game on Normal difficulty on my first go. Completed Left Behind on Normal and a second time on Survivor (which was really tense in a satisfying way), recently started a second playthrough of the base game on Hard to get the collectibles, some of the missed optional conversations, and a bunch of other trophy-related stuff.

Btw, does the multiplayer still work for you? I tried it a few times and it was fine, but one day when I logged in much of the art in the UI was missing (black loading screen without any images - only text, no icons for player ranks in the lobby, my player character in the customisation menu disappeared, etc.). It would still find matches, but the voting screen with images of map options wouldn't show up like the other stuff, and then once people picked a map it would just load forever for me, sometimes eventually coming up with an error. When I'd try to quit the multiplayer, the whole console would freeze on me. And I've had all these issues ever since that day, so I effectively can't play the MP at all. hwell:

 

I see... well, with TLoU multiplayer, you didn't miss out on much, obviously.