I feel weird 'reviewing' this game tbh since it is more or less exactly the same as the original from what I'm aware of, but I have never played the original before this nor did I really know much of the story at all.

Anyways I enjoyed it, honestly I almost expected a bit more (just in general, more impact and/or literally more to the game, I was surprised when it ended) from years of hearing how much everyone loves TLoU, but that's not really the fault of the game, and I would not say I was disappointed at all. It was a touching story for sure with some interesting moral implications that I appreciate. A good character does not have to be a good person, and I feel like this is something that should be explored narratively more in games.

Stealth games aren't exactly my thing either, the gameplay caught me off guard a bit, not in that I wasn't expecting it but more of that I am not used to really any games like this so I was honestly pretty bad at it, I did enjoy coming up with some strategies once I had more gear and options in general, but I don't think I went through a single 'encounter' without dying at least once (on Hard mode). The gameplay absolutely fits the tone of the game though, which was quite different from what I'm used to. As expected, the entire experience felt very much like a blend between a movie and a game, and while I generally look for more gameplay and customization depth in games, I am fully capable of appreciating a more minimal experience here and there, and I don't really think there needed to be more 'depth' than what was present. Honestly I think The Last of Us does a good job at making all the tools you're given useful in different situations, including just about every weapon. I could imagine how much strategy would be involved on the hardest difficulties, and for those that like this kind of gameplay, I think it would be a very fulfilling experience.

Overall I am absolutely glad I decided to experience this game and probably will play Part II soon as well.

8.5 ish/10? honestly I'm not really wanting to assign a number to this but I do for everything so this is about how I personally feel

Look, this game has no right to exist, let alone be $70. The fact that Playstation and Naughty Dog approved for this to be made is quite baffling to me, as The Last of Us was nowhere near a place of needing a remake. But can I deny that this game is an all time favorite of mine? Should I ignore the fact that the story is one of the best in all of gaming? Should I disregard that the gameplay has been greatly refined and feels so much better to play than the original or previous remaster of the game?

You know The Last of Us, so I'm not going to do my usual kind of review where I break down the story, gameplay, etc. Instead, I'll keep this short. Both sides of the argument are right: this game should not exist and is severely overpriced. But, it IS the best way to play this all-time classic. And if you've never played The Last of Us before, this is absolutely worth your time and money. But for those of us who have played it before, you should maybe wait for a sale or wait for the PC version to drop, whenever that is.

Despite the fact that its very existence is baffling, this remake made me fall in love with the game all over again, and was extremely enjoyable for the entire playthrough. The graphics were stunning and the gameplay was super refined. There's a little bit of an art direction change with this remake that I was unsure of when seeing screenshots online. But after playing it for myself, I felt that it worked and didn't take away from the experience at all.

Highly recommend this for newcomers to the game, but wait for a sale and/or the PC version for all veterans.

The most banal criticism of games of this type is that they're more movies than games. But even granting that (which I don't), is it a good movie or a bad movie?

"TV series" is more apt now, with the ongoing HBO adaptation. 2 very faithful episodes in, we now have a pretty good indication of how well The Last of Us works as a piece of cinema separate from its gameplay. And the answer is very well.

As I said, I don't buy the premise. TLOU's gameplay draws you into its world in a way that a non-interactive medium can't replicate. Still, it can't be dismissed as "just a movie" even if you were so inclined. It's a damn good movie.

One of the most pointless things Sony has ever done, The Last Of Us Part 1 exists purely as a way for Naughty Dog to squeeze the last remaining cash from the rabid fan base (until Factions comes out if ever lol).

First things first I'd like to talk about is how The Last Of Us holds up nearly a decade later. Playing after the HBO Adaption (which is alright but I prefer the game) has definitely clouded things but I came out of it enjoying the experience despite how dated it felt. This is mainly because of just how solid the story is and how phenomenal all the performances were (again carried directly from the PS3 original). As an actual game though time has not been kind to TLOU with really shit level design and borderline retarded AI that can be gamed way too easily. Also forgot just how bad the quiet time in this game was, with way too many sections require the same ladder/plank of wood to cross a bridge scenario that tires really quick. Left Behind is also included in the main package which is a solid expansion if incredibly short at just about an hour of actual content. Definitely on the weaker echelon of Naughty Dog games (only UC1/3 are worse) but not a bad game at all.

Where everything comes falling apart is how Part 1 stands as a REMAKE. For 70 fucking dollars you're getting the same game with spruced up graphics (which personally looks worse) and mechanics from 2 except not really. Biggest changes I saw were the AI being more aggressive which I thought would make the game harder but it actually made Hard mode feel like easy (except in the final few encounters) because of seemingly how much ammo the game gives you as a way to compensate. Literally everything else is the same which means the enemy variety and level design that made Part 2 a solid experience aren't here in this SEVENTY DOLLAR REMAKE. Another thing sadly missing is the Factions mode in its entirety, which is really depressing since it's easily the best part of Remastered and would've added much needed value to this scam of a remake. It's absolutely insane that ND and Sony decided this would be worth a premium price point and stand head to toe with something like Demons Souls Remake (which while flawed I would easily recommend over since it actually has ALL ITS FUCKING CONTENT REMADE). Not sure where to put this but the PC Port is also one of the worse, with constant stuttering on Low w/DLSS Performance and graphics that constantly glitched out.

Under no circumstances can I recommend this absolute sham of a product. If you really want to play TLOU on PS5 I'd just recommend the far FAR superior Remaster for cheaper (and it has the Factions MP for added value). Here's hoping Factions turns out fine because if ND is releasing shit like this I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

4/10

While playing The Last of Us Remastered twice before hopping on this, I was still excited to see the upgraded graphics, and they are amazing, I wish there was a way they could’ve changed the gameplay to reflect part 2 tho, but I understand why it’s hard to do.

One of the best story games of all time, which has been turned into a HBO show (massively deserved), this story of loss and hope is written so well, and essentially begun the genre of the unofficial father and child dynamic in media. This game rips your heart open and leaves you empty by the time the credits roll. With great gameplay that is linear and gives you a variety on how you play in this post-apocalyptic world

It’s an instant classic, and will definitely be remembered for many years to come

Si queréis saber lo que pienso de este juego, mirad la reseña que le he dedicado al original, porque me niego a participar en esta charada de reedición.

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If you want to know what I think of this game, check out my review of the original one, because I refuse to participate in this remaster nonsense.

Full Review + Trophy Review and Tips Below

What can I say about this game that hasn’t already been said? I’ll start by pointing to the obvious, that The Last of Us set the bar for interactive storytelling. The brutal and emotional performances have never looked better, you’ll witness loss and regret in Joel’s eyes, you’ll read the pleading and desperation hiding behind Tess’s strong face, and you’ll smile at every one of Ellie’s sassy expressions. The Last of Us Part I is the definitive way to play this masterpiece, and I enjoyed every second I spent revisiting this journey with Joel and Ellie.

You’ve heard and seen it already, The Last of Us Part I is a gorgeous game to play. The focus has been, deservedly so, on the rebuilt environments and character models. Considering this is the 10th time I play this game; I was shocked by how many details I either missed or were added to enhance the experience. I was constantly remarking on just how good the enemies, spores, environments, lighting, character expressions, etc. looked.

It absolutely added to the game, and without spoiling anything, I’ll just say there were many times where I read a scene completely different from the original thanks to some amazing facial animation. It added so much more emotion, or in other scenes, were way more brutal. There were many enemy encounters where I played through it with complete stank face thanks to what I was witnessing on the screen.

As far as the other tweaks. Turning on a generator was changed to match Part 2 and it’s a minor thing that feels better. The bow and arrow were overhauled which took a bit of getting used to, I noticed that Ellie’s draw was weaker than Joel’s which made hunting the deer more difficult. I also noticed I had to bump the difficulty to Survivor, possible due the improvements in shooting, stealth, and melee, I was just breezing through what used to be difficult encounters.

One of the biggest changes for me was, what I consider, the introduction of Stalkers in the game. Now I know Naughty Dog says that stalkers were always in the original, and I believe them. However, how they act has completely been overhauled to match what we see in Part 2. Using the sewers as an example, in the PS3 version I had a hard time with this section because the enemies acted as runners. If you made any noise, they would all swarm you and you had to fight multiple at a time while watching out for clickers. In Part I, it is more terrifying as they are quiet, sneaky and will appear out of nowhere but because they’re nature is to stalk you and attack you from behind, you never get swarmed. This meant taking them out one a time was much easier. That to me was probably the biggest change I saw to how the game played and even though I feel the original was more tense, I added the variety it provided to the remake.

My only other critique is that I would have LOVED that Left Behind would have been woven into the original story, however I can understand why. It still plays as a love letter to Ellie after the events of the main game and including new mechanics like luring clickers to fight human enemies may have been jarring halfway through the game.

Whether this is worth the price tag is subjective. For me, it absolutely was. Being able to stream and share this with people who have never experienced The Last of Us was a joy. I am biased, I have loved this game since it originally released in 2013 and I am looking forward to re-playing it for years to come.

Trophies
Difficulty: 2/10
Time: 15 hours
Trophy Guide: Recommended (Not Needed)
Trophy List Score: 10/10

The Last of Us (2013) is notorious for having a shitty Trophy list that focused on repeat playthroughs, Survivor difficulty and completing all collectibles/upgrades. Thankfully The Last of Us Part I remediates those issues and delivers what is one of the best trophy lists to date.

There are no difficulty or missable trophies, you can clean up chapters via chapter select and you no longer have to upgrade all your weapons. This means that everything is attainable in a single playthrough. What has been added is mainly finding collectibles, which now include opening every safe and discovering every workbench.

The final additon to the list is that you will have to complete the Left Behind DLC to earn the Platinum. A change I was happy with because it is easily one of the best DLC's out there and the trophies are easy to attain.

I would recommend just playing the game at your pace without a guide, soaking up every second of this masterpiece and then, if needed, using a guide to clean up whatever you missed as you check your completion for every chapter and sub chapter.

Tips:
- Don’t use shivs against clickers as you want to save those for shiv doors.
- In Ellie’s section you can use bricks or bottles to throw them at enemies and immediately stab them.
- Arrows are your best friend as you can headshot enemies and 90% of the time, pick up the arrow.
- Thanks to Chapter/Sub-Chapter select, you can see and track what you are missing to easily replay a section and nab any missing collectibles. No need to finish the chapter, just quit once you’ve picked up what you need as it automatically logs.

Happy Trophy Hunting!

Beat: 09/22/22
Time: 13 Hours

The same great game as before but with improvements and some additional features.

Also I wish there was a dodge button.

Also explosive arrows are ♥️.

Loved 😍
Masterpiece

This remake basically lets you pretend that Naughty Dog released Part I and Part II at the same time, as the remake elevates the original game to being much closer to Part II's bar-raising level of technical prowess. If you never played TLOU before this is the perfect way to jump in, and is worth the extra price tag compared to TLOU Remastered. If you have played TLOU before then things get a bit complicated, it's up to you to find out whether it's worth full price or not, but know that if you do decide to play this at some point, you'll be treated with a very well made upgrade.

Hey gamers


I mean, what is there to say? It's my favourite video game of all time made even better with this, uh, remaster².


Ellie is probably my favourite character in any piece of media. I love watching her and Joel's relationship grow throughout the game. The dialogue and characters are so well-written. It looks amazing, it's packed with emotional gut punches everywhere, Gustavo's music is one of my all-time favourite scores.


I haven't even gotten tired of the gameplay all these years later. I like walking around and collecting things; I grew up playing LEGO Star Wars, after all. I adore the slow paced, strategic gunplay, and the combat environments have so many pathways and directions that I'm still discovering unique ways to tackle each skirmish over 10 playthroughs later. Some of these encounters get so incredibly tense, and your victories become even more satisfying because of it. I'll never forget those two grounded runs.


This newest version is, in nearly every way, an improvement. I mean, it plays and looks better, obviously. It's basically just putting the first game into the engine of the second one, and this upgrades the game in many ways: smooth transitions from gameplay to cinematics, unique workbench animations, and better collectible inspection. The thing I found the most impressive was the overhaul of the facial animations. I do miss the jump, dodge, and prone mechanics from the second game as a result, and I kept trying to instinctually use them, but I realize that these environments weren't built to accommodate them in the first place - well, maybe not the jump and prone, but they could've included the dodge. As for the DualSense usage, the trigger resistance wasn't anything above the average use of them, but the vibration was. It's probably the most I've gotten out of it since Astro's Playroom.


This version of the game is the best way to experience The Last of Us, but only if you're on either extreme of the spectrum of "I haven't played it yet" or "I already love the game and have played it several times". If you've only played it once or twice and still have the PS3/4 copy laying around, you're better off saving your money and sticking with that one for the time being.


Also, Naughty Dog, please put the smoke bombs back underneath the molotovs in the weapon cross, thanks.

Changed my life. As cliche and over-praised as this game may feel, it deserves all of it. I first played through the PS4 original back when the remaster first came out, and now almost a decade later I’ve returned to this game and fallen right back in love with it. The characters are damn near perfect, the improved gameplay is so satisfying, and the graphics are some of the best I’ve ever seen. One of the greatest games ever made. My younger sister watching the show and then watching me play through this game, and experiencing the story along with me is a memory I’ll treasure forever; and I have The Last Of Us to thank for it. Easy 10/10

Last of Us: Horsin' Around

Last of Us Part I: Untitled Horsin' Around Knockoff

also, 100 reviews! woo!

The game so nice, they made it twice! Honestly, it was inevitable that the title an overzealous journalist once referred to as "gaming's Citizen Kane moment" would become a lightning rod for the most obnoxious people on the Internet. You know who you are, don't be shy! While The Last of Us certainly isn't a Wellesian masterpiece, it is a Druckmannian masterpiece, which is just as good if not better. The Last of Us has a story to tell, something to say about the human condition, and it doesn't pussyfoot around with bullshit player agency or time-consuming open-world checklists. It's a polished experience that knows when to give the player control and when to take that control away; an experience of unmatched visual presentation and aural splendor. (Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are giving better performances here than the entirety of the games industry has in its near 50-year existence.) This whole campaign of negativity spurred on by people with anime avatars and games with titles like "Boku No Wife's Boyfriend" as their favorites is a massive psy-op and if you don't believe me, check the profiles of everyone giving this remake anything less than three stars. The Last of Us is an unparalleled interactive experience that looks finer, plays better, and hits harder than it did now that it's been brought up to the standard of its magnificent sequel. There isn't much more to say that hasn't been said by myself or others already. The wizards at Naughty Dog perfected perfection. Get Druckmannized.

TL:DR: Feels like a must play for any gamer, casual or otherwise.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game, the gameplay is a perfect blend of slow and fast. Combat feels scattered and enjoyable so that it doesn’t get repetitive (Some parts are more combat focused than others though) But after those parts it allows you to breathe.
Graphics are incredible, like holy shit man what the fuck.

The story and setting is extremely good, worldbuilding feels very realistic. Characters feel realistic and flawed. I actually cried during some parts. I feel as though I could talk about its themes forever, I won’t because of spoilers. But god, it does a great fucking job.

Music is incredibly good, with melancholy guitar twangs during emotional moments and intense combat tracks with drums.

’The Last Of Us’ is an incredibly confusing game for me to put my thoughts into because it's one of those titles that is really close to being amazing to me, but just falls short due to some significant issues I have with it. I don’t even have a lot of negatives, it is just the ones I have are very important to me. I’ll state now that this will be a more traditional look at ’The Last Of Us’ and it won’t be specifically talking about this remake and how it compares to the original alone, although there will be a paragraph dedicated to how it compares to the remastered counterpart (as I have not played the original PS3 version of the game). I also feel I should mention that this is the only Naughty Dog game I have played, although I do plan on checking out the ’Uncharted’ series very soon.

The biggest fault this game has is it feels conflicted in whether it wants to be a game with tense, difficult combat or a game where you don’t do much besides hold forward. It is paced pretty poorly because of this. The games combat sections are usually paced with walk and talk moments that last an incredibly long time or a “puzzle” of moving a certain item to another area that tends to be ten feet apart anyways. I wish they did a bit more to spice things up or focused on a certain style similar to ’Resident Evil 4’ or ’Dear Esther’ instead of switching between thirty minutes of action game then thirty minutes of walking simulator.

The combat itself though is actually pretty fantastic. Mind you, I played on hard difficulty as well as never used the listen mode and saved melee for last resorts mostly as I felt for me, those mechanics made the game a bit too easy. That’s something I do enjoy about some of the features. You can avoid most of the things that make the game easier and it feels completely natural. It’s nice to have something that can make the game more accessible for people who want an easier experience without making it a necessity. There is one thing that doesn’t follow this rule though which is how the sprinting animation changes between when you are in combat and when you are out of it. It ends up being this little tell of knowing you are safe or not which ruins some of the tension of the combat encounters.

There are two different encounters that you will run into. Ones that contain zombies and others that will be with normal humans. They both are executed well. With the humans, I never got good at fully stealthing past all of them so I would just go for a crazy fight and that was always pretty fun. They’re pretty smart too! Some of them will stay behind cover to distract me as another guy flanks me. I felt I constantly had to make sure every corner of me was safe. The zombies I would always attempt stealthing as their quick and odd movement made it hard for me to shoot. Especially since the clickers are blind and can only hear, so it’s made to be stealth encounters usually. Although it does get interesting when they combine normal zombies with the clickers. I will say also that playing the DLC after made me wish the base game had encounters with both humans and zombies, but I’ll talk more about that when I cover the DLC.

You’ll pretty much for the entire game have some sort of npc companion to help you. They don’t have limited ammo and can only die whenever they are grabbed and you haven't saved them in time. They also can’t be seen whenever you are trying to be stealthy which is helpful. I wonder if there was ever at some point an idea to include online co-op? It was a trend at the time with games like ’Resident Evil 5’, ’F.E.A.R. 3’, and ’Dead Space 3’ going this direction. I’m curious if ’The Last Of Us’ was going to have this feature at some point because it kind of feels built around that idea.

The gunplay does a lot to increase the difficulty of the combat in the game. The aiming I never felt I had a whole grasp of which did a lot to never make me feel too powerful. The game gives you plenty of weapons to use and all of them feel useful so I ended up switching between them constantly. This is cool because switching between some weapons will make you have to dig in your backpack for a second and switch between them which can be super tense. Especially since ammo is super limited, this was something I had to constantly worry about and that made combat so much more memorable for me.

Speaking of limited resources, this game is very hit or miss with it. It attempts to do it and is successful with the limit of ammo, but mostly everything else you can craft which just makes it way easier. The items you craft you won’t find much at all in the world either so you have to craft them which is pretty disappointing. I found myself swarmed in materials more than not, but the items you do have to find in the world are scarce. Enemies do drop items, but it is such a rare case similar to ’The Evil Within’ that it never became something I expected to get.

The exploration is okay. The game is incredibly linear with the occasional side path to small areas. I did feel disappointed sometimes when I was thrown into a huge environment and I didn’t get to explore much of it, but I’m not necessarily surprised by this. It is nice how the characters will mention something if you’re going the “story progression way” so if there hasn’t been something you’ve explored, you can do it now. There isn't much to do besides collect items and solve very minimal puzzles which is lame, but I guess it’s something.

I feel a lot of those issues that I have come from the fact that ’The Last Of Us’ is a very cinematic game. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I do love these types of experiences, but I feel ’The Last Of Us’ is conflicted. It feels less like a video game made to be a cinematic experience, but like an idea for a show that they ended up turning into a game. It feels hesitant to push the game aspect of it outside of combat, yet the combat itself is very gamey. It also suffers from having a QTE for every insignificant action like opening a door. I don’t mind QTEs for major set pieces, but I never understood why it was used for such simple parts. It’s not like it’s more immersive considering I have a giant flashing button on my screen telling me to spam it.

To mention some of the stronger aspects of the game. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I think it is well written and the things they went for worked well. It isn’t the most original or unique tale, but I find its execution, especially with the characters, excellent. The voice acting is superb which elevates the emotions you will have towards a character due to how realistic the performances are. I don’t think there was a single one that felt out of place or didn’t have as much love put into it. You can tell all around everyone who worked on them really cared about bringing these characters to life and I see it as successful. I won’t get too deep into themes or anything because I never want to spoil an experience and I know some people want to go in as blind as possible and although the story may not be the most special thing ever written, it’s well told enough that it makes me understand why so many people hold it very dear to them and I feel it is something worth experiencing to see if it clicks with you too.

The presentation of ’The Last Of Us’ is quite phenomenal as well… mostly. The sewer location wasn’t the most interesting for me although there were some rooms that were cool there. The office locations weren’t the best either, but most of these environments that weren’t that strong tended to be very dark which definitely ramped up the tension for the zombie encounters so they did have something going for them. Other than that, you’ll see an almost entirely abandoned world where nature begins to take over the buildings and roads that people have built. It gives a feeling of loneliness that you and Ellie are the only ones here and that the rest of the world is gone. Obviously, that’s not true, you fight plenty of normal people throughout the game, but being lost just staring as the grass and trees take everything back made me forget about that, even if it was just for a moment. There has been issues for a very long while now of games sacrificing the actual art design of the world in favor of photo realism, but I feel ’The Last Of Us’ does a very good job at not sacrificing any interesting art. It also runs well now which is cool. I know the PC port was pretty shitty when the game first came out, but they’ve fixed it a ton since then. The game did crash on me once, but it was only one time and I never figured out what caused that to happen.

This is a remake, but don’t think of it as a completely new experience or anything. It is the same game that came out a decade ago with very few quality of life improvements, slight HUD change, more accessibility options, and a graphical upgrade. It’s not even similar to the ’Resident Evil’ or ’Dead Space’ remakes. It adds nothing really new and doesn’t cut anything out (well except the online lol). That is the most important thing to know about this remake so you can make up your mind whether that is worth the price tag or not. Visually, the game does slightly differentiate itself. The remake can look a bit more washed out of color which I am not sure how I feel about. I think both styles work well enough. The lighting is absolutely fantastic in the remake. The face models do look a little different from the originals, but it wasn’t an entire overhaul or anything. They just touched up on it a little. There is one thing the remake adds being a speedrun mode. This basically gives an in game timer on your screen and will pause at cinematics and loading screens and I thought this was really cool! I used to speedrun and livesplit can be a pain in the ass so this was pretty dope to see.

’The Last Of Us’ I feel has the potential to be so much more, but just misses the mark. It has a well told story, decent combat, an interesting world, yet is all held back by the confused mess of what kind of video game it wants to be, if one at all. I do recommend it, it is a game people adore and I am one person out of those who are a bit more harsh on it, but it still is an enjoyable experience and I would say it is worth trying.