Last of Us: Horsin' Around

Last of Us Part I: Untitled Horsin' Around Knockoff

also, 100 reviews! woo!

Cool: They sent me it a day early and I enjoyed it a lot more than the first time I played it on PS4 because I stupidly bought into the hype at the time.

Uncool: Making trophies missable by not tracking them in chapter select so I can't get the Platinum without doing New Game+ and I'd rather not replay the whole game again just to get two trophies as it would devalue the whole experience overall. So I'm counting having 26/29 trophies as a 'master'. I might replay the game to get them eventually but I doubt it.

Im not here to argue about the price. Games go on sale all the time, and 70 dollars just looks like it's gonna be the new norm. It sucks but thats just how it is. Quality is not equivalent to price, same with game length.

Was this remake necessary? No. The remastered version on ps4 still holds up really well and is still great looking. You could say that this remake does mess with the art style of the original and id agree. But anybody can just share compressed twitter screenshots. When you're there playing it the game looks phenomenal, and HDR doesnt translate well to pictures anyway.

Price and necessity aside, this is an incredible remake. They couldn't implement all of Part II's gameplay without changing up the level design, but what they added is more than enough to make the game feel so much better. I dont see people mention enough of just how great the sequel is to play despite that being the most common complaint against the original. and if all you wanted was for that level of intensity and smoothness combined with the genuine perfect levels of stortyelling of the first game: this product damn well delivers.

I'm cool with y'all leaving .5 star reviews because it immediately identifies which of you are some baby back broke bitches who are crying about a game you had no intention of buying in the first place. Nobody is forcing you to buy it. You're not some valiant soldier bravely laying down your life to defy Sony. You're just a chud feigning for internet points. If you simply think the price is too much thats fine, just don't buy it or wait for a sale, like an adult.

As far as an actual review for the game - this is a pretty excellent remake and anyone saying it's a simple "Graphical uprez" is being disingenuous or willfully ignorant. Nearly every model/asset has been completely remade and the revamped facial animations are a game changer. Scenes that I've seen countless times before are now able to carry even more weight, thanks to the industry leading animations. The nuances and subtle details conveyed in these performances are staggering, and quite literally something you will not find in any other video game except for TLOU2.

Same goes for the new lighting, as Naughty Dog continues to prove that they also have the best lighting artists in the business. Lighting is such a weird topic to discuss though, because the majority of debate with gamers usually comes down - vibrant colors = good lighting. Or they just throw buzzwords around and talk in circles. Like people who say the 2013 version had better lighting because it "...makes the world dead but also alive..." (Real quote) So I'll just say my stance on the lighting is that TLOU Part 1 and 2 are eons ahead of every other game and I refuse to argue about lighting with morons who have never lit a film set, or a game scene.

Now for the whole "iTs ThE SaMe GaMePlAy" folks out there... no. You are, objectively wrong. AI has seen a massive overhaul from the original, and no amount of out of context twitter clips with accessibility mode maxed out will take away from the fact that on the harder difficulties, both this game and part 2 have some of the most advanced enemy AI in gaming. The partner AI has also been greatly improved and there were several instances where I noticed they were far more active in trying to hide/avoid detection than they used to be. Those changes ARE a substantial upgrade to the game, and I promise you if you go back to the OG it will not feel the same. The gameplay animations have also been beefed up, with some new execution/death animations, updated bow handling, and far more reactive glass, debris and other destructible objects. Stalkers also function like they did in part 2 which is HUGE because I always thought the OG stalkers were really weirdly designed and didn't make much sense.

Now, does the game have a dodge or dedicated jump? No. Does Joel need those? Also no. This game was designed around neither of those things being there and I like the fact that it feels a bit different from part 2. Joel is not the same as Ellie, so they should control differently (this man is in his 50s btw) and I found myself playing Part 1 SIGNIFICANTLY different to how I approach Part 2, which I think, is pretty cool. I played on survivor, and far more bricks, bottles and fists were thrown than I think I did in all of part 2. And these combat/stealth scenarios are still excellent and intense, and I sincerely hope anybody calling them outdated has never enjoyed a game made by Ubisoft.

Now thats' not to say everything has aged as well as the combat scenarios, because the puzzles are definitely not as good as the ones in part 2. But they take like 2 seconds to complete so its not like it really slows anything down. I did also notice a few minor bugs and graphical mistakes like LODS popping too early, but they aren't major and shouldn't be hard to fix.

In the end, Part 1 is easily the best way to experience the game. If you haven't played it before, its certainly worth the $70, and if you have played it before, that's up to you to decide its worth. For me, it was worth every penny, and the storytelling and combat still hold up as some of the best in gaming.

The Last of Us as a franchise is in a bit of a weird spot now, as it's getting a lot of content, but its also super trendy to shit talk it online. It is a bit unfortunate that the best in the business have to deal with incessant screeching from people who called TLOU2 woke for "Making Ellie gay", but I suppose it just is what it is. When you're the best, those behind just wanna see you fail. I'll just be here enjoying this banger lookin like Robert Pattinson in the meantime - [https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/059/024/d2c.png]

The story is predictably boring and shallow, any form of depth that could be perceived in it has no real basis whatsoever and is only through rigorous over-analyzation by fans who haven’t had a single good Naughty Dog release in decades, all the characters with the exception of Tommy are badly written, not to mention the dialogue feels as if it’s been jotted down by an emotionless robot, the intrigue is stale and you have no real reason to care for either Joel nor Ellie.

The voice acting is as alive as a fish out of water, it’s completely monotonous, nobody talks like that unless they’re basement dwellers who haven’t had any form of social interaction in decades, no wonder gamers adore it.

The gameplay is awful, it’s existence is a disrespect to any videogame with well thought out and complex mechanics and controls. No. I don’t care for your made-up excuses such as “B-But Joel is a civilian who can’t handle weapons!” Not only is that a stupid form of applying logic to video game mechanics where they shouldn’t be applied, like in-gameplay zombie bites in Resident Evil turning you into a zombie, that would be a disastrously boring game and basically what The Last of Us ended up doing, but these design choices are not even intentional, there isn’t a single interview with any developer or director that says they are, you came up with these excuses to protect the game from any form of scrutiny and criticism because you’re manchildren who cannot handle any opposing opinion whatsoever.

Not sure I understand the hate this is announcement is getting. Yes, this game has already been remastered. This is a remake. Allow me to be the dumbass with expectations for a minute.

They are rebuilding this game from the ground up, in the vastly superior engine of the second game. We can expect improvements across the board—from the refined feel of movement, combat and stealth, to the enhanced fidelity of characters, environments and weather effects. As well as the inclusion of industry-leading accessibility options, present in the sequel, that will make this an experience enjoyable by all. Not to mention the remake is also releasing on an entirely new platform (PC), where a large amount of players will be experiencing this masterpiece for the first time. These upgrades more than justify this re-release imo.

I understand this release reflects a growing industry trend of remakes and re-releases of perfectly playable games from the last decade. I get it. But this is no trivial 'GTA V Expanded & Enhanced'. Nor a botched 'Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition'. This is as substantial a remake as is possible for a linear, story driven game like this—embellishing all aspects surrounding the story to allow it to shine to its fullest potential. Give it a chance.

If you have already double dipped, this remake probably isn't for you. Those who were hoping for something new can play the standalone TLoU II expansion, which was announced alongside this remake. Perhaps I'm just a Druckmann shill, but I love this series and have full faith in Naughty Dog realising their original ambitions with this remake. I hope others can view things more positively as more is revealed about the game.

When Joel upgrades his shotgun at any of the workbenches in The Last of Us Part I, he meticulously scrubs it, unscrews certain parts, and replaces others as he works to make it a more deadly killing machine. It’s an involved process that’s highly specific to each type of upgrade on every weapon, one that was merely a generic tinkering animation consistent across the game’s arsenal in the PlayStation 3 original and PS4 remaster. This painstakingly crafted upgrading mechanic is, coincidentally, symbolic of The Last of Us Part I’s many upgrades, as it gets the same job done, but does it with a heightened attention to detail and more impressive visual presentation. By carefully tending to the right parts, this remake makes one of the best games of all time even better.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1235721-the-last-of-us-part-i-review-ps5-remake-worth-buying

Now, there will be a lot of things considered when making this review. The main factor obviously will be the price, and if its worth paying about 70 bucks on a game that came out about 9 years ago.

Starting off, I would like to talk about the good things about this remake, which there are quite a few. It's not a simple boost in the graphics, it's an impressive improvement over the remastered releases in 2014, the improved face animations make characters feel more alive, they have improved facial animations make multiple scenes more impactful and emotional. The game overall is much more beautiful, especially if you're playing with high fidelity, it's something else, it may be one of the most beautiful games I've had the chance of playing and of course the story itself is the best thing about the game, never a moment of boredom. The gameplay has also improved slightly, as well as the ai, honestly some of the best ai I've seen in a game in terms of combat, they're smart, try to flank and act differently.

Now for the big question, is it worth the money? The short answer is no. I would probably price it between 35-45 dollars. But, if it is your first time playing the last of us, I highly recommend paying the 70, experiencing the game the first time with this remake is definitely worth the money, so like I said if you haven't played it before and you're reading this, pay the 70, especially if you're desperate, or in the mood for a great single player story game, I highly, highly recommend this game, it still is a master piece, probably my favourite game of all time and only a few story games have been able to match its standards.

The score I gave it reflects on the price, but if you are playing it for the first time, I would give it a five stars

It certainly is still The Last Of Us (Part 1). To focus on the positive first, this game looks amazing, it's a massive improvement over the original and remaster, the new models and facial animations add so much to certain moments, especially ones involving Tess and Ellie I noticed. The new accessibility options are great as well! It also has fun new gameplay modifiers and skins included! It is simply the best version of The Last Of Us, with every change and addition being a positive one.

Now on the more negative side of things, did this remake need to happen? Absolutely not. The improved visuals and facial animations are great, but it still looks a little weird at times. Most body animations seem the exact same and they just look kinda stiff sometimes. Joel's still got his same dorky and clunky looking crouch walk which you'll have seen enough of if you've played the original, and you'll see it just as much in this remake. Besides visuals, every other positive thing really should've just been added to the remaster, a game that's already playable on PS5. Accessibility options, while fantastic, aren't enough of a reason to remake a game when they should've just been added to the previous version.

This remake still plays almost identically to the original, which I enjoyed gameplay wise and still do, but it's a game that came out almost a decade ago and before Part 2 vastly improved the gameplay. It's disappointing they didn't use this remake as an opportunity to rework the gameplay and make it as smooth of an experience as Part 2. The AI also doesn't seem that much better than the original game but I can't decide if it's due to the level design constricting the AI more than it does in Part 2, or if it's actually just hardly an improvement compared to the original. They really had the chance to make the best possible version of this game, and instead they just made a version that's the best by comparison.

Even though it's disappointing they didn't push this remake as far as it could've gone, it is still The Last Of Us and it's still one of the best games I've ever played, but improved. Is the game going to be worth it for most people who've already played the game? Nah, but if you're someone who really loves this game and replays it from time to time it might be worth it for you. For me at least I know I'll have no reason to go back to the original over this remake. Is the game worth it if you've never played the original before? I would say yes, and if the price is a a concern I would recommend waiting for a discount on the remake, over purchasing the remaster or original as I consider it a big enough improvement.

I just want to add that giving this game a low score since it's a "lazy remake" is dumb. It was a great game when it came out, and it still is now. It's like giving a collection a low score since they're all old games that have been released, that doesn't change the quality of the actual product. This remake is strictly a better version than the original, so I'll give it the same score I gave the original, 5/5 stars.