Finally got around to this one. For some reason, probably the near unanimous praise given to this title, I want to pick it apart and nitpick it to death. However, no flaw that I pick out seems to stick after I think about it more. I don't think the game is without flaws, but I also think that many of them play pretty well into the experience.
The obvious strength of this game is the story. I'm not going to say anything groundbreaking here since it's heavily treaded ground, but it's great. While playing it feels like it moves at exactly the right pace; scenarios are given time to be fleshed out without overstaying their welcome, and the result is an experience that feels like it skips very few beats. In particular I found the writing of the main protagonist Joel to be incredibly interesting and compelling, and Troy Baker does a great job as the voice that brings it to life.
From a gameplay perspective, I am still shocked at how much I enjoyed playing through The Last of Us. Resource management is crucial, as ammo and supplies are intentionally scarce. Since the game is compartmentalized into discrete combat encounters, I found myself constantly thinking about what I needed to use to get through but also what I could save. The shooting mechanics are not great, but I actually in hindsight see that as a plus since it forced me to play more strategically and line up the best shot I could to minimize risk of wasting precious bullets.
The only thing that disappointed me about combat I think is the low variety of tools available. Some resources I even kept an abundance of at all times since the item(s) they crafted were not very useful. Another nitpick is the "puzzles" the game throws at you between combat encounters, they are all really slow and consist of like the same 2 or 3 mechanics (pushing dumpsters, moving ladders, etc). Thankfully though, these are usually used as a time to pack in more dialogue between the characters, so ultimately I don't mind too much.
The obvious strength of this game is the story. I'm not going to say anything groundbreaking here since it's heavily treaded ground, but it's great. While playing it feels like it moves at exactly the right pace; scenarios are given time to be fleshed out without overstaying their welcome, and the result is an experience that feels like it skips very few beats. In particular I found the writing of the main protagonist Joel to be incredibly interesting and compelling, and Troy Baker does a great job as the voice that brings it to life.
From a gameplay perspective, I am still shocked at how much I enjoyed playing through The Last of Us. Resource management is crucial, as ammo and supplies are intentionally scarce. Since the game is compartmentalized into discrete combat encounters, I found myself constantly thinking about what I needed to use to get through but also what I could save. The shooting mechanics are not great, but I actually in hindsight see that as a plus since it forced me to play more strategically and line up the best shot I could to minimize risk of wasting precious bullets.
The only thing that disappointed me about combat I think is the low variety of tools available. Some resources I even kept an abundance of at all times since the item(s) they crafted were not very useful. Another nitpick is the "puzzles" the game throws at you between combat encounters, they are all really slow and consist of like the same 2 or 3 mechanics (pushing dumpsters, moving ladders, etc). Thankfully though, these are usually used as a time to pack in more dialogue between the characters, so ultimately I don't mind too much.