There's still a few of us!

Review

Played on: PlayStation 4
Released: 2014
Originally released: 2013 (PS3)

I never played the PS3 release of The Last Of Us and was happy to hear that Naughty Dog were remastering it for the PS4. I finally got the hands on my remaster recently and played through it. Complete with the superior framerate and resolution of the PS4 remaster!

TLOU is a cross between an action adventure and survival horror, depicting the story of an airborne decease that wipes out most of modern civilisation. It takes Joel, a middle aged man, through a journey of a post-apocalyptic USA on a travel to escort a young girl named Ellie across the country. Fighting fungus deceased, zombie-like, humans, and savages hunting other humans for loot and food.

It's a ruthless and depressing setting for sure.



At times, there's an intense feeling of pure survival in TLOU. Where you're literally gritting your teeth and hoping to survive the harsh and brutal world it depicts. Be it hoards of nasty zombies and clickers, or anarchistic mad-men trying to kill you. You end up feeling like you're part of a typical post-apocalyptic setting of a movie or TV show.

Injured beyond belief, low on ammo and surrounded, I found myself feeling this as one of the most intense experience in recent times. It totally achieves the desperate fight to keep yourself alive, like other horror classics like Resident Evil and Dead Space, and even a game like Fallout 3, managed so brillantly.



A lot of the atmosphere is built up by the fantastic environments. It looks amazing and something you'd expect from this new generation, even though it's from the last one! I love the smoothness and responsiveness the 60fps framerate gives in this version, making the picture quality extremely sharp

I appriciated all the different places you visit along Joel and Ellies journey. From emptied streets in cities, to small town America, woodlands and even an abandoned water dam.

If comparisons are to be made with other titles, I think the most recent, and closest, would be the new Tomb Raider from 2013, read my review here. Which coincidentally is also available remastered on the PS4 in 1080p@60fps. Both games perfectly depict a desperation of survival, combined with an extremely well presented story.

While TLOU is more realistic and dystopian, TR still has the edge when it comes to a wider variation in locations, tighter gunplay and a less linear world with more freedom to explore. When it comes to the ending though, TR felt a little cliche, while TLOU is shocking and thought provoking.

One could mention Alan Wake as somewhat reminiscent in TLOUs style: lonely nature environments, insane and desperate enemies and a overall creepy atmosphere, with a few jump scares thrown in. Think of TLOU as a mix of TR and Alan Wake and you're close to the mark!



TLOU is a brilliant story driven title, that really should be played be anyone owning a PS4, or PS3 for that matter. It's one of the best experiences I've had in a long while, when taking in consideration how well the story and character personalities work together.

Sure, there are titles that are more varied, there's literally four types of enemies and the fighting gets repetitive, but it was the same for Alan Wake. Both games drag you back in with interesting plot developments, or throws you into desperate situations.

TLOU has an obvious downside, which lets my top rating slip: the gameplay. It's average, extremely so. There's this generic stealth mechanic, combined with typical unsatisfying Naughty Dog gunplay. While it works fine, and a lot of casual, story focused, players won't mind, the more experienced shooter players will find the gameplay shallow.

That's no excuse for not buying TLOU if you enjoy post-apocalyptic settings, though. Killing zombies, mixed with some horror and an amazing story with great voice actors is winning formula these days!

While it's linear experience, with a heavy focus on cinematics, it's still a unique setting to experience and environments to soak in.