The Last Of Us - PS4 Remastered EditionThe Last Of Us is a post-apocalyptic stealth action-survival game brought to you by Naughty Dog. This is by far my most favorite game of all time. The story is beyond amazing, the characters are among the best ever created, and the stealth / action in the game is superb. The game won over 200 game of the year awards, which is no small feat. The zombie apocalypse as we all know has been a concept tried time and again, yet they manage to keep it fresh, not only in the story, but in how the "zombies" (if you can call them that) are developed. The plague is actually caused by a fungus-like infection, which is spread through spores that grow inside the body and travel through the bloodstream (and into their saliva, hence the spread through biting). When a "zombie" is killed, the spores continue to grow, and eventually burst, releasing tons of smaller spores into the air, which can cause infection through inhalation. Not only that, but the spores grow most quickly in the brain, which in turn causes the infected's rage and hostility towards others (you see, they're never actually dead at any point, so zombie isn't exactly the right word). Over time, the spores grow over the face, and eventually the entire body, which is what causes a Clicker's face to look the way it does. Okay, enough rambling about the uniqueness of this apocalypse, on to the review!
Graphics 10 / 10 -- The visuals are absolutely stunning. You really can't ask for more than what is presented here, as everything is delivered with such precision it's staggering. At one point your character must walk under some water streaming down, and it looks gorgeous. Not only do the physics of the water flow perfectly, but even the detail in how your character's clothes appear wet are incredible. Another thing of note here is the character's themselves. Joel, Ellie, and the rest of the main cast look fantastic, all showing great detail in not only their design, but also when they speak, show emotion, or perform various actions throughout the game. The enemies are also impeccable, and seeing a Runner (your basic "zombie," and yes, they run fast) close in on you is not a pretty sight. You can literally see how bloodshot their eyes are up close. I greatly enjoyed the Clicker's design as well, and being able to see each individual layer of growth on their faces. The human enemies share the same quality in visuals as the infected, the lines that are on their faces being visible up close. The environments are stunning, one of my favorite scenes being in a city where some wild animals are loose, and you are looking out at them and the somewhat overgrown city from the 2nd or 3rd floor which looks breathtaking.
Sound 8 / 10 -- To be honest, I was a tad underwhelmed here. Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty to love, I just felt the soundtrack could've been so much more. If anything, the soundtrack was extremely forgettable, as I'm finding hard to recall even a single track that really stands out, or even a single one that comes to mind as nostalgic. As for the sound effects, they're pretty standard except for the infected's cries and sounds. You can really hear how feral they are when in pursuit, and they also stammer incoherently to themselves when unaware of your presence. I absolutely loved the way they would cry out when they spotted you, like a raged animal knowing it's blood lust would be satiated. The signature clicking sound the Clickers make (hence the name) is also something you will probably come to love. Finally, the voice acting was extremely well done. The actors chosen do their job perfectly, and really bring the character's to life. I really have to give props to Joel and Ellie's voice actors here, as I could imagine their voices any other way, as well as making you feel everything you should on a deeper level than most games ever come close to.
Addictiveness 8 / 10 -- I found the game extremely fun to play, and have been through it about 4 full times. If you enjoy killing enemies without being detected, then this game is definitely for you. There are also plenty of times when the action picks up as well, so don't feel like the pace will be simply sneaking around the entire time. Another great aspect regarding this is many areas (ammo permitting) give you the option of going in guns blazing, or taking the tactical route to silently dispatch every foe in your path. Keep in mind the somewhat brainless infected take no notice, but the human enemies will be alerted if they spot one of their own that have fallen, though them coming to investigate may give you an opportunity to strike as they will not call out until they are sure of what they've found. You will need to be extremely patient to take all your foes down, as their patrol routes often cross in ways that allow them to cover one another, infected included (and sometimes an infected will simply stand silently around a corner, making them hard to detect). The patrol routes will become randomized once you are detected by the group, but not before.
Story 10 / 10 -- This is probably the biggest factor in what made the masses praise this game as much as they have. As I stated before, we all know how played out the post-apocalyptic plague concept has been, but they manage to keep it fresh in quite a few ways. The first being how the plague actually works, which I described in detail at the beginning of the review. Another amazing touch is the intro sequence. I won't spoil it for you, just let me say it's the only time a video game actually made me tear up a little. It's that heartbreaking. A group known as the Fireflies claimed responsibility for the outbreak, though whether this is true or not remains to be seen. The Fireflies are something of a rebel group, always fighting against the authority figures or government of what remaining traces of humanity there are. How much of a role in the story they play I will not disclose. The biggest thing to note however is how the relationship between Joel and Ellie plays out. As everyone who's been interested in the game already knows, they grow much closer as the game goes on. What makes it special is not only the events that take place to bond them, but the dialogue that takes place between them. Ellie has quite the sense of humor I might add, though Joel isn't always amused by it. It may sound a bit cliché, but the one's rugged and tough demeanor is balanced out by the others lightheartedness and humor. The cast of supporting characters are also very well written and diversified.
Depth 6 / 10 -- I wanted to give this a higher score, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's not that the game's overly short or anything, it just doesn't pack in an excess of content either (keep in mind this score is completely ignoring the online play. I have never tried it and don't feel qualified to review it). Sure it has a long list of collectibles and extras to obtain, but it doesn't really add much to the experience other than searching each nook and cranny of where you're already going. There are a plethora of written out letters and documents to find throughout the game, detailing the person who wrote it's experience when they were previously in your current location. It adds another level of depth to the story, showing how many were coping with the outbreak when it first swept over their home, sometimes it can be a suicide note next to a corpse, or anything in between. You can also collect Firefly medals strewn about every area of the game. By exploring, you can find "parts," which can be spent to upgrade your weapons or consumables at work benches you find along the way. To a small extent, like an RPG this game allows you to choose how your character / their weapons improve as the game progresses, customization I greatly appreciated as the game went on. There are also training manuals to be found which automatically add another notch to your list of skills, such as crafting or how efficiently you use med-kits. Actual parts can be found for crafting, which allow you to build shanks, attach spikes to melee weapons (which also improve durability), or create your own med-kits / Molotov cocktails. The core game offers plenty for what it is, just not a lot on the side.
Difficulty 7 / 10 -- Patience is everything here. If you have the patience, almost all of this game can be conquered relatively easily, albeit sometimes quite time consuming. If you're overly cautious like my style of play for stealth games, you'll spend a lot of time sitting back studying patrol routes, finding the perfect place and time to strike each individual. A cool option that's offered is you can carry one brick / bottle in your inventory (or pick them up when they're around) to throw as a distraction, leading enemies away, or right where you want them. The bricks and bottles can also be used as a melee weapon, though each is only good for one strike. You will need to conserve ammo as much as possible for the times stealth isn't an option, though charging in guns blazing is always on the table if you dare, albeit not recommended most of the time. The actual combat with humans isn't anything special, and follows your typical 3rd person shooter formula. The combat with the infected however is a different story. They will cry out, alerting every enemy in the vicinity, and they will all recklessly charge you full speed without hesitation. Between their running movement making it hard to aim properly (they don't quite run like a normal person would, especially a Clicker's charge), and the fact there's almost always a few infected sticking in groups, if not a horde, can make it a little overwhelming at times. Luckily the game offers you the option of restarting from each checkpoint at any time, so being able to try as many times as you need to get it right helps. Exploration will also provide huge benefits allowing you to find more supplies, but also another notch of difficulty, often making you work for said supplies. Obviously as the game progresses, the areas will not only become more crowded, but their routes more intricate and hard to exploit, not to mention the human enemies will start finding more and more efficient ways of checking in on their own comrades, alerting them much more quickly if something goes wrong.
Overall 9.25 / 10 -- Yes the overall is higher than the average score, but this game gets some bonus points for doing what it does so well. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a good story, or enjoys stealth based game play with plenty of action to boot. If you give this game an open-minded and unbiased chance, I guarantee you will find something to love in the experience.
Hope you enjoyed the (long winded) review :)
Graphics
10 Sound
8 Addictive
8 Depth
6 Story
10 Difficulty
7
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