WARNING, THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM
THE LAST OF US.
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
(It is recommended to play the game prior to reading any reviews to avoid any spoilers)
Before I go into my review, I have to say this game gets 10/10 from me. Out of all the video games that I have played in my life (and I have played a lot, nerd...I know) but The Last of Us takes the rightful place of the best game that I have ever played. The story is so intense that you relate so well to the characters and can connect with them on an emotional level, through each death, through each rescue, through each epic adventure.
As far as graphics is concerned, TLOU has such high quality gameplay and cut scenes, our characters look so real, it is hard to tell whether you are watching a cut scene, or if you are playing the game. Now that is the main ingredients of a fantastic game. When playing TLOU, you are riding a very exciting emotional roller coaster, which is very engaging to the players.
The start of the game shows us the Cordyceps infection starting to take effect on humans, slowly taking over peoples minds and turning them into Stage 1 Infected. We are introduced to Joel's Daughter Sarah, who is the first playable character in the game, she wakes up in the middle of the night to a phone call from her uncle Tommy, Something is wrong. Running downstairs she finds her father (Joel) fighting a neighbour of theirs who is infected. Very quickly, things are starting to fall apart.
In an attempt to escape the city with Tommy, all three characters are caught in a car accident, causing them to need to fight their way out of the city. This gameplay already has you on the edge of your seat, if you stop, even for one second, you are at risk of getting bitten by infected which means GAME OVER. With the protection of his brother Tommy, you are controlling Joel who is carrying Sarah and it is your job to get through the city unharmed.
I can honestly say, that a first cutscene has never made me tear up before, but The Last of Us makes another achievement. I cried. We witness our first main character death right in the first scene before the Intro. Who is it? Unfortunately it is Sarah. Is the reason Joel becomes such a dark character over the next 20 years?
Yes...20 years. That is the time jump that we encounter with the Last of Us. I think this was a good decision by the development team as you can clearly see how the world has turned upside down, and how nature has taken back what was once its. Water flooding all the streets in the city, Plants growing and taking over buildings. When the game returns from its intro, straight away we can see how things have changed in the world. The military has taken over the country, survivors of the infection are locked behind walls. These are known as Quarantine Zones, it is known that most QZ's have failed and no longer exist, meaning that humans are about to become extinct.
The scenery in TLOU is very detailed, beyond the walls you can see skyscrapers collapsing onto each other, in other cities you can see the destruction of the military, and mostly nature. Another 10/10.
It doesn't take long before Joel faces the infected in this new world, even in these 'safe' QZ's underground tunnels exist and are filled with infected. You are not given a lot of Ammo throughout the game, the only way to survive, is to be as stealthy as possible and use the world around you in order to kill or distract your enemies, this creates excitement within a game as you really have to concentrate and choose the best course of action for each scenario.
We meet Ellie through Marlene (leader of the Fireflys), Joel is tasked with the transportation of Ellie to a nearby town where a group of Fireflies are to take over the journey. Well what could the Fireflies want with this little 14 year old girl? Well she is special, Ellie was infected 2 weeks prior but has not yet turned - IS SHE IMMUNE? IS SHE THE CURE? Starting their journey out of the city, As easy as it sounds, its not. After making through a collapsing skyscraper, Joel and Ellie have to get back a large group of infected Stage 1's and Stage 2's. If you make one mistake, its game over. The game is designed to make you think strategically, running in, all guns blazing is not going to go too well.
With the Fireflies in the neighbouring city dead, it is up to Joel to get Ellie to the fireflies, with no idea where he has to go next, he decides to find his brother Tommy who has been separated from Joel due to a family dispute. This journey takes Joel and Ellie across the country, facing new enemies and new challenges - all the time, you are living the lives of our survivors.
After finding Tommy, we are pointed into the direction of East Colorado, where the fireflies have set up a research lab, still looking for a cure to the infection which is killing humanity. Yet again... the fireflies are no where to be seen, are we following cold leads the whole time? Once finding a deceased firefly researcher, we discover that the rest of the fireflies are in Salt Lake City. A thousand mile journey across the states. As discovered throughout the game, the Infected are not your only enemy. You come across various factions of survivors who are either wanting to help you or kill you. You will never know until it is too late.
Although, In the university in Colorado, a group of survivors is set on killing our double team. But do they succeed, Joel is pushed over the edge of a balcony and stabbed right through his middle. Riding an emotional roller coaster, Will he survive? We never know as we are now playing as Ellie. The last scene we see with Joel is when he passes out in the middle of the road, not breathing! So the fact that the developers put us through so much, and suddenly cut to Ellie...makes us think he is dead.
As far as graphics is concerned, TLOU has such high quality gameplay and cut scenes, our characters look so real, it is hard to tell whether you are watching a cut scene, or if you are playing the game. Now that is the main ingredients of a fantastic game. When playing TLOU, you are riding a very exciting emotional roller coaster, which is very engaging to the players.
The start of the game shows us the Cordyceps infection starting to take effect on humans, slowly taking over peoples minds and turning them into Stage 1 Infected. We are introduced to Joel's Daughter Sarah, who is the first playable character in the game, she wakes up in the middle of the night to a phone call from her uncle Tommy, Something is wrong. Running downstairs she finds her father (Joel) fighting a neighbour of theirs who is infected. Very quickly, things are starting to fall apart.
In an attempt to escape the city with Tommy, all three characters are caught in a car accident, causing them to need to fight their way out of the city. This gameplay already has you on the edge of your seat, if you stop, even for one second, you are at risk of getting bitten by infected which means GAME OVER. With the protection of his brother Tommy, you are controlling Joel who is carrying Sarah and it is your job to get through the city unharmed.
I can honestly say, that a first cutscene has never made me tear up before, but The Last of Us makes another achievement. I cried. We witness our first main character death right in the first scene before the Intro. Who is it? Unfortunately it is Sarah. Is the reason Joel becomes such a dark character over the next 20 years?
Yes...20 years. That is the time jump that we encounter with the Last of Us. I think this was a good decision by the development team as you can clearly see how the world has turned upside down, and how nature has taken back what was once its. Water flooding all the streets in the city, Plants growing and taking over buildings. When the game returns from its intro, straight away we can see how things have changed in the world. The military has taken over the country, survivors of the infection are locked behind walls. These are known as Quarantine Zones, it is known that most QZ's have failed and no longer exist, meaning that humans are about to become extinct.
The scenery in TLOU is very detailed, beyond the walls you can see skyscrapers collapsing onto each other, in other cities you can see the destruction of the military, and mostly nature. Another 10/10.
It doesn't take long before Joel faces the infected in this new world, even in these 'safe' QZ's underground tunnels exist and are filled with infected. You are not given a lot of Ammo throughout the game, the only way to survive, is to be as stealthy as possible and use the world around you in order to kill or distract your enemies, this creates excitement within a game as you really have to concentrate and choose the best course of action for each scenario.
We meet Ellie through Marlene (leader of the Fireflys), Joel is tasked with the transportation of Ellie to a nearby town where a group of Fireflies are to take over the journey. Well what could the Fireflies want with this little 14 year old girl? Well she is special, Ellie was infected 2 weeks prior but has not yet turned - IS SHE IMMUNE? IS SHE THE CURE? Starting their journey out of the city, As easy as it sounds, its not. After making through a collapsing skyscraper, Joel and Ellie have to get back a large group of infected Stage 1's and Stage 2's. If you make one mistake, its game over. The game is designed to make you think strategically, running in, all guns blazing is not going to go too well.
With the Fireflies in the neighbouring city dead, it is up to Joel to get Ellie to the fireflies, with no idea where he has to go next, he decides to find his brother Tommy who has been separated from Joel due to a family dispute. This journey takes Joel and Ellie across the country, facing new enemies and new challenges - all the time, you are living the lives of our survivors.
After finding Tommy, we are pointed into the direction of East Colorado, where the fireflies have set up a research lab, still looking for a cure to the infection which is killing humanity. Yet again... the fireflies are no where to be seen, are we following cold leads the whole time? Once finding a deceased firefly researcher, we discover that the rest of the fireflies are in Salt Lake City. A thousand mile journey across the states. As discovered throughout the game, the Infected are not your only enemy. You come across various factions of survivors who are either wanting to help you or kill you. You will never know until it is too late.
Although, In the university in Colorado, a group of survivors is set on killing our double team. But do they succeed, Joel is pushed over the edge of a balcony and stabbed right through his middle. Riding an emotional roller coaster, Will he survive? We never know as we are now playing as Ellie. The last scene we see with Joel is when he passes out in the middle of the road, not breathing! So the fact that the developers put us through so much, and suddenly cut to Ellie...makes us think he is dead.
Ellie struggles without her partner Joel by her side, with an encounter with a seeming nice stranger, she realises he is the leader of the group of survivors sent out to kill her. Threatening him, she is given special medicine (otherwise known an penicillin). This gives hope to players as why would she need this unless JOEL WAS STILL ALIVE, which he is! Ellie worked some magic back in Colorado, stitched up his injuries and kept him safe. All he needed was antibiotics to get him through the infection.
Again, things don't always work out. Ellie is tracked and captured by a crazy faction leader, who is starting to lose his mind once he is bitten by Ellie. With the infection starting to take over his mind, Ellie has a close battle which nearly costs her, her life. Luckily, Joel arrives just in time to save her.
The final scenes of the game are slow, but they show a whole new story to our characters, meeting a strange animal certainly boosts their spirits. After fighting past hoards of infected, Joel and Ellie finally meet the fireflies, but things are not as they seem. In order for them to produce a cure, Ellie has to die. After a heated argument with Marlene, it is up to Joel to race to Ellie's side and rescue her from death once more. This battle is much more difficult than any other that you face throughout the game, as you are one person fighting an entire army. So everything that you have learned throughout the game about stealth, using the environment etc... will help you greatly.
After battling your way across the hospital, you are faced with a choice, be a cold blooded killer to innocent doctors who have been forced to complete the operation, or let them survive? These types of choices are available throughout the game, you face cowards who decide to throw down their guns and ask for forgiveness. If you decide to let them live, you could face them later in the game. So my advice, is to kill to survive. That is the key with the game.
Joel rescues Ellie, on his way out he is confronted by Marlene, the world needs the cure, it is what Ellie would have wanted. But what does Joel do? Typical TLOU moment, the cut scene changes, showing Joel in a car, driving away. DOES HE HAVE ELLIE? WHAT DID HE DO!?
This emotional roller coaster is exhausting, 20 hours playing this game, my mind is completely bewildered. But to much relief, Ellie is in the back seat, coming out of her drug haze she asks what happened? As much as it kills Joel, he has to lie in order to protect Ellie. He tells her that the fireflies have stopped looking for a cure, that there were thousands more like her and nothing has worked.
Our final scene, is playable by Ellie. Running through the woods on the way back to Tommy' settlement, but does Ellie know more than she is letting on? She confronts Joel, demanding that he swears that everything he said about the fireflies is true.
Again, things don't always work out. Ellie is tracked and captured by a crazy faction leader, who is starting to lose his mind once he is bitten by Ellie. With the infection starting to take over his mind, Ellie has a close battle which nearly costs her, her life. Luckily, Joel arrives just in time to save her.
The final scenes of the game are slow, but they show a whole new story to our characters, meeting a strange animal certainly boosts their spirits. After fighting past hoards of infected, Joel and Ellie finally meet the fireflies, but things are not as they seem. In order for them to produce a cure, Ellie has to die. After a heated argument with Marlene, it is up to Joel to race to Ellie's side and rescue her from death once more. This battle is much more difficult than any other that you face throughout the game, as you are one person fighting an entire army. So everything that you have learned throughout the game about stealth, using the environment etc... will help you greatly.
After battling your way across the hospital, you are faced with a choice, be a cold blooded killer to innocent doctors who have been forced to complete the operation, or let them survive? These types of choices are available throughout the game, you face cowards who decide to throw down their guns and ask for forgiveness. If you decide to let them live, you could face them later in the game. So my advice, is to kill to survive. That is the key with the game.
Joel rescues Ellie, on his way out he is confronted by Marlene, the world needs the cure, it is what Ellie would have wanted. But what does Joel do? Typical TLOU moment, the cut scene changes, showing Joel in a car, driving away. DOES HE HAVE ELLIE? WHAT DID HE DO!?
This emotional roller coaster is exhausting, 20 hours playing this game, my mind is completely bewildered. But to much relief, Ellie is in the back seat, coming out of her drug haze she asks what happened? As much as it kills Joel, he has to lie in order to protect Ellie. He tells her that the fireflies have stopped looking for a cure, that there were thousands more like her and nothing has worked.
Our final scene, is playable by Ellie. Running through the woods on the way back to Tommy' settlement, but does Ellie know more than she is letting on? She confronts Joel, demanding that he swears that everything he said about the fireflies is true.
Naturally, Joel does not want to lose his "baby girl", he tells Ellie that everything that he said was true. *CUE MUSIC* - The final word "Okay." Boom, black screen.
There are literally no words, the first time I played this game, I did not believe that this was the end. How could the story end there? There has to be more? But no.
What happens next for our ultimate duo? We will never know! Unless Naughty Dog create TLOU:2. Which is highly anticipated by gamers across the world.
Overall, The Last of Us gives the player a story to remember. A chance to really connect to the characters and make gameplay very enjoyable. The Graphics, The Story, The Combat - all of this makes the game a full 10/10.
I really really really hope, that Naughty Dog continue with the journey of Joel and Ellie. Complete the cliffhanger that you have created!
There are literally no words, the first time I played this game, I did not believe that this was the end. How could the story end there? There has to be more? But no.
What happens next for our ultimate duo? We will never know! Unless Naughty Dog create TLOU:2. Which is highly anticipated by gamers across the world.
Overall, The Last of Us gives the player a story to remember. A chance to really connect to the characters and make gameplay very enjoyable. The Graphics, The Story, The Combat - all of this makes the game a full 10/10.
I really really really hope, that Naughty Dog continue with the journey of Joel and Ellie. Complete the cliffhanger that you have created!