Aside from the gorgeous graphical reworking and much better AI for both enemies and allies, this game felt identical to the original/remaster of TLOU. While I don’t think a $70 price tag is justified for what this package delivers, I still had an amazing time revisiting this beautiful story in all of its pristine new presentation. TLOU Part 1 is easily the best way to experience the adventure of Joel and Ellie, however I would recommend people either wait for a sale or simply just play the $20 remaster instead (which holds up incredibly to this day).

i totally get the price discourse but as soon as i heard this was coming to the PS5 i had no doubt it would be a day one pick up for me.

I played through the last of us countless times on the PS3, it blew my mind back and still does to this day.

Experiencing one of my favourite stories and games with the insane graphics on the PS5 was so satisfying and the facial expressions and animations impressed me so much i would often just be staring in awe at what i was witnessing.

also Joel’s new face (?) looks so good , much prefer it over the original one.

This re-release is fine -- it basically just improves the graphics and a bit of the AI. It doesn't add very much of substance over the original, but the new animations and fidelity definitely look better.
One small change that I like/hate is that Joels scavenging animations are now less ridiculous.
One small change that is incredible is that weapon ammo is no longer red when you pick it up!

If you haven't played it, you might as well get this version, since it is better, though the first remaster is 95% of what this game is anyway, so you can't really go wrong with that either.

My review of the original release.

The Last of Us Part 1 is a very frustrating game to talk about. It’s impossible to bring up without it’s price point at release coming up. I am already bringing it up at the start here so I am part of the problem. This game gets 5 stars from me because it’s The Last of Us. It’s still the same absolutely amazing game. Except now it looks so so much better. The lighting is much improved alongside the facial animations. Audio is amazing here, shout out to the sound floorboards make when Joel is sneaking up stairs in abandoned houses. Enemy AI has seen an upgrade though I doubt the casual audience will notice. There is a vast multitude of accessibility options added which is only ever a good thing. Opening up this amazing game to much bigger audience and for people with limitations the price point won’t matter seeing as it may be their first time playing. But despite being a remake, it feels and plays exactly the same.

Now that’s the kicker. £65 I paid and I knew what I was getting but many people will see that price point and hear that it’s a remake and they will expect an overhaul of the gameplay as well as the visuals/audio. You don’t get that here. The game plays exactly the same as the original and ps4 remaster version. And so we get the same problems. NPc characters will still get in the line of sight of enemies without being discovered (though this happens a lot less). We still have the pallet and ladder puzzles to bore us. And it’s extremely painful to return to this game after Part 2 and not be able to dodge during melee combat or go prone during stealth sections. But that would require a bigger overall of the base game and I can see why people think Naughty Dog couldn’t be bothered. It’s awfully suspicious in its absence. Why wouldn’t you upgrade basic gameplay elements in a remake?

But if like me you loved the original game despite these problems then you will enjoy Part 1. Your here for the story and now it looks better than ever. With the new animations lending even more weight to the dramatic moments. But I can also see why some people prefer the way the characters looked originally. I quite liked the art style and animation of the original but that’s because I prefer my games to look like games in a world where they move more towards photo realism.

And now that price. I can’t score this game any less than I did the other versions because it’s the same game. Except it looks and sounds better. Price is something that caused offence at release but eventually will go down. And there’s always the chance you snag this game on a bargain or borrow it from a friend. And if that’s the case what are you left with? Well it’s the definitive version of The Last Of Us. And some lucky people will experience this for the first time on ps5.

Honestly? I didn't have an issue with this remake in terms of gameplay or graphics. My main issue was the technical side of things. The AI on Grounded is just straight up broken, I had multiple moments where an enemy saw me through a wall, or when I was sneaking behind an enemy and they saw me or heard me somehow. The reason for this remake to even exist was to improve on the technical aspects of the game, but they make it damn hard to see that at times when it truly matters.
The accessibility options and redone animations during cutscenes did help keep me engaged, but it still doesn't take away that a flawed game is forever flawed if you don't fix the most important issues.

This is an extremely overrated video game and I genuinely do not like how so many in video game culture keep praising The Last of Us (both games, not just the second). I am not happy that Playstation keeps trying to mimic Naughty Dog's realistic, linear, story-based games. It is driving the "Hollywood-ification" of the video games industry. I really wish Sony would go back to making unique, design-driven games with charismatic characters like they used to in the PS2 era. Nowadays it feels like every video game protagonist is supposed to be either Nathan Drake or Joel and Ellie. The proliferation of "violent father figure learns to be less of an ass through parenthood" in video game culture is also really disturbing. I'm not sure what it says about gamers and game review culture that stories like Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite and God of War 2018 keep receiving the highest praise in the entire medium, but I don't like it. Surely there are better ways to tell stories and more to say about society than this!

As for the game itself, it's fine. It does a few things here and there that the Resident Evil and Silent Hill games have already done much better in terms of horror. It plays like a slower Uncharted and the stealth is nowhere near as good as Metal Gear Solid or even Hitman.

Not even sure what im reviewing tbh. For what is ultimately an extremely safe remake for a game more normie than Fortnite, The Last of Part I has me bizzarely fascinated. Not really in the game's content itself, but of the avenues of attack for criticism available here. Both good and bad.

The deal is that the things that make this specific version of TLOU good and bad are things that i'd argue are completely valid to make the focal point of your review. At the same time, I think it's also fair to completely disregard it. Chief of these is the price. $70 is an unconscionable price for this and the only reason I bought it at all was that I was fairly confident I could beat it before Splatoon 3 came out and just trade it in and get the experience for basically £15. It's truly indefensible and up there with Super Mario All Stars and EXA-Arcadia of a Publisher knowing they'll get away with blatantly predatory consumer practices. But at the same time, is that a fault of the game? Should it be judged against for that, especially when price is temporary? Likewise, yes, this remake is pretty pointless, especially as it's ultimately not that compreshensive and doesn't bring P1 quite up to the spec of P2 - but i'd personally that since it's out here, Idk, i'd rather judge it on it's own merits.

But on the other side of the coin there is the game's incredible accessibility options. Even compared to P2s excellent inclusion they're a true step up here, with the dualsense haptic vocals being absolutely mindblowing in particular. I care quite a lot about accessibility options and if i wanted, i could easily focus a 5 star review of this game on them alone. But they're also very reasonable to completely ignore, even if I think the majority of players could improve their experience by at least dabbling in them.

And that's all without discussing the matter of the original game. How much should that factor into a criticism of an enhanced re-release? Honestly this game is very fortunate in that regard because I think both the remastering and the original game are both a case of "yeah pretty alright", but I know i've thought about this before. Still not sure Demons souls PS5 should deserve when its a wack remaster attached to one of the best games ever made.

To give this review a veneer of actual criticism instead of drunken rambling, i'll touch on the TLOUPI remaster work here, irrespective of other stuff. It's fine. The main improvement is honestly just the lighting, of all things. It being more dynamic and more stark than in the original game lets Naughty Dog flex their muscles of directing the players eye better than ever, and has let them slightly tone down the original game's kinda laughable use of landmarks in the distance, etc. The enemy AI is also vastly improved, with Humans loving to flank behind you, something that means the game is a tad more challening in a fun way, and encourages player movement more. It also just looks generally better, and you can see more emotion in the characters faces particularly.

But there's also a real case of it not changing enough when there is clearly the oppurtunity - despite the left behind DLC and Part 2 showing that humans + infected encounters can be really good among many other imrprovements to be had out there, the entire game's encounter design is identical to the original, and a couple of the combat improvements in Part 2 which definetly should have been included arent - dogs, prone, more craftables, an improved weapon balance and drops.

And that's probably where I actually reach point of attack. This game's job, for my money, was to bring Part 1 up to the standards of Part 2. It doesnt really come close. Its the best version of the original game but still lacking versus Part 2, especially as a stealth action experience.

In conclusion, I have no idea what i'm going on about.

Still the same amazing game I loved as a kid but slightly better!
(Some parts of my review are from my review of the original TLOU)

I remember being a kid approaching my teenage years when my best friend's dad got us a copy of the game for the PS3 and it was an incredible experience back then. Graphics are noticeably better and it look amazing and visually impressive. This game has some of the best animation I've ever seen for a video game. The facial expressions are so realistic to how actual humans would react and I was so amazed by it. Still love the beauty and designs of the environments in the game as there tons of details and even more detailed than the original. This game step ups in being more gorey and show more dismemberment adding another layer of realism. Other than that this game pretty much feels the same. I heard the AI was more intelligent and immersive but I barely noticed a difference on that aspect. I'm so used to tlou2 controls and I kept forgetting that I can't dodge. I wish there was dodging and crawling, I understand that they would have to redesign some areas and levels and that would take more time. However, that's what a remake is supposed to do. It's supposed to make changes to better improve from the original and I honestly wouldn't have minded waiting longer for this remake since I've played it on PS3 and PS4 already. I do wish Naughty Dog took more time to make these considerations instead of rushing it. Still love the combat, it's generic but I never get tired of it since it doesn't drag on more than it needs to. Also they didn't bring over the Factions mode, that really doesn't bother me since I didn't really play it back then but I'm sure it does bother others.

The story is still emotional and impactful as ever. TLOU is what got me to really love the setting of a post-apocalyptic future. There's many interesting characters and a lot of detail in the world which tells a story in itself, some of which can be very tragic. Still appreciate Left Behind which gives us much needed character development for Ellie. And Joel is easily one of the best protagonist in all video games because he truly showed us a story of what a human would do, not a hero.

It was nice playing this game again with today's modern day graphics. I can't wait to see what Naughty Dog does next. I also do want to give my opinion on this game being called a remake. This game is easily a 5 stars if you haven’t played it before, for me this is a 4 stars at best. This is a game I’ve played many times on PS4 and besides the graphical and visual improvements for the PS5, you pretty much get the exact same experience as you would for the Remastered PS4 version which I can play on PS5 for cheaper. My point being this game doesn’t feel like a remake and instead only looks like a remake. Other than that, if you haven't ever played TLOU do yourself a favor play this game. I can't guarantee if you'll like the game or not but it's worth playing at least once.

The game so nice, they made it twice! Honestly, it was inevitable that the title an overzealous journalist once referred to as "gaming's Citizen Kane moment" would become a lightning rod for the most obnoxious people on the Internet. You know who you are, don't be shy! While The Last of Us certainly isn't a Wellesian masterpiece, it is a Druckmannian masterpiece, which is just as good if not better. The Last of Us has a story to tell, something to say about the human condition, and it doesn't pussyfoot around with bullshit player agency or time-consuming open-world checklists. It's a polished experience that knows when to give the player control and when to take that control away; an experience of unmatched visual presentation and aural splendor. (Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are giving better performances here than the entirety of the games industry has in its near 50-year existence.) This whole campaign of negativity spurred on by people with anime avatars and games with titles like "Boku No Wife's Boyfriend" as their favorites is a massive psy-op and if you don't believe me, check the profiles of everyone giving this remake anything less than three stars. The Last of Us is an unparalleled interactive experience that looks finer, plays better, and hits harder than it did now that it's been brought up to the standard of its magnificent sequel. There isn't much more to say that hasn't been said by myself or others already. The wizards at Naughty Dog perfected perfection. Get Druckmannized.

its still The Last of Us

whether thats a recommendation or not is in the eye of the beholder. if you want this game, you probably already bought it. otherwise you probably already bought the remaster thats already playable on ps5.

is this the definitive version of TLoU? yes. is this game undeniably gorgeous? yes. does the gyro aiming make the original impossible to go back to? yes.

would i recommend the remake over the remaster? at full price fuck no, but if the new graphics and especially accessibility features are a real selling point to you then this is a great way to experience a game with frankly grossly unappreciated TPS combat.

this marks the second PS5 exclusive to be a PS3 game. what a time to be a gamer

The Last of Us part 1 review. DLC review if you keep reading. If you’re not interested in reading the review the TLDR is game is great ending is poop

You know years ago when I was a dumb teen I thought this game was a masterpiece. By all means it’s a great game the stop and go pacing is something that I needed and was in the mood for. The combat is visceral, no holds barred each encounter feels so cinematic especially against human combatants and to me that’s a 10.

I have never played the second game but I’m aware there is some story flaws (it’s next on my to play list) but I can tell you folks the story didn’t fall apart in the second game it is actually very subtle in this one. To quote Ellie “everyone has either left me or died Joel.” Well Joel chose to stick around and maybe in his mind he wanted to keep that same mentality that all they have is each other and the bond they grew extended into father and daughter territory. In the last 10% of the game a conflict of interest is arose where both characters act so out of pocket it is laughable, you see Joel in the game only ever shot in self defense and murdering a surgeon/Marlene is so off kilter and paints Joel as just this selfish killer with no remorse, if they painted Joel in a light where he was morally grey or unethical then we can talk, but every encounter is out of self defense and to me there’s nothing evil about defending yourself so I see him as a morally good man.

And back on track with Ellie’s quote why would she say that? Then have an emotional response that she did when she awoke from Joel saving her? Like Ellie I thought we were thick as thieves and I wish I would have known I was actually delivering you to die, but Joel didn’t and could not emotionally prepare himself during our journey in the game so I just wanted Joel to be honest with her or Ellie to really reflect on what she said in the fall chapter. Also Ellie saves Joel’s life at the end of the Fall chapter did it cross the writers minds that maybe Joel even feels obligated to save her? Instead we got what we got and it’s left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

The DLC is worth your time and is only an hour and a half. It’s good even more dialogue and story driven than the main game. But who cares you have an hour to kill you can play it in one session totally worth your time.

The last time I started this game up I promised myself that it was the 5th and last time I’d put myself through the emotional trauma. Any more attempts and I felt that the impact would start to wear off.

That was 2 years ago and this year, just when I thought those bastards at Naughty Dog couldn’t possibly be any dumber, they go and do something like this… and totally re-redeem themselves!

Note: I’m am never playing this game ever again.

Ok yes it's not worth the price, but I borrowed it anyway so I can't comment on that. There are two types of remakes, first are ones that try to take what the original did and say 'what if it was made now', keeping what people loved about the original but completely refreshing it for the modern day, for instance Resident Evil 2. The other type is what this game is going for, to give you the experience you remember having when you played the original, and half the time it actually works really well, there are times I forget I'm playing a ground up remake and I'm just playing The Last of Us, what was one of my favorite games for many years. Those times are whenever it's night time in the game, or whenever the characters are in dark and dingy places like sewers and tunnels. During the day, it's a different story, but why?

The team managed to capture the fantastic art design of the original game perfectly, keeping everything precisely as it was most of the time, but adding extra flare and details occasionally both big and small, so why do I not think it works? It's a really simple, little thing that encompasses a huge amount of what is presented, lighting. PS3-PS4 era naughty dog, yes I'm just talking Uncharted and Last of us, were masters of artistic and utility lighting usage. They revolutionised how lighting was used to lead the player around the levels in their games, and the use of lighting to create color, contrast and vibrance in natural, diegetic ways is unmatched in things like the PS4 uncharted games and the original last of us. This game ignores and sometimes completely disregards all of that. As we move into a time of advanced lighting techniques and ray-tracing, this artistic baked-in and pre-calculated lighting usage looks to be a thing of the past, but is it possible we're losing some of the artists touch from the past? These are great questions, but ones for a different day, because as far as I can tell this game does use baked in and pre-calculated lighting, almost identically rendered and generated to the PS4 'remastered' version of the game. It's an active and upsetting decision then that the team decided to suck the life and personality from huge portions of this game, turning the oranges and yellows and reds of the first section of the game to creams and greys and browns. It's a real shame for a game as subtly (and unsubtly) breathtakingly beautiful and horrifying as this, but I'll be the first to admit, for most people it's probably not even a consideration when buying.

On the gameplay front it's… the last of us, this is where the 'feel like the game you remember playing' mindset comes in, the animations transition beautifully smoothly, something naughty dog perfected in TLOU2, and enemy AI is greatly improved, in fact maybe TOO improved, in grounded mode it feels almost unfair, and the famous fist-lazers feel like they are utilised more often and more smoothly than in any previous version of the game. I do, however, finding myself wondering if maybe just a couple of things from the sequel could have squeezed their way in here, I'm not asking for Joel to be as agile as the characters in that game, hoisting himself over 7 foot tall walls and crawling around in prone, but it's not like you would have had to redesign the whole game just to add the dodge button, please ND, just give Joel a little tiny dodge button, if Abby and Ellie can do it then Joel-y boy can! Again, I'll admit, this isn't a real issue, just something that kept coming up in my mind.

And other than those two things… this is definitely the last of us. It's still just as great as it was, and whilst the smothering of the original art design that's present in this game does make the pretentious gamer part of me want to go 'no this isn't the REAL last of us experience', I'm not going to act like an actual baby and say that. This is an absolutely worthy last of us experience that's an impressive technical feat, bringing one of the best games of the PS3 to the 4k HDR world. And yes, it's not worth the amount they're charging.