I Guess No Matter How Hard You Try, You Can’t Escape Your Past.
The best post-apocalypse story of all time; and the main reason I picked up a console after a ~10-year hiatus. The Last of Us is a beautiful and harrowing tale of survival, and is filled to the brim with fleshed-out characters and lore.
The game, despite being completely linear, has exceptional and vast levels to explore and leaves the player wanting to check every corner for resources or bits of lore. Reading notes, listening to audio logs, or simply taking in the environment lets the player gain bits of insight into the events leading up to the outbreak, and what takes place after; making for great world-building. I genuinely believe that I could have completed this game in 1/10 of the time it took me if I hadn't been so immersed in the rich environment and detailed level design.
Joel and Ellie work amazing in tandem, and provide a plethora of stellar dialogue whether through spontaneous events or in cutscenes. Watching their bond grow as they further their trek was the most satisfying part of the story. Joel’s personality and nods to his past also justify his actions through the game, and make his decisions feel in-character. It’s clear that Joel’s bravery and steeled-for-survival attitude rubs off on Ellie throughout their journey, and gives her the courage to fight on during the Winter arc.
The only downside of TLOU is the rather repetitive puzzles. Go here, get a ladder, move it here, start a generator, blah blah blah gets rather stale after doing it for the fifth time. Beyond that, the combat feels great and the game provides a wide array of weapons for your arsenal. Each level offers different ways to handle combat, whether it be stealth or a shoot-em-up style approach. Managing resources, which I thought would be a tedious task, was actually a very rewarding process and encouraged me to search areas I might not have otherwise.
After watching HBO’s adaptation and reading Cormac Mcarthy’s The Road, I knew I had to give this game another shot and I was not disappointed.
The best post-apocalypse story of all time; and the main reason I picked up a console after a ~10-year hiatus. The Last of Us is a beautiful and harrowing tale of survival, and is filled to the brim with fleshed-out characters and lore.
The game, despite being completely linear, has exceptional and vast levels to explore and leaves the player wanting to check every corner for resources or bits of lore. Reading notes, listening to audio logs, or simply taking in the environment lets the player gain bits of insight into the events leading up to the outbreak, and what takes place after; making for great world-building. I genuinely believe that I could have completed this game in 1/10 of the time it took me if I hadn't been so immersed in the rich environment and detailed level design.
Joel and Ellie work amazing in tandem, and provide a plethora of stellar dialogue whether through spontaneous events or in cutscenes. Watching their bond grow as they further their trek was the most satisfying part of the story. Joel’s personality and nods to his past also justify his actions through the game, and make his decisions feel in-character. It’s clear that Joel’s bravery and steeled-for-survival attitude rubs off on Ellie throughout their journey, and gives her the courage to fight on during the Winter arc.
The only downside of TLOU is the rather repetitive puzzles. Go here, get a ladder, move it here, start a generator, blah blah blah gets rather stale after doing it for the fifth time. Beyond that, the combat feels great and the game provides a wide array of weapons for your arsenal. Each level offers different ways to handle combat, whether it be stealth or a shoot-em-up style approach. Managing resources, which I thought would be a tedious task, was actually a very rewarding process and encouraged me to search areas I might not have otherwise.
After watching HBO’s adaptation and reading Cormac Mcarthy’s The Road, I knew I had to give this game another shot and I was not disappointed.