The Last of Us - Review

The Last of Us is one of those post-apocalyptic games that really gives the feeling that everything went down the toilet a long time ago, and it certainly has. Set 20 years after a mutated version of the real-life Cordyceps fungus effects the human population, transforming them into rabid and violent  creatures. The surviving population has fallen into the regular array of nomadic tribes, heavy-handed military settlements, trigger-happy bandits and the odd surviving settlers.

 
The story follows a man named Joel, who, after his own fair share of loss during the initial spread of the outbreak, works as part of a smuggling operation with his partner Tess. Usually sitting on the wrong side of the fence, Tess and Joel are given the task of escorting a young girl named Ellie to a rebel-like force know as the Fireflies. As their luck continues to dwindle, they find out that Ellie is  immune and the Fireflies intend to find out why to engineer a cure.

Without spoiling too much more of the story, the game itself is the many years of work from developer Naughty Dog. Known for their Crash Bandicoot and Uncharted series, The Last of Us marks a big change in direction for the developer, and their years of work have shown in the sheer amount of polish this game boasts. For the entire length of the game, its design and detail to both the environment and the characters was faultless. The character rendering, especially during cut-scenes, is one of the best I've seen to date. Although it's visuals are top quality, it also doesn't miss a beat to the gripping and enticing story and writing. The ebb and flow of action and exploration is paced perfectly, with many quiet walks interrupted by the sudden appearance of resting infected. The world is filled with character. You'll find signs of life everywhere, each adding to the atmosphere of the world around you, making it very engrossing.

There is also a great deal of emphasis on allowing you to choose how you want to play. While you could go guns blazing, you can also opt for the stealthy approach and often sneak pass an entire squad of bandits and continue on your way. With that said, it does still force you into certain circumstances on occasion. Several areas required you to eliminate all guards or infected in an area, usually so you could safely use an object, such as open a garage door. Infected are sometimes already aware of your presence when you enter a room, and sneaking past agitated infected is quite impossible.

Your companion's AI is quite well done, though it does break realism on several occasions. I had Ellie run around trying to hide and walking right in front of guards or them walking right on top of her with no reaction. Enemies also suffer from patrolling in circles, taking the same path back and forward until you put them out of their misery. Despite the few breaks in realism, the combat AI is aggressive. Enemies take cover, blind fire, try to flank you and assist each other. Your own partner is also very responsive, often stabbing enemies when they're grabbing you, or hurling bricks and bottles to stun  them. Later on, Ellie uses a gun and provides a much greater combat role.

The game is also very forgiving, with frequent check-pointing the game doesn't punish you much for failing, which may feel soft for some, but I was grateful for it on several occasions. Loading times are also quick, aside from the initial load of the game which took up to five minutes one time. It features a Multiplayer mode, but it seemed pretty samey and I did not try it. There is also a New Game + mode so you can go back and try and find all the collectables.

The Last of Us is a real piece of gaming gold and although lacking re-playability (unless you're a collecting freak) the ten to twenty hour journey is quite worth the effort.