Sony LTTP: The Last of Us is pretty good

[TwinIon]

Watching the trailers at E3 this year reminded me that I never actually played through The Last of Us. I somehow missed it entirely on the PS3, and it was one of the first games I bought on the PS4. I played it up to a certain point and then lost track of it. I think it said my last save was November of 2014.

 

Turns out, it's a pretty good game. It's impressive how well a game that is essentially from 2013 holds up in every respect. I had no doubt the story would be powerful and well told, and that those would stand the test of time. I was more skeptical that the game mechanics would feel sufficiently "modern," but it turns out that not a lot has changed in the last 5 years. There really wasn't anything that struck me as feeling particularly old fashioned in the way that some trail-blazing games do in retrospect. The progression and crafting systems are simplistic, but perfectly functional for the type of game it is.

 

The graphics too, still look pretty good. They're notably not the best around anymore, but by and large this is still a very good looking game that is littered with astounding detail. Sure, you can see where some models could use a few more polygons or another pass or two of texture, but it's still perfectly capable of instilling the necessary empathy and horror.

 

If there are any of you that, like me, somehow missed out on The Last of Us, it's still very much worth a play through.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

One of the few games I've played twice and it's one of my all time favorites. 

[SaysWho?]

I love getting to places that I can just explore and rummage. I get to try to piece together what happened in this neighborhood, on this block, and there's a lot of good stuff to find within all these areas that it has that "wide-linear" feel: the game is certainly linear, but there are opportunities to branch out and explore large areas. The university was one of my favorite places due to how large it was.

 

I also am a big fan of the notes from Ish. Piecing together that story was really freaking sad, but they made this person come alive even though you never encounter him.

 

 

[Paperclyp]

It’s a top 5 game ever for me. The ending is so so perfect. 

 

Ive beaten it 7-8 times.

 

Infuriates me that the platinum is locked behind multiplayer trophies. 

[Dodger]

One of the few games where I actually enjoyed playing on the hardest difficulty and went through it twice.

[TwinIon]

10 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

I love getting to places that I can just explore and rummage. I get to try to piece together what happened in this neighborhood, on this block, and there's a lot of good stuff to find within all these areas that it has that "wide-linear" feel: the game is certainly linear, but there are opportunities to branch out and explore large areas. The university was one of my favorite places due to how large it was.

I agree completely. I loved going through as much as possible and reading each little bit that I would find. It's very much a linear game, but it was almost always open enough to not feel constrained. Even when things were going well enough for the protagonists, there was always some melancholy to be found in the wreckage of the world left behind. It's a incredibly well constructed game that is just so completely fleshed out.

[Brian]

It is still in my backlog. One day I will play it 

[ALIEN-gunner]

Overrated story over gameplay. No thanks. 

[TheLeon]

Yeah, it's one of my favorites. Also surprisingly fun multiplayer (that I'm sure is long dead). 

[Man_of_X]

Easily one of the best games I've ever played.  Gameplay was fun enough, but that story!  I'm slowly replaying it now, actually.

[mo1518]

I've been thinking of replaying this recently. There's one trophy I'm missing for the platinum, something about listening to conversations that bugged out on me, so I figured I'd play it again when I got a pro and a 4k TV. Got the pro and getting the TV this week or next! 

 

Graphically the game definitely still holds up. The only thing I remember that really said "this was a ps3 game" to me was some of the boxier level geometry. Comparing TLOU's city areas to uncharted 4's urban levels it's impressive in how far they've come. Can't wait for the sequel! 

[eggydoo]

1 hour ago, ALIEN-gunner said:

Overrated story over gameplay. No thanks. 

I felt like the gameplay was terrible and I never got far cause of it when i first played it.

I finally met someone that agreed with me the gameplay is shit but told me the story is incredible.  Told me to put it on easy and force myself through it.  

[Firewithin]

2 hours ago, ALIEN-gunner said:

Overrated story over gameplay. No thanks. 

[Kal-El814]

“Pretty good” is Naughty Dog’s mantra for gameplay.

[AbsolutSurgen]

Very solid game -- but agree the stealth gameplay was a little bit of a letdown.  Also, didn't like how it changed into a shooter right at the end of the game...

 

Like all Naughty Dog games, the characterization was awesome....  But not sure I felt the "story" was great...

[madmankevin]

3 hours ago, eggydoo said:

I felt like the gameplay was terrible and I never got far cause of it when i first played it.

I finally met someone that agreed with me the gameplay is shit but told me the story is incredible.  Told me to put it on easy and force myself through it.  

Did you do it? How did that go for you? I ask because I've been thinking of doing the same because on normal, this game just isn't for me. Sounds horrible to say seeing as it's almost unanimously loved. I want to experience it, but I'm not digging what I've played.

[Paperclyp]

4 hours ago, eggydoo said:

I felt like the gameplay was terrible and I never got far cause of it when i first played it.

I finally met someone that agreed with me the gameplay is shit but told me the story is incredible.  Told me to put it on easy and force myself through it.  

I actually feel the game gets better if you put it on the harder difficulties. There's like two separate sliders, one might just be a toggle that turns off some of the UI information, and the other a straight up difficulty meter where the enemies are more powerful and resources more scarce. I understand the gripes with the gameplay, but for what it is I think it's really good - at times great if you play it on the harder modes. 

[eggydoo]

9 minutes ago, madmankevin said:

Did you do it? How did that go for you? I ask because I've been thinking of doing the same because on normal, this game just isn't for me. Sounds horrible to say seeing as it's almost unanimously loved. I want to experience it, but I'm not digging what I've played.

Yes I did and thought the story was fantastic.  Definitely force yourself.  Beginning is really dry and predictable but later on its amazing.

[Anzo]

5 hours ago, mo1518 said:

I've been thinking of replaying this recently. There's one trophy I'm missing for the platinum, something about listening to conversations that bugged out on me, so I figured I'd play it again when I got a pro and a 4k TV. Got the pro and getting the TV this week or next! 

 

Graphically the game definitely still holds up. The only thing I remember that really said "this was a ps3 game" to me was some of the boxier level geometry. Comparing TLOU's city areas to uncharted 4's urban levels it's impressive in how far they've come. Can't wait for the sequel! 

 

[Dre801]

I've had the PS4 Remaster for about two years.  Will play it one day.

[mo1518]

@Anzo excellent gif use. 

[johnny]

7 hours ago, mikechorney said:

Very solid game -- but agree the stealth gameplay was a little bit of a letdown.  Also, didn't like how it changed into a shooter right at the end of the game...

 

Like all Naughty Dog games, the characterization was awesome....  But not sure I felt the "story" was great...

you can stealth your way through almost all of the endgame. it's hard but doable. 

[SaysWho?]

3 hours ago, johnny said:

you can stealth your way through almost all of the endgame. it's hard but doable. 

 

I loved trying to stealth through the end. There was one part with a billion infected that I managed to stealth completely through on my first playthrough. Never has not killing a bunch of infected felt so badass.

[johnny]

Just now, SaysWho? said:

 

I loved trying to stealth through the end. There was one part with a billion infected that I managed to stealth completely through on my first playthrough. Never has not killing a bunch of infected felt so badass.

I had to take multiple breaks through that part because my hands kept getting sweaty lmao 

[AbsolutSurgen]

8 hours ago, johnny said:

you can stealth your way through almost all of the endgame. it's hard but doable. 

I think the game suffered because of that design decision.. It keeps tLoU from being one of my "top 10 games of all time". 

[atom631]

excellent story, graphics were amazing at the time and gameplay was fun overall. However,  Ellie's AI was terrible and immersion-breaking, which took me out of the game on several occasions. If it wasn't for that, it would definitely be in my top 5 GOAT list. 

[LazyPiranha]

The Last of Us:  Overrated game, or MOST overrated game?

[AndrewDean84]

I loved watching it. Not so much playing it.

[TwinIon]

2 hours ago, atom631 said:

excellent story, graphics were amazing at the time and gameplay was fun overall. However,  Ellie's AI was terrible and immersion-breaking, which took me out of the game on several occasions. If it wasn't for that, it would definitely be in my top 5 GOAT list. 

I've seen this complaint a few times, and I didn't find it quite so distracting. Yeah, it's kinda silly when Ellie walks right in front of an infected or something, but for the most part the pathing was fine. At least they didn't turn the entire game into an escort quest.

[atom631]

2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I've seen this complaint a few times, and I didn't find it quite so distracting. Yeah, it's kinda silly when Ellie walks right in front of an infected or something, but for the most part the pathing was fine. At least they didn't turn the entire game into an escort quest.

maybe it depends on how you played. I went for a stealth approach and when she would just stand up and run right into an infected, then turn and run to duck at  wall right next to it... it completely broke the immersion and intensity of the situation. 

[Rodimus]

I'm very excited for Part 2. I really enjoyed this game. I played it on the PS3 and it was amazing looking on the PS3. I picked it up day one on PS4 and it looked good and slicky smooth on PS4. I know it dosen't compare to a native PS4 game but it is still great. I have thought about replaying it when I get a Pro in 4k but I don't know if I could trade 60fps for 4k. I need to finish the DLC. I have been holding off on completing it because then I wouldn't have anymore to play. Not a good reason but a common one for me.

[Nokt]

It took me awhile to get through TLOU. While I really enjoy the story, the gameplay can be a bit of a slog at times.

After 4 or 5 tries of making it a couple hours in I just sat down one weekend and put a lot of time into it.

I'm glad I did as it was a fun adventure, I might try to play it again before the new one releases.