Endure, admire and Survive
The Last of Us is kind of a big deal, when you hear the name you pretty much know it’s one of the biggest games to hit the PlayStation 3 Console. It is considered one of the best games of all time and has won many accolades thanks to its roaring success. This is down to many factors, especially the Story, Graphics and Music; even today the game still holds up well on its own and for a game that is close to a decade old, that’s not bad going. The game saw a rerelease over a year later with the PlayStation 4 where it received improved performance. Fast forward another 8 years and we now have a release on the PlayStation 5, but this time around it is more than just a simple port.
The Last of Us Part I apart from its obviously noticeable name change is a remake of the original game. The title ties in with the previously released The Last of Us Part II and have released a graphical overhaul that also matches that of its sequel. The Last of Us Part I has been described by Naughty Dog as a remake from the ground up with improvements to Character and enemy AI as well as full graphical overhauls, there are a lot of other features involved here most of which are accessibility options and unlockable features that become available as you progress through the game. Already there have been many questions about how the game plays and if there have been any improvements to justify the cost of a brand-new game, of a game that’s almost 10 years old. I have played through and finished The Last of Us Part I and it has given me a fresh new feeling of emotion much like it did when I first completed it almost a decade ago. This is thanks to the almost photo-realistic graphics and emotions that can be seen in each character in the game. When I first played the original version of The Last of Us, I thought we had already seen the limits being pushed as to what realistic graphics can look like but how wrong I was. Game developers continue to push the hardware and graphical capabilities even further and Naughty Dog are really at the forefront for this sort of thing. The Last of Us Part I is stunning to look at, I was completely blown away seeing all my favourite characters again and this time with even more detail and emotion which can be seen even more now than before. Cutscenes have also been implemented into the gameplay with either minimal or no loading at all between them. The enhanced details and graphics are quite clear from the beginning, The world in The Last of Us Part I is a bad place to be but it really is one of the most beautiful landscapes I have seen in a video game. The light, shadows and particle effects are much more apparent and it really does show the power of what Naughty Dog is capable of.
The Gameplay of The Last of Us Part I is also something which I have been really excited to see, though there haven’t been too many improvements on this front. The Last of Us Part I remains almost unchanged, you play in third-person while hiding behind objects planning the best way through a horde of enemies. Enemy AI seems to have improved somewhat, Clickers and Runners are as predictable as ever, but I have noticed a slight improvement and this is with the actual human enemies. They will try and flank you much more often which resulted in me messing up several times, also characters that are with you when fighting will move out of sight when Joel is hiding, this makes it more realistic as I always found it hilarious when one of the side characters such as Ellie or Bill would run straight in plain view of an enemy before, and they wouldn’t notice it. It’s such a small detail but it is still an improvement that improves realism. I did notice some differences in my time playing. I died many times to Bloaters, for some reason I thought they moved really slow but in the remake they not only throw their bombs at you, they charge at you at full speed, that is not if they are running towards you at the same speed as a runner trying to catch you, not sure if Naughty Dog intended this to make them more dangerous than they were before but if it was, then they did a good job, also the death animation is more horrific than before so this is even more reason to stay on your feet. When you do die you are instantly back in on the action thanks to the extremely fast loading times.
Joel is again able to upgrade his abilities with Supplements found throughout the game, there isn’t anything new here and all the weapons and upgrades remain the same also, there is an improved feeling of immersion at workbench upgrade stations but nothing more than that. Joel isn’t able to dodge attacks, if you get into a fist fight with a runner or another human you may be able to get out of it mid-punch unscathed but if you find yourself locked in a fist fight and a clicker comes up behind you then you’re pretty much screwed. Joel is still able to dash out if overwhelmed like before. There are a lot of accessibility options available in The Last of Us Part I which is great for allowing anyone to play, and these are all easily explained and can be activated in the menu at any time. Naughty Dog created this game with every intention of using the PlayStation 5 and its hardware to make use of its full capabilities. You can easily join the game where you left off using the menu cards, the Dual Sense can be activated, and you can even switch it on for certain events and have the haptic feedback only work for a specific part of the game. If you only want haptic feedback during fights, you can do that, if you only want it when using weapons, you can do that also. You can even switch it on for cutscenes if you wanted. The options available are insane and Naughty Dog really pushed the boat out when it comes to making the game user-friendly and using the game to its full potential.
Finishing the game will unlock more options such as skins that you can use in any playthrough going forward, unlocking trophies in the game will give you points that can be used to unlock models in the main menu and various artwork for the game. These models are incredibly detailed and really show the depth of the character’s details. You can also watch some lengthy videos on the team behind The Last of Us and the making of it. These are interesting and show an in-depth look at how Naughty Dog as a company work behind the scenes. Other options such as Permadeath mode also are available giving the game a real challenge for hardcore enthusiasts. When you do finish the main campaign, you of course have The Last of Us Left Behind to play through again which tells the story of Ellie and her past and how she came to be.
The Last of Us Part I is a faithful remake of the original game and while it does look superb, many will find themselves wondering if it is worth the price for a visual upgrade. I’d say this is dependent on how much you like The Last of Us. Hardcore fans of the series and even newcomers will find enjoyment here but if you are expecting a complete overhaul of game mechanics then you may find the price of a new game a hard push. The Last of Us Part I is an incredibly beautiful and visual-looking game and is perfectly faithful to the original but it may be a hard sell at full price for a graphical upgrade. Either way The Last of Us remains one of the greatest games of all time and it is easy to see why. If you still haven’t played the game, then I highly suggest playing the Remake for the best experience.
A PlayStation 5 code was provided by PlayStation UK
