THE LAST OF US PART I REMASTERED REVIEW: A LESSON IN HYPE MANAGEMENT
PLATFORM: PS5
HOURS SPENT IN GAME: 16
Spoiler Warning: This review will cover overarching story themes and mildly significant plot points but will not discuss any story-defining moments that could spoil your experience. However, if you would like to go into The Last of Us Part I completely blind, I recommend playing the game first and then returning to this review. Also, please keep in mind that at the time of writing, I have not played The Last Of Us Part II, so any critiques expressed in this review that are addressed in the sequel, I am not aware of.
The title of this review might suggest that I think The Last Of Us Part I is overhyped or that I don't like the game. As a matter of fact, I did enjoy it, but my opinion requires a more nuanced explanation. The Last Of Us Part I is an objectively good game. It has a thoroughly designed combat system, incredible visuals, and a deep, heartfelt story. However, with the exception of the visuals, each of the major elements that serve as this game's building blocks have glaring holes that significantly weaken the overall experience. The issues I have with this game don't come down to mistakes; rather, they come from intentional decisions made by Naughty Dog regarding the execution of its ideas. These decisions resulted in a good game that fell short of being great.
The Story: Hype and Execution
I don't have a great explanation as to why it took me so long to come around to The Last Of Us. It was just one of those games that sat on the top of my backlog for what seemed like forever. But after spending a combined 500 hours in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, I felt I was in need of a more grounded story to immerse myself in. The Last Of Us became one of those "must-play" PlayStation games, much like God Of War or Horizon did, and like those games, the hype surrounding them was immense. A perfect 10/10 from IGN, a 95 MetaCritic score, and critical acclaim from countless reviewers, creators, and pundits touting this as an unforgettable story to experience resulted in a very high level of hype for me going in. Unfortunately though, The Last Of Us Part I did not live up to my hype and expectations as an unforgettable story experience. Several decisions made by Naughty Dog not to explore certain world-building aspects left the story feeling somewhat flat.
In The Last Of Us Part I, you play as Joel, a jaded father who, through the dire circumstances of the world, connects with Ellie, a tough but vulnerable teenager in a mission to escort her to a group called the Fireflies. What are the dire circumstances that brought them together? The human race has been brought to heel by a "sickness" that has plagued the world. The main crux of the story is seeing Joel and Ellie's relationship strengthen through their mutual goal of survival. Initially, they don't trust each other, but as you work together to journey through a harsh, crumbling world, you'll see their trust in each other grow to a point where you wouldn't have believed that they once wanted nothing to do with each other -- but we'll come back to that.
The main issue I have with how Naughty Dog has approached writing this story is their decision not to provide any thorough exposition regarding the "sickness" that plagues the world. We know that whatever the sickness is causes humans to become crazed zombie-like monsters that attack non-sick humans on sight. If they've been sick long enough, they become "clickers", more aggressive, grotesque zombie creatures posing a serious threat to your survival -- but that's about it. Naughty Dog never explores where the disease came from or even what it REALLY is.
The decision not to explore these questions weakens the overall story and leaves it to serve as a thin backdrop for the main plot surrounding Joel and Ellie's relationship. Perhaps it doesn't matter if Joel and Ellie themselves try to discover the origins and meaning of the sickness, but the absence of this basic information surrounding it removes a level of depth from the story that could have made it feel a lot more robust and complete.
Secondly, the lack of exposition of the Fireflies leaves the world-building aspect of the game feeling thin. Who are the Fireflies? They're a militia that opposes FEDRA, a dictator-like military group that controls quarantine zones. The Fireflies are positioned as an important faction having a heavy impact on the story, but like the sickness, they also take a backseat to the main plot surrounding Joel and Ellie's relationship. Our goal is to trek the crumbling country to escort Ellie to the Fireflies, so you would think that we would explore the depths of this group in detail -- but sadly, this doesn't happen. How were the Fireflies formed? How has their battle with FEDRA impacted the world? Exploring these questions would have broadened the world and made the story feel more layered.
Let me wrap this segment by explaining that I don't feel that I'm in any position to tell Naughty Dog how to write this story, but as a game labeled as part I of a larger experience, it seems logical to use that part of the story to establish and expand upon the world and its foundational components, and I feel that they didn't capitalize here. Of course, these themes may be explored in Part II, but I see no reason why it could not have been done in part I. So, does Naughty Dog's mostly singular focus on Joel and Ellie's relationship pay off?
How About Something A Little More Your Size?
The story of Joel and Ellie is one surrounding the merits of trust and how it is gained through two perspectives. Joel's perspective is that of a jaded man who has seen the world take so much from him, diminishing his ability to trust others to support him and have his back. Ellie's perspective is one of a person who fears for that loss. Sure, she has experienced loss, but hers is a fear of not wanting to end up alone for the rest of her life. While Joel's perspective is one of someone who closes himself off to gain the ability to survive alone, Ellie's fear drives her never to have to live that way. Their fears fit into each other like puzzle pieces, and we see those pieces gradually form a larger puzzle as they become increasingly reliant on each other to survive.
One of the first moments of growth within Joel and Ellie's relationship comes when the duo comes across a group of gunmen blocking their way forward through a building compound. Up to this point, Joel, imposing his fatherly instincts, has prohibited Ellie from carrying any guns or taking part in any fighting. In trying to find a way to circumvent the group of soldiers, Ellie voices her frustration that if Joel would just give her a gun, she could help them get through. At this moment, Joel gives in and teaches Ellie how to shoot a rifle. As you engage in a firefight below, Ellie provides sniper support from a balcony above, picking off enemies as they attempt to flank Joel. After the battle is won, Ellie asks what Joel thought of the support she provided him. His response? He hands her a pistol and says "how about something a little more your size?". In this moment, we see Joel begin place trust in Ellie to have his back when they are up against the wall.
Up until this point, the trust present in the relationship was one-sided. Ellie places her trust in Joel out of necessity, as his job as an escort relies on his ability to protect her. Once Joel shows his ability to do so by protecting her from clickers, human enemies in gunfights, and everything in between, her loyalty to him solidifies. But it wasn't until this moment that Joel began to place his trust in Ellie, seeing first hand that she can actually have his back.
The story is filled with moments similar to this, each nudging Joel and Ellie closer together as their trust in each other grows. We see Ellie begin to look at Joel like a father figure, and Joel looks at Ellie like a daughter to protect. Throughout my playthrough, seeing these moments of growth were what I looked forward to the most. The combination of excellent writing, incredible facial animation, and remarkably crafted music culminated in deeply emotional moments to experience. These are the moments where The Last Of Us Part I is at its best, and while I still wish Naughty Dog had put more stock into the world-building elements of this game, what they did put into crafting the relationship between Joel and Ellie most certainly did pay off.
The Gameplay: What's The Missing Piece?
Does a game primarily focused on story need fun gameplay in order to be a good experience? It depends on the level of commitment that game places in its combat system. If a story-focused game dips its toe into a combat system but doesn't commit to it, then that decision to not commit will weaken the experience. Alternatively, a story-focused game committed to its combat system will make for an objectively great experience. That's why I feel frustrated when I look at the combat system in The Last Of Us Part I, because despite being deeply committed to its thoroughly designed combat system, it just isn't very fun.
In The Last Of Us Part I, you're either fighting against humans or clickers, and they are very different experiences from one another. I applaud Naughty Dog for varying these experiences, as they kept me on my toes, requiring me to be ready for anything. Starting with the human encounters, these are almost always firefights revolving around who can outflank who. During these battles, you'll have to use your environment to gain the advantage against enemy groups that almost always outnumber you.
In preparation for these fights, you'll need to aggressively scrap for ammo, as resources of every kind a scarce. I constantly found myself searching every abandoned house, structure, car, etc...for any resource I could find for fear of being unprepared for battle. In any other shooter, having ten rounds left would be cause to reload, but having ten rounds in this game will have you feeling well prepared. In addition to this, you'll need to make your shots count, as you're never exactly swimming in ammunition.
Where firefights with human enemies involve a calculated game of flank or be flanked, encounters with clickers flip this experience on its head. If discovered by a clicker, they'll attack you like a wild animal would -- aggressively and without calculation. So, playing the flanking game doesn't do much good. Clickers can't see; instead, they operate using their extremely sensitive hearing, so you can sneak past them or go in guns blazing and engage in an all-out gunfight to keep them off you. Compared to the firefights with humans, these encounters are much more panic-inducing, making it more challenging to land every precious shot.
Though I can appreciate the satisfaction of landing a well-placed shot, whether on a human enemy or a clicker, that was the only part I found enjoyable. The moment-to-moment gameplay of trying to outflank an opponent, as meticulously designed to feel as realistic as possible, felt dull. Staving off a rabid clicker is certainly more exciting, but after a while, those encounters also start to feel somewhat dull. While also thoroughly and thoughtfully designed, the resource management and crafting systems don't do much to add to the fun factor of the overall combat experience. Perhaps the fun factor was lost in Naughty Dog's desire to make these elements ultra-realistic.
Who's conveniently placing all of these pallets?
Yes, I recognize that I'm critiquing a game from 2013 and that some of the gameplay elements present here result from the design trends of the time. However, I don't feel I can discuss the gameplay of The Last Of Us Part I without discussing its environmental puzzles. If you aren't in combat or engaged in story-progressing dialogue, then you're traversing linear environments by way of environmental puzzles.
In my opinion, these puzzles are a welcome addition to an otherwise very lean gameplay experience, but I'm left struggling with their repetitiveness. Ellie can't swim, meaning whenever you come across a body of water blocking your path, you'll have to find a way to get her across. The solution always involves finding a shipping pallet for Ellie to use as a platform to cross the water with. This means every time I see a shipping pallet, I not only know that it's time for a puzzle, but I also essentially know what the answer to the puzzle is. At one point late in the game, Ellie even remarks on how often these pallets seem to be showing up. I enjoyed this funny little fourth-wall-breaking moment, but it didn't make me enjoy doing these puzzles. I don't hate them, and they aren't too difficult nor will they hinder your progress for too long; I just wish there were a larger variety of non shipping pallet related puzzles to flesh out the gameplay a little further. The saving grace of these puzzles is that they don't overstay their welcome, and they're at least propped up by a story purpose -- that being the fact that Ellie cannot swim.
Visuals & Art Direction -- The Best Version Is Here
I didn't play The Last Of Us Part I on PS3 or PS4, so I can't speak to the visual comparison between those two versions of the game and the PS5 remaster, so I'll only be commenting on what I experienced on PS5. What an experience it was.
The visuals in The Last Of Us Part I Remastered are not only exceptional but they are used masterfully. Each environment is filled with impressive amounts of detail. From every overgrown vine, cracked window, and destroyed furniture piece inside every abandoned house, to the insane detail of every grotesque spore that infests the head of a clicker, the amount of detail poured into every visual makes this an incredibly immersive experience. Looking out into the distance to view an abandoned city is a hauntingly beautiful thing to behold. I can see why Naughty Dog has rereleased this game across three console generations because it's clear that their goal is to use realistic visuals to enhance the grounded nature of the story, and taking advantage of the power of the PS5 helps them thoroughly achieve this goal.
Are the environmental visuals impressive? Absolutely, but the quality of this game's facial animations is downright unbelievable. It's a prerequisite for story-focused games to have high-quality facial animations for those that it applies to, as they play an essential part in conveying character emotions. In The Last Of Us Part I, I could feel the exact emotions that Naughty Dog wanted me to feel during every cutscene. Being able to look into Joel's eyes and feel his fear, or Ellie's eyes and understand her angst, feels so genuine. The detail in every character's facial animations makes every situation feel so authentic, no matter its gravity, and this game is so much better for it.
The Verdict
I would sum up The Last Of Us Part I as a good game that didn't quite live up to the hype I had for it. Safe to say, I am partly to blame for my lukewarm feelings; because if I didn't have sky-high expectations, perhaps I would have a different opinion. However, as I said initially, this is an objectively good game. It lacks broad story exposition, but the focus that was placed on Joel and Ellie's story made for a heartfelt, memorable experience. The combat was largely dull, but it was thoroughly designed, with legitimate satisfaction to be found in landing the perfect shot. The resource management and crafting system, while doing little to add to the game's fun factor, was immersive and thoughtfully built. The visuals were incredible and served as the game's lone flawless quality. With the yin and yang of these qualities in mind, arguably the most important thing I walked away from The Last Of Us Part I wanting to do is to play The Last Of Us Part II to see where it all goes.