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There are very few pleasant things in The Last of Us. In a world where humanity has been pushed to the precipice of extinction by a fungal outbreak that leaves its hosts bloodthirsty and relentless, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Families have been torn apart, loved ones have been lost, and the only goal of each and every person in the world is to survive to see another day. It’s bleak, it’s dark, and it’s depressing. And it’s these reasons that make The Last of Us one of the greatest and most compelling games I’ve ever played on any console.
From the very beginning, Naughty Dog pulls on your heartstrings. They want to emotionally prepare you for what you’re about to experience. As Joel, one of the struggling survivors living on the outskirts of a decimated Boston, you begin to understand just how dire the situation is. Instead of telling you what’s going on, Naughty Dog decides to show you. Unlike a lot of developers creating games these days, they realize that you’re an intelligent individual and you don’t need your hand held. People are shot down in the street. Entire sections of the city are quarantined off, despite the fact that there are innocent people in there who may die of starvation – or worse.
Twenty years have passed since the outbreak began, and everyone is doing what they can to get by. Because he’s so desperate, Joel agrees to smuggle something out of the city. Or, as it turns out, someone. From the moment Ellie is introduced, she endears herself to us. This is not some childish little girl, but rather someone who has unfortunately been introduced to the horrors of a bygone world far too early. She’s foul-mouthed, abrasive, and complicated, the result of not having anyone to lean on as she grew up. At first, Joel is skeptical, as are we. There must be more to this girl than meets the eye. And so their journey begins.
There isn’t an adequate level of praise that I can give to the voice-acting, the story, and the script as a whole. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, Joel and Ellie, respectively, bring an entirely new level to the table. Not only do we believe the story that is being told, but we’re roped into cheering for them, feeling their disappointment when things don’t go their way, and connecting with them despite the fact that they’re characters on a screen. Additionally, nearly all of the tropes associated with the genre are avoided entirely, which speaks volumes when the post-apocalyptic theme has been all but sucked dry.
One of the first things that you’ll notice about The Last of Us is that it’s unapologetically brutal. The violence is nauseating, and the executions even more so. Yet violence is as much a character in this game as Joel and Ellie. Their brutality is necessary to ensure their survival. It’s made abundantly clear that although they don’t want to do the things that they do, they must. In a world where it’s them or the “bad guys,” they must do whatever it takes. That’s another thing that is portrayed so elegantly: the people that you’re fighting are no different than you are. They, like you, are just trying to survive.
The combat system is a fresh take on the normal third-person fare. Instead of picking enemies off one by one like a virtual whack-a-mole, you’re given myriad options as to how you want to approach combat. Paired with intricate crafting system, there is no wrong way to take on any given situation. Sneaking up behind enemies to silently take them out is rewarding, but so is surviving a shootout where you’re careful to line up your shots as to not waste precious ammunition. Breaking up enemies with a smoke bomb that you made from collected explosive materials and a bag of sugar, and then subsequently putting a shiv through their back is another method. The choice is yours.
When you’re finished with the story, make sure to stay for the multiplayer. Instead of tacking on bullet fest, Naughty Dog has carefully crafted a multiplayer suite that actually feels synchronous with the tale you’ve just experienced. You play as either a Hunter or a Firefly (a resistance force explained through the campaign), and your job is, again, to survive. Picking the right time to pop out of cover is vital, as there may be more enemies waiting around the corner. It’s a pure adrenaline dump every single time, and it’s one of the biggest surprises of the year.
The Last of Us is more than a game. It’s a story that allows – demands, actually – for us to look inside ourselves and ask questions that we may not have considered before. We’re asked to be sympathetic for people that do not deserve it because of the atrocities that they have committed. It’s not a question that we’re asked lightly, either. When your back is up against the wall, and the only way to get out alive is to go against everything that you stand for, would you do it? If you’re not able to answer that question now, play The Last of Us. It won’t answer that question for you, but it will sure make you thi
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