This article originally ran under a different banner/website in February of 2020 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy.
HEAR YE!!! HEAR YE!!! My loyal followers. For the past few weeks, I, the Video Game Doomsayer, have been terrified to play The Last of Us. Not by the gangs of bandits roaming the desolate streets. Not by the infected who can barrel down on you. Not even by the eerie clickers that blindly roam the ruined halls. My fear from The Last of Us stems from its fans. The constant showering of praise. The claims that this title has the best story in gaming. The notation The Last of Us is a beacon in gaming and Part 2 will lead us to salvation. I dare not to be the one who would proclaim The Last of Us to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but I dare not be silenced by a game. I knew eventually this day would come, and I decided it would be on my terms. So if I shall be painted a martyr, so be it. I PRESENT TO YOU, MY REVIEW OF THE LAST OF US.
Our story begins with Joel, a handyman, whose world is turned upside down during a zombie virus outbreak. Now I see the nay-sayers already gearing up their pitchforks and torches to burn me at the stake. Yes, I am aware they are technically not zombies, but humans infected by a mutated plant. I know everyone is so quick to bring up the ants who are often zombified by a similar plant in real life. While all factually correct, these infected act exactly like every other zombie seen in gaming. One unfamiliar with The Last of Us could easily confuse it with another zombie game, Days Gone. A low blow, I’ll admit, but one that I still find valid.
After the outbreak, Joel becomes a smuggler. He, naturally, has become cold and distant throughout the war-torn years of fighting the infected, the oppressive military, and resistance group trying to find a cure. The same resistance group, known as the Fireflies, task Joel with escorting a young girl named Ellie across the infested United States to Fireflies research lab on the West Coast. Throughout their adventure, developers Naughty Dog, seem to be copying all the zombie story cliches that The Walking Dead wrote. The partner is bitten, but sacrifices themselves to save Joel and Ellie. The lone hermit with a secret heart of gold. The older-younger brothers that we team up with until one of them is bitten and the other takes their own life. Even Joel getting injured and passing the torch onto Ellie seems like plot points I have already seen. Not saying any of these scenes are bad; quite the contrary, they are beautifully executed. However, due to the fact they are familiar, they don’t feel like this grand story fans had been promising me.
However, the draw to the story is the two leads. While it is obvious that Joel’s attachment to Ellie turns from professional to personal, it doesn’t make it any less endearing. Every time Ellie tried to get Joel to let her in only to have Joel metaphorically slam the door in her face, she had me shamefully shake my head. The writing absolutely sells it as it was so easy to empathize with these struggles. Joel can’t afford to open old wounds, and Ellie is terrified of being lost and alone in this uncaring world.
Frankly, Joel and Ellie’s relationship pushed me through The Last of Us even at its tiresome moments. The initial gunplay turned me off from The Last of Us. Joel’s aiming felt stiff and unyielding. To make matters worse, being shot once has Joel recoiling back like a soccer player trying to draw a foul. It wasn’t until I acquired more guns like the shotgun and upgraded the gun sway in the perks, that the combat started to become more enjoyable. While I am aware of upgrading a weak protagonist into Rambo is common in video games, I am starting to grow tired of it. Nonetheless, the variety in the combat along with some nice set pieces prevents the combat from being as stale as the infected themselves.
Luckily, the stealth was able to pick up the early game slack from the combat. Right off the bat, you are given the ability to focus and be able to see enemies through walls. Effectively making you a predator. With the ability to pick up bricks and bottles and throw them, you can effectively isolate and pick out stray gunmen or zombies. It might be the introvert inside me, but having a stealth system that allows you to perfectly time takedowns like you were the Dark Knight himself, always tickles my fancy. There is also an exhilarating boss fight where you must sneak around an abandoned restaurant, with broken plates that make noise when you step on them while avoiding a leader of a cannibalistic gang. As gangs of humans and infected began to grow, I was quite thankful, I could pick off a handful of enemies like a shark lurking in the water.
Sneaking up to enemies and driving a knife into their necks also becomes important when dealing with the buffed-up zombies known as Clickers. Taking on these coral reef-headed zombies becomes almost impossible to deal with without stealth. Yes, they are blind and you can sneak around them, but some set pieces don’t allow you to sneak around them. Yes, a few shotgun blasts can take them out, but if they reach you they will instantly game over you with a single bite to the neck. A design that I despise because it effectively turns them from tense creatures into mere annoyances. Having one sneak up behind you to make you replay the last few minutes of a game is not scary, but controller-snapping irritation. They effectively have the opposite problem of Among the Sleep, the constant need to replay sections diminishes my fear of Clickers. Hear my warning, horror game devs, familiarity breeds contempt.
As I continued my adventure with Joel and Ellie, I was gearing up to give The Last of Us a good but not great opinion. Heavy sighs would interrupt the chattering of Clickers. I mentally prepared to be the teacher who would have to explain to an overachieving student why they received a B instead of an A. Then we reached the hospital. I am sure many, if not all, of The Last of Us fans, are nodding in pleasure as they know what I am talking about. Upon witnessing that cutscene, the controller dropped from my hands; stunned, disheartened, and unclear what to do next. Joel clearly, knew the path, but I was unsure. I questioned whether the proper thing to do was to turn off the PS4 as if that would prevent Joel’s actions. No, I thought, I must see this through, no matter my thoughts.
So many zombie stories play with the idea that zombies aren’t the monsters, but humans are the truly monstrous ones. Heather Ledger’s Joker said it the best:
“You see their morals, their code, it’s like a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble.”
The Last of Us shove the mirror into humanity’s face and ask us who the biggest monster: Joel or the Fireflies. Quite frankly, the Clickers almost feel merciful now, instantly killing you rather than lying to everyone about the good for humanity they are doing. As the ending sank in, I realized everything I criticized seemed designed to lull me into a state of confidence. Just for Naughty Dog to be lurking around the corner to gut-punch me. A grander setting and innovative combat would almost detract from the dark story of the characters. Naughty Dog had ripped out my heart and plucked at it like newly strung banjo strings. Oh, what a fool, I had been.
At one point, early on in the game, I questioned why there would be a The Last of Us Part 2. Yes, a naive thought, I will agree. With The Last of Us hitting so many familiar zombie tropes, I questioned what more could I sequel provide. Naturally, everything changed in that last hour. Am I looking forward to The Last of Us Part 2? Does anyone look forward to a conversation with their significant other after they say we need to talk? I see the end on the horizon for Joel and Ellie. I do not long for this doom, but like all doomsayers before me, I must shout it atop my soapbox. I also must experience it, as I had done with its predecessor. In my traditional ragged attire, I bow to you, Naughty Dog.