The Last of Us Review

The biggest problem with combat in The Last of Us, however, is how often it breaks its own rules. Mutated zombies called clickers have finely tuned ears that hear your quietest movements. And yet, your companions speak all too loudly near enemies or stand blithely in the open, all while the grotesque monsters obtusely ignore them. In certain sections, locked doors cannot be interacted with until the threat has been eliminated, forcing you to act violently even though an evasive approach seems possible. In other places, a gang of savage monsters waits patiently for you to open a door to freedom, and watches ambivalently as you close it securely behind you. The Last of Us sets rules and then ignores them, removing you from the experience as you question the underlying systems.

A rare moment when Ellie and Joel aren't staring death in the face.

Healthy individuals are a bigger threat than the prowling infected. Military units and paranoid gangs hinder your escape to freedom, and are willing to gun down unknown strangers without so much as a word to figure out your motivations. Humans are more predictable than zombies, so you don't have to be scared that they're going to unexpectedly change direction. However, with guns at the ready, they can kill you just as quickly, and from a long distance away if you're not careful. Problems do exist that lessen the thrill of the fight. Your enemies are not the sharpest people around. Hide behind a corner and snap some poor sap's neck, leaving his lifeless body on the ground. When the next guard walks up, you might expect him to sound the alarm upon seeing his friend. But he often doesn't care, and so you kill again. Other times, you may be dramatically strangling a man only a few meters away from a living guard, and yet you remain unseen.

Despite the many small problems in combat, there's an undeniable tension. Vanquishing a horde of attackers is challenging, so you must fight intelligently. Combat flexibility lets you decide how each fight goes down: loudly or quietly, barbarically or cowardly, or maybe you avoid confrontation entirely. Environments are large, sprawling battlefields that allow you to move how you see fit. Hunker down behind an overturned desk and toss Molotov cocktails into the undead herd until the stench of burned corpses fills the air. Or throw a bottle at the back of a hostile foe, momentarily stunning it until you rush in with murder on your mind. Take a guns blazing approach to fill your unceasing enemies with bullets until their lives fade away.

If you take a bullet or two, your life trickles down, and you need a medical pack to regain your strength. To stay alive, you need to make use of the enticing crafting system. Scrounge materials such as scissors and alcohol, and then craft medical packs and shivs, or reinforce your melee weapon. You can only carry three of each item at a time, so you won't be able to load up on Molotovs and health packs. There are enough goods lying around to keep you well stocked throughout the game, so you never feel as if you're in over your head in a given fight. This system encourages you to search every crevice in the environment, forging a powerful connection between you and this broken world.

Property values have plummeted.

Aside from combat and surveying, there are puzzles to solve. These offer a quiet moment to analyze the environment, and are a welcome respite from the heart-pounding chaos of fighting. Unfortunately, you don't have to think too hard to be on your way. When deep water impedes your path, search for a wooden raft so Ellie can make it safely to shore. A ladder is needed to reach higher ground, and a plank can be used to cross a gap. The puzzles follow the linearity present throughout the adventure. There is only one solution, so you scan the environment for the button prompt that will whisk you to the next locale, never able to flex your creative muscle to find alternate routes through the wreckage.

The Last of Us offers a mundane visual representation of a postapocalyptic world. The overgrown foliage and run-down structures elicit deja vu more often than genuine awe. We've seen these images before, relayed in countless portrayals of society's end. There are a few instances of graphical brilliance, such as when Ellie and Joel are framed by a picturesque sunset, but the aesthetics are predominately ho-hum. However, the music and sound design are exceptional. Fear comes from hearing, but not seeing, your threats. Their creepy groans tell you everything you need to know about the virus that has consumed them. And though the music stays clearly in the background, it complements the emotional reactions perfectly: the hopeful serenade when Ellie gazes at escaped zoo animals, or the throbbing pulse when you're being pursued by a madman. It's a splendid soundtrack throughout.

Joel is well versed in various ways to kill a man.

With two teams gunning down each other, multiplayer appears to be a paint-by-numbers shootfest on the surface, but there's a refreshing feel to the face-offs. People in The Last of Us are not gifted with superheroic athleticism or regenerating health. They just want to survive. And that feeling is well translated here. Make too much noise, and you appear on the minimap, so you slowly crouch-walk through levels, trying to kill without being seen. It's tense in all the right ways, rewarding patience and thoughtfulness over raw speed. Your life is not disposable. The dread of having to craft and then apply a medical pack when a stalking enemy is in sight is tangible, and when you surprise your hunter with a shot from the bushes, you feel empowered. This feeling of desperation combines with a smart unlock system and strategy-altering goals (focus on executions or healing teammates, for instance) makes The Last of Us a unique and satisfying competitive experience.

Thrust in a lawless world, you feel the ache of a society gone to seed. The Last of Us stretches on for hours, forcing you to endure the suffocating atmosphere and unrelenting despair that citizens of this world have become accustomed to. And that time spent navigating the desolate wasteland draws you deeper inside. You read letters from people who have long since disappeared, meet groups who have created a rickety social structure to help them survive life's many threats. Most important of all, you watch Ellie grow. From feisty warmth to beleaguered exhaustion, her many moods are always twinged with a grounded levity. Her uplifting nature stands in sharp contrast to the people and events surrounding her, compelling you to protect her, shepherd her, and cherish her. The Last of Us is a singular adventure that looks the downfall of humanity in the eyes and doesn't blink.