I don’t like survival horror games too much. I never could really deal well with the jump scares or the tropes that traditionally come with the genre. While I will admit I did like Resident Evil 4, I put this game off since it was re-released. Then I tried it. It has since become one of my favorite games of all time.
This game is fantastic all around. If you’re like me and just cannot stomach survival horror games because of their reliance on jump scares then I can easily report this game pretty much has none that I noticed. It isn’t really that scary but while that may be off-putting to some, it has excellent, tense atmosphere that is done to perfection. Everything is well realized in this games world and the level design helps. It’s linear but there are many various places to explore along the way. There are no side quests or objectives except for the main one but it does it in such a way that you’ll want to take your time exploring the game's world. There is much to explore and find.
Exploring is pretty much mandatory if you want to survive. The game is pretty hard on normal I found, then again, I’m not too experienced with these types of games. I ended up just playing on easy but even on easy mode it wasn’t a walk in the park. I couldn’t just run and gun. I had to still use a certain degree of stealth to get to the next section and it required me to take my time. On easy items and weapons are more plentiful but they’re still scarce and I found myself dying a lot in the game
The combat regardless of what difficulty you play it on is excellent. There are only a few enemy types and I figured that it would get bland half way through but it doesn’t. Each fight is very tense and requires strategy to survive. You can’t just start opening fire on enemies, the AI is very well done, and while occasionally the allied AI has its issues, as to be expected the friendly AI doesn’t just act like they’re useless and they pitch in and helped me quite a bit.
The combat is brutal and satisfying. There are a good bit of guns throughout the adventure that you find and the melee combat is very satisfying. There are melee weapons and even upgrades you can do to them, while they’re prone to breaking down, I found some of them were exceptionally powerful and I wasn’t expecting the melee combat to be as useful and satisfying as it was. It even encourages the second playthrough with a New Game + mode.
The real draw to the Last of Us is the story. On the surface, it doesn’t seem too special but the characterization and the overall acting will keep you invested. It has a few plot twists that caught me off guard and everyone is just so well acted and the game is just so well directed on the storyline that it was a great ride from start to finish. The story is short, about 14 hours. This version does have the Left Behind DLC which is a must to experience because of how it fleshes out a certain character and expands on a certain event half way through the game. The DLC on its own might seem too short but since it’s part of a game for free, it’s worth your time.
There is also a multiplayer mode. I liked it. It’s a 4v4 mode and it’s pretty methodically paced and it influences teamwork to survive. I wasn’t expecting much but it’s pretty solid. Would I ever buy it on its own just for the multi-player? No, I wouldn’t but it’s a nice inclusion.
I really don’t give games this score that much but I feel the Last of Us deserves it. It has won so many game of the year awards and for good reason. It may not be for everyone though. It is pretty brutal and some of the cutscenes made me cringe, so if you’re sensitive to violence, then it won’t be your thing but everyone else? Even if you hate survival horror you owe it to yourself to pick this up. Considering the price this game is now at? At 60 USD I’d recommend it. At its current price? You’re getting a great deal and you’ll experience one of the best game stories in recent memory.
Is it perfect? No. It could’ve used more enemy types and I found a pretty hilarious glitch near the end that almost broke my immersion but it does so many things right you probably won’t care.
Because of that, I can easily give the Last of Us a 10 and is a must have to anyone who even remotely likes a good story in a game with great gameplay.