I guess it's worth addressing the elephant in the room for a second: "The Last of Us" is the first post-"Crash Bandicoot" Naughty Dog game that I've played, and given that I played and beat the original "Crash Bandicoot" trilogy only as part of the Vicarious Visions "N-Sane Trilogy" remakes (instead of their original versions), this is essentially the first game fully developed by Naughty Dog that I have played and beaten. And admittedly, I approached this one with some very real caution: yes, the game received glowing reviews and many Game of the Year awards back in 2013, but so too did "Grand Theft Auto V," a game I somewhat notoriously (or maybe I just think that) rated a 7 out of 10 upon completing it, contrary to the 9 and 10 scores that everyone was handing out to it left and right. Even if "The Last of Us" was a completely different game, it became clear as soon as I handed that score to "Grand Theft Auto V" that even one of the most beloved and popular games of all time didn't do it for me, so I actually worried that "The Last of Us" would suffer the same fate. Fortunately, dear readers, it didn't. In fact, it ended up becoming one of my personal favorite games.
"The Last of Us" is a wonder to behold in basically every facet: the story is moving, emotion, and excellent in its handling of themes like survival, family, togetherness, and even subtle themes of gender roles and sexuality. Furthermore, considering that I'm not very good at crying, the fact that this game got me pretty damn close to crying at several points is really something. The characters are also impeccably written (specifically Ellie, who is the true highlight of the game), and the relationship between Joel and Ellie is fantastic, as it's the perfect example of true, genuine, legitimate character growth in a story. Even down to the secondary cast, each character is also further brought to life by an array of excellent performances from its very talented cast, and I find the moral ambiguity and flawed nature of the characters to be extremely fascinating, as it brings an air of realness to them. The game's post-apocalyptic world is brilliantly designed and believably lonely, able to mask the fact that it is so linear by still giving you plenty of areas to explore, and the graphics are absolutely breathtaking (the added PS4 facelift only helps to bring them out further). I also love the game's use of music and sound, and I find that the often lighter, more haunting nature of the sound design only helps add to the loneliness that the world creates. Also, while I initially worried going into the game that the gameplay would suffer as a result of the emphasis on story, I'm happy to report that I was very wrong: the gameplay is fantastic. The crafting system adds an interesting air of strategy to the game and keeps you on your toes, the combat is engrossing and exciting, and the stealth sections are also extremely satisfying. Oh, and getting to play the game at 60 FPS thanks to this remaster only helps make for a more smooth gameplay experience.
If there is one EXTREMELY minor flaw I can mention about the game, it's that the enemy AI can be just a tad bit wonky during stealth sections, but said sections are so tensing and edge-of-your-seat thrilling that it's honestly easy to look past.
This is it: this really is one of the finest video games ever made. I was skeptical at first, but "The Last of Us" hooked me in right from the jump and never let me go. If you haven't gotten a chance to play this masterpiece yet...stop whatever you're doing and fix that!
Final rating: 10 out of 10 "Fantastic"