Review Copy Provided by PlayStation.
In 2013, fresh off the critically acclaimed Uncharted trilogy,
Naughty Dog released The Last of Us for PlayStation 3,
going beyond the set-piece action of Nathan Drake’s globetrotting adventures
to tell a more personal and dramatic tale, full of dread and loss.
By mid-2014, they’d expanded and improved upon the original with a prequel DLC
and a remastered PS4 version that touched up the performance and visuals.
Now, as curators of what’s widely considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made,
Naughty Dog looks to leverage the power of the PlayStation 5
to further realize their original vision.
If you have yet to experience The Last of Us,
the story takes place during a post-apocalyptic future in the United States.
Twenty years after an outbreak of a mutant cordyceps fungus, civilization has been decimated.
Infected humans lose all sense of control and become violent,
destructive shadows of their former selves,
tearing apart and consuming any non-infected they find.
Government quarantine zones are scattered throughout the country in an effort to keep humanity alive,
but rogue groups of survivors have their own factions and agendas.
At the center of it all are the hardened, cynical Joel,
and teenage Ellie, who harbors a vital secret.
A smuggler working out of Boston, Joel soon finds himself on a perilous mission
across the country, guiding Ellie to a rebel militia group called The Fireflies.
Their bond remains one of the highlights of The Last of Us
and is even more resonant today because of what’s happening in the real world.
Along their journey, they encounter a handful of supporting characters
who bring new perspectives and emotions to the harrowing tale.
On a technical level, this new version of The Last of Us has been completely rebuilt from the ground up,
but it retains the original script and performances.
Characters and environments look incredibly detailed and lifelike.
Their faces are closer to what the actors originally shot,
while clothes and muscles deform more realistically.
The infected look more terrifying, especially clickers,
while subduing enemies is much more intimate, as you see them struggle before succumbing to death.
Traversing and exploring these environments is more natural now,
as the broad use of yellow to guide the player has been mostly removed.
Certain locations like the museum have additional, unique details and props
to help make each environment feel even more distinct.
Another major improvement is the lighting,
which is expertly highlighted in the game’s more horrific moments,
adding an additional level of tension.
While the visuals are undeniably better in most cases,
the changes do sometimes create a different vibe from the original.
Occasionally, scenes and locations look too clean and crisp,
lacking the same grittiness found on PS3 and PS4.
Since the scenarios and audio remain the same,
it creates a weird sensation of old and new colliding,
which will most likely only affect veteran players
who have remained attached to this world for the better part of a decade.
While the faithfulness to such a revered game is appreciated,
the remastered version already fills that void, so it’s hard not to wonder
what Naughty Dog could have done
if they had taken a more radical approach in this new adaptation.
Combat is a mix of high stakes stealth, brawls
and deadly shootouts.
Each encounter offers a differing mix of enemies and cover,
and even the specific locations you fight in distinguish changes in tone, opportunity,
and the level of desperation.
Bricks and bottles can be used offensively to stun enemies
or they can be thrown to distract them.
Fists and melee weapons like lead pipes
offer vicious ways to eliminate threats,
while a variety of firearms can dispatch even the most deadly opponents.
On higher difficulties,
managing resources is paramount to survival,
heightening the need for stealth and efficient takedowns.
The mechanics remain the same as they were originally,
without implementing moves from Part II such as dodging or going prone.
This may seem like a strange omission, but it’s absolutely for the best,
as the encounters were built with those limitations in mind.
Without spoiling anything, a certain boss has been slightly enhanced, making for a superior showdown.
Furthermore, enemy AI has improved, and while their tactics remain roughly the same,
they’re now less predictable and harder to sneak up on.
The original game would sometimes get wonky during melee combat,
and companions behaving erratically could be a frequent distraction,
but these issues have thankfully been cleaned up.
Throughout the journey, we only encountered one instance
when Ellie was running around during a stealth section.
Naughty Dog continues to be an industry leader with their accessibility options.
Tweaks to help with vision, hearing, and motor accessibility
can be fine tuned along with individual difficulty settings
and navigation and traversal assistance.
The DualSense controller is used to great effect,
with the feeling of rainfall or the sensation of pulling back a bowstring further immersing you into the world.
The haptics can also be used to enhance dialogue for deaf gamers.
Finding collectibles, earning trophies,
and finishing the game on higher difficulties all earn points
which can be spent to unlock various rewards, such as visual filters,
gameplay modifiers, the fan-favorite permadeath mode,
and a new speedrun mode.
Joel and Ellie have a handful of new clothing options to try on, while
their backpacks and a few weapons can be customized with different looks.
Additionally, you can view new and old concept art, character models,
and behind the scenes documentaries.
The documentaries are nothing new though, so hardcore fans
will surely be disappointed by the lack of anything specific to this version.
In addition to the original campaign,
the prequel story Left Behind has been given all the same care.
It remains an essential piece of the Last of Us journey
and offers some quiet, poignant moments amidst the endless brutality.
Despite so much attention being given to both campaigns,
the same consideration wasn’t applied to the omitted but remarkable Factions multiplayer.
While there is an upcoming multiplayer game on the way that Naughty Dog
understandably wants to shift focus to,
it’s still a significant disappointment that even the current version of Factions isn’t included here,
as the community is still going strong.
Its loss is a huge blow to the value of the package overall.
The Last of Us Part I is faithful to the original masterpiece,
preserving the emotions of Naughty Dog’s groundbreaking tale
while removing some limitations of aging technology that held it back.
The story is still as powerful now as it ever was,
and the stealth action combat remains tense and meaningful.
The visuals are undeniably breathtaking, but contribute to a different vibe that isn’t always better.
The world will surely debate which version of The Last of Us is superior in the years to come,
but really, there’s no right or wrong answer.
Final score: 8.5 out of 10.
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Review Copy Provided by PlayStation.