Finally, I’ve completed The Last of Us. This critical darling from 2013… yep, from 10 years ago… Anyway, I’ve tried playing the original game around the time of the release using the PS3 my friend graciously lent me and about 2/3 of the way in I got so bored that I simply decided not to continue playing. But, being a game designer and all, you have to play titles like this – even when you don’t like the whole package, there are elements to learn from, ideas to get influenced by. So I couldn’t keep it this way and now, that a remake of the game (now with Part I added to the title) is out on PC, I decided to give it another go. And yeah, it’s… fine. The port isn’t, though.
If I had to describe the game, I’d call it Metro 2033 meets The Walking Dead using Uncharted as a mechanical basis. It’s a third person action adventure with an emphasis on stealthy action, survival-ish elements (lack of resources, deadly enemies) and storytelling. It’s main flow is quite reminiscent of the Metro 2033 in that the story drives the characters forward to linear but slightly open locations that are varied in what you do and experience in them and you’re motivated to explore and find resources to help you. Though a big difference is that while stealth is important, vast majority of locations still want you to kill enemies rather than avoiding them, unlike Metro 2033 where you can avoid killing human enemies entirely and hide from mutated enemies most of the time.
What is unquestioned is that the storytelling in The Last of Us is wonderfully done. So many other game studios attempt to make games “cinematic”, but more often than not you get either unholy unions of limited gameplay and overproduced cutscenes, a la Rockstar or barely playable interactive movies a la Quantic Dream. Whereas The Last of Us really does feel like “if a movie was a videogame” in the best conceivable way. Does it need to be like this? Not really, but they did it successfully. Whenever you enjoy this story or not is, as with any story driven game, up for your tastes, of course, but I liked it and the way it was told. And it’s one of those nice stories where the protagonist is very unlikable, but it doesn’t really matter that you’re controlling them, as it’s their story you’re experiencing, not the player’s.
The gameplay, however, is of debatable quality. It’s adequate. The stealth is fine most of the time. Some rare puzzle solving is entertaining enough. The crafting system that due to the success of this game is now plaguing every goddamn title in existence is actually alright, even if scavenging for things is more tedious than fun (yes, game, I like picking up all 5 bolts separately, it’s very engaging). But the action ranges from alright to frustrating. As it was always the case with Naughty Dog, their action is usually more fun due to the set pieces, the crazy situations, the way weapons feel, the acrobatics you can do in Uncharted. The Last of Us lacks almost all of that, being a more “grounded in reality” title and due to that it’s fine when moderated, but every time the game decides to have a large shootout, it’s more frustrating and stupid than fun.
Which is exactly why I stopped playing the game way back then – the game went into the part that was almost non-stop action and all of it was not fun. There are pockets and entire story segments that are perfectly executed with just the right amount of stealthy tension and exploration and then some combat scenes. The first half of the game is more manageable due to that, but the second half, apart from several welcome changes to the pace, is just non-stop boring shooting and stealthy action against human enemies. With only few bits in the previous DLC to the game (now just a menu selection) Left Behind having the right idea of mixing the infected and humans in the same map to let the player set them against each other. These bits, that I’ve experienced almost by the end of my playthrough, since this story is better experienced after the main game, were the first enjoyable action sequences I’ve had in this game in more than 10 hours. And then the game ruined the fun by overindulging in combat anyways.
At least it feels less annoying with keyboard and mouse – unlike Uncharted, which is more of an action adventure with lots more going on, The Last of Us Part I behaves more like a typical third person shooter, so kb+mouse is simply plain better suited. So if not for the technical issues, the PC port of the game feels good. But technical issues, even now after several huge patches, are aplenty. They can affect gameplay too – sometimes reflective transparencies turn pure black and not transparent, meaning that gun scopes become unusable, as you can’t actually see through them. Crashes can still happen too and the way data streaming is implemented is extremely not PC-friendly. Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection had some issues at launch, but nothing even remotely like what’s going on here. So you might want to check if the issues are fixed before buying, if you are planning to play the game.
I didn’t hate my time with The Last of Us Part I, even with the constantly growing frustrating with its gameplay and the fact that I was glad when it was finally over. I doubt I’ll play it again. I dread when Part II gets inevitably released on PCs as well, because I really don’t want to play it but again – as a game designer I feel that I should. I’d just rather see Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection on PCs, quite honestly, now those games are actually fun to play. But I didn’t hate it or even actively dislike it. And being a fan of good stories and storytelling, I had a lot of enjoyment as well. I just… I feel like Metro 2033, for all its jank, did the same kind of game (not story though) much better.