Game info

• Title The Last of Us, Part 1
• Developer Naughty Dog
• Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment
• Year 2022
• Platform Playstation 5
• Genre Action

In a ravaged civilisation, where infected and hardened survivors run rampant, Joel, a weary protagonist, is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie out of a military quarantine zone. However, what starts as a small job soon transforms into a brutal cross-country journey.

Player Select

To set the scene, I watched the TV show of this the minute it came out and loved it, just like everyone else did. And it was sort of in the back of my mind to play the game at some point, but by then it was an older game so it wasn’t a massive priority. Then I spotted it in a sale over Christmas and immediately snapped it up and got stuck in. This version is a remake of the 2013 game, and I’m not sure of the differences between the two, but I’m glad to have an up to date pack to dive into.

It’s in the Game

There’s plenty to say about this game but the most astounding thing to me was the visuals. They grab you straight away, really good, clear incredible graphics, and they don’t let go. I was open-mouthed at some of it, particularly when you flash forward to the post-apocalyptic scenes and you’re running around abandoned tower blocks and a city that is seeing nature starting to reclaim it. Just amazing.

The gameplay is great, third person, running and jumping around various environments, and thankfully with the option to stealth kill things - I’m not great at shooting and aiming. Of course there’s a lot of story, and a lot of it was pretty familiar to me from the TV version, but it’s a good story so at least it keeps you interested.

I played for a good while and really didn’t get too far through the story so there’s a lot of hours of entertainment here and lots to explore.

Thoughts

A gorgeous update to the game, this looks incredible and tells a hugely sprawling and intense story, with hours of fun and narrative to explore. The controls are easy to pick up, gameplay is straightforward and it’ll keep me occupied for a long while to come.

Rating: 4 / 5