Nine years have passed since the initial release of The Last Of Us on the PlayStation 3. Now, after a remaster, and a sequel later, Sony has revisited the original game, dubbed The Last of Us Part I.
Arguably, this brutal and beloved game has been rebuilt from the ground up for the PlayStation 5, consisting of gorgeous graphics. It’s a faithful update, however, it’s a remake in visuals alone; moment-to-moment gameplay remains untouched, save for minor tweaks.
The Last Of Us has seen massive success over the years on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. For the third time, Naughty Dog has remade their critically acclaimed title for the PlayStation 5 in the form of The Last Of Us: Part 1. The creators of the Uncharted series have yet again delivered an exceptional visual treat for both new and returning players who are pining to experience a game of high caliber.
It’s no secret that Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is one of the most important games in Sony’s library. This post-apocalyptic action-adventure game’s influence has elevated expectations for blockbuster AAA titles to obscene heights. It has also changed the face of interactive storytelling, weaving a story about broken people in a zombie-infested hellscape with some of the finest performances ever to grace a video game.
The Storyline
The Last Of Us: Part 1 doesn’t offer a new storyline as the remake is more to do with the visuals than the narrative. However, if you don’t know the story of The Last Of Us, read on to get the gist of it.
The Last Of Us: Part 1 doesn’t offer a new storyline as the remake is more to do with the visuals than the narrative. However, if you don’t know the story of The Last Of Us, read on to get the gist of it.
TLOU is one of the most emotional and poignant stories the gaming media has ever seen or produced. The protagonist is Joel Miller, a survivor in a post-apocalyptic world affected by the Cordyceps disease. This disease turns infected humans into parasitic-fungal zombies who have overrun the world.
They have confined humanity to camps and exclusion zones for survival. You play as Joel, and you will go on missions that involve dealing with various factions who are trying to survive in this harsh world. Furthermore, you will be tasked with smuggling and protecting Ellie Williams, a young girl deemed important by the Fireflies.
As Joel, you will venture across America trying to keep Ellie alive, and it is going to be a rollercoaster ride where you will question everyone’s moral compass. Surviving in a harsh world such as TLOU’s setting isn’t easy, and you will face some gut-wrenching situations. There are some beautiful moments and then some extremely horrific situations you will face that have made The Last Of Us a legendary title from the PlayStation family.
What’s also neat is that the ‘Left Behind’ DLC has also been packaged with this release and has received the same treatment as the main title. So while this 2.5-hour experience is not exactly new content, at least players won’t have to shell out more money to experience Ellie’s story before she met Joel.
Visual Upgrades And Other Features
Naughty Dog has done an incredible job with visual aspects in this remake edition of TLOU. Naughty Dog has done an incredible job with the visual aspects of this remake edition of TLOU. The Last Of Us: Part 1 will start off with a cutscene of Joel and Tommy’s character models.
As you progress through the game, you will notice that not only every character model has been designed from the ground up, but even the levels have received similar treatment. In addition, a lot of other aspects of the game have been upgraded, including buildings, little trinkets, collectables, and even random NPCs, to enhance players’ experiences.
However, the most noticeable upgrade is the overall lighting, as the game now feels more cinematic and life-like than the original game. Even across the levels, the vegetation is far more noticeable in dishevelled environments that have been crafted with much detail.
The visual improvements have also been extended to cutscenes that look on par with those of The Last of Us: Part 2. Every character featured in cutscenes has highly accurate lip-syncing. However, some character models look a bit different from the original. This is most noticeable when you reach that horrible scene involving Sam and Henry.
Apart from visual upgrades, The Last of Us: Part 1 has more accessibility features such as audio-guided cutscenes, navigation assistance, screen reading, an enhanced listening mode, and other significant additions.
Some of these features are highly important for differently-abled players. Other customizations have been added that directly impact the gameplay, as players can also tweak mechanics such as infinite breathing, skipping puzzles, and other features that make the game easier to experience.
Gameplay and Performance
The Last Of Us: Part 1 doesn’t only resort to a simple visual overhaul that has been repackaged to sell again. In fact, there have been several gameplay improvements that also make TLOU: Part 1 a more fulfilling experience.
For example, the enemy AI has been significantly improved, making stealth gameplay much more tense and intense than the original. Subsequently, character movements are also very similar to TLOU: Part 2.
The newly added gameplay experience really does make it worth checking out the game again. The combat mechanics are more fluid and don’t confine players to janky controls, quite unlike the original. The way this game plays is the sole reason why returning players should consider experiencing TLOU again.
Once you get the hang of the controls and get efficient at dealing with enemies, you could also try your hand at speed-running the game. There is a dedicated speedrun mode for experienced players who want to amp up the challenge.
The speed-run mode is only available once you beat the game. There is no reason to lock this mode as many returning players who have already played TLOU2 and know every aspect of TLOU would want to speed-run the game from the get-go.
There are different performance modes that complement the gameplay improvements fantastically. You can experience The Last Of Us: Part 1 in 4K or 1440p resolution while targeting 60FPS in performance mode.
If you desire, you can unlock the framerate for a higher FPS that targets up to 120 FPS if you have a TV or monitor with an HDMI 2.1 port. Players who want to experience the pretty visuals can opt for Fidelity mode. However, the game only targets a maximum of 40 FPS in this mode, which can be slightly disappointing for some players.
Finally, the remake wouldn’t have been complete if Naughty Dog had not implemented the DualSense support system. When playing the game, players will have surround sensations and vibrations that are akin to DualSense during gameplay and even cutscenes.
These vibrations have also been tuned in tandem with the audio, which makes the game even more immersive than ever before. Other features under DualSense support, such as trigger resistance, can also be felt when using different types of weapons.
This is most notable when players use a bow or when they craft items such as a health pack. In my opinion, the DualSense features used in The Last Of Us: Part 1 are on par, if not better than Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.