History YMMV / TheLastOfus

** An double-whammy because of the ''The Last of Us-DLC'': When in Bill's Church he suspects that Ellie has stolen something from him, but she denies it. A later cut-scene show us that she stole, amongst other things, a gay male porn magazine from Bill. [[spoiler:And the later revelation of Ellie's sexuality proved that, no, she wasn't lying.]]

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: Much of the backlash against the [=PS5=] remake is that it's basically just the original game but with enhanced graphics and implementing some of the gameplay features and AI from ''Part II'' (while excluding a few very useful additions such as dodging attacks and crawling while prone, with the devs giving an excuse that can be summed up as Joel being too old to do those things), making it essentially another remaster rather than a remake and thus not worth the $70 price (for comparison, the [=PS4=] remaster can be purchased for as low as ''$20'', and does come automatically with higher tier PS Plus memberships).

* SequelDifficultySpike: Or rather, "Remake Difficulty Spike", but the [=PS5=] remake features the more advanced enemy AI from ''Part II'', making it significantly more difficult than the original. The Infected also gain some of the boosts given in ''Part II'' as well; Stalkers are not as easy to detect with Listen Mode as they were in the original game and Clickers have their echolocation scream to detect enemies in front of them. Not helping matters is the fact that the dodge mechanic from the sequel was not even included to compensate, resulting in some deaths that could have easily been avoided had the dodge feature been added in.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: Much of the backlash against the [=PS5=] remake is that it's basically just the original game but with enhanced graphics and implementing some of the gameplay features and AI from ''Part II'', making it essentially another remaster rather than a remake and thus not worth the $70 price (for comparison, the [=PS4=] remaster can be purchased for as low as ''$20'', and does come automatically with higher tier PS Plus memberships).

* TrueArtIsAngsty: Aside from a few character interactions (particularly Joel and Ellie's budding relationship), this game is damn depressing even for a standard ZombieApocalypse game. Nearly every character is a {{Jerkass}} (including the protagonist, despite his HiddenHeartOfGold), the few who aren't (besides maybe Tommy and his group) [[spoiler:end up being infected, killed or losing everyone and everything they have]], there's a lot of talk about HumansAreBastards and HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and the game has one heck of a BittersweetEnding that leans more towards bitter than sweet. Yet it is one of the most acclaimed video games of all time.

* SlowPacedBeginning: After a frenetic and emotionally exhausting opening, the game takes about two full hours to introduce all of the major game mechanics before finally letting you off the leash in Bill's Town. What makes this bearable is that the plot is constantly moving, the encounters are [[NintendoHard no less threatening despite how poorly equipped you are]], and the sheer SceneryGorn of downtown Boston makes things interesting enough until the [[WhamEpisode inciting incident of the story]] ([[spoiler: Tess' infection and pleading with Joel to bring Ellie to the Fireflies]]) really kicks thing into high gear.

* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: The gameplay is perfectly functional and few people have any outright criticisms of it. However, it's considered pretty average and doesn't really add anything new most people couldn't find in a different third-person action game at the time of release. It was the plot, characters, and the actors' performances in the cutscenes that really elevated this game to its iconic status it enjoys.

* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: The gameplay is perfectly functional and few people have any outright criticisms of it. However, it's considered pretty average and doesn't really add anything new most people couldn't find in a different third person action game at the time of release. It was the plot, characters, and the actors' performances in the cutscenes that really elevated this game to its iconic status it enjoys.

** [[spoiler: To some, Joel himself crosses it when he kills the Fireflies to stop them from killing Ellie to make a cure and then lies to her about it.]]

* SpiritualLicensee: ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' is in many ways a video game adaptation of ''Literature/TheStand'', being a RoadTripPlot story set in a post-apocalyptic United States that has been ravaged by TheVirus. There are some smaller plot points that are mutually reminiscent, such as the fact that in both stories the protagonists are venturing from the East Coast towards a location in the Rocky Mountains that contains the last remnants of "good" civilization. The big difference is that [[spoiler:in ''The Last of Us'', it wasn't really worth it]].
%%** It has also been called the greatest ''Film/ChildrenOfMen''-game ever made. Why?

* TrueArtIsAngsty: Aside from a few character interactions (particularly Joel and Ellie's budding relationship), this game is damn depressing even for a standard ZombieApocalypse game. Nearly every character is either a CompleteMonster or a {{Jerkass}} (including the protagonist, despite his HiddenHeartOfGold), the few who aren't (besides maybe Tommy and his group) [[spoiler:end up being infected, killed or losing everyone and everything they have]], there's a lot of talk about HumansAreBastards and HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and the game has one heck of a BittersweetEnding that leans more towards bitter than sweet. Yet it is one of the most acclaimed video games of all time.

** There are times where it looks like the infected, at least the Runners, are aware of their state but can't control themselves, due to their cries and fearful looks on their faces. [[https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/study-zombie-ant-death-grip-comes-from-muscle-contractions-not-the-brain/amp/ Four years after the game's release]], a group of scientists dissected an Cordyceps infected ant, finding Cordyceps cells in the ant's body but not in the brain, that's been cut off from the rest of the body. Meaning that, yes, [[AccidentallyCorrectWriting the Runners knows exactly what's going on]].

* PortingDisaster: The PC version of the Part I Remake is ripe with horrible optimization, a plethora of performance issues and infrequent crashing that can render the game borderline unplayable without heavily modifying your settings. Worse yet, Steam Deck users reported shader loading to last for an hour. It quickly became the lowest rated game in Naughty Dog's history, panned by users and critics alike. While subsequent patches addressed many of the issues, the damage was done.
* OlderThanTheyThink: The character arc between Joel and Ellie has actually been done three years ago by the leads in ''VideoGame/EnslavedOdysseyToTheWest'', [[https://youtu.be/vR30frv_wV0 according to SuperButterBuns]].
* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: [[DeathOfTheAuthor Despite]] the WordOfGod claim, the nature of Joel and Tess's relationship is delightfully ambiguous, with only her statement that "there's enough here [between us]" to give any implications that it goes beyond platonic convenience. It really can come down to personal interpretation if it's romantic, intimate, or just close friendship.

* CantUnHearIt: Many fans will attest to not being able to hear Creator/AshleyJohnson's voice in any other form of media now without hearing Ellie talking. While this is his most iconic role, Creator/TroyBaker averts this thanks to his famously large workload and altering his voice enough so that it's different from his other parts.

* PortingDisaster: The PC version of the Part I Remake is ripe with horrible optimization, a plethora of performance issues and infrequent crashing that can render the game borderline unplayable without heavily modifying your settings. Worse yet, Steam Deck users reported shader loading to last for an hour.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City does indeed have giraffes.

* OlderThanTheyThink: The character arc between Joel and Ellie has actually been done three years ago by the leads in VideoGame/EnslavedOdysseyToTheWest, [[https://youtu.be/vR30frv_wV0 according to SuperButterBuns]].