The Last of Us is one of those games that I picked up merely because of the hype. With lofty claims such as "The best game ever", "The Citizen Kane of gaming", and "A life-changing experience", as well as a winner of over 200 Game of The Year awards, it seems this game is seen as some kind of Sacred Cow of gaming. Does it live up to the hype? Here are my thoughts(Major spoilers ahead).
The story may seem like a standard zombie apocalypse story, but with unique elements and enemy design, it proves itself to be more. Joel is a veteran who has been hardened by the death of his daughter, Sarah. The prologue shows in full detail what we are to expect, since Sarah's death is shown on-screen. After a Time Skip of 20 years, Joel is not in very good emotional standing, but proves to be in good physical condition. Along the way, he meets Ellie and is immediately reluctant to accompany her. The reveal of Tess being bitten and doomed to turn only makes things worse. Joel and Ellie meet many other survivors in an attempt to find the "Fireflies", a group of advanced and armed individuals looking for a cure to the pandemic. Many, many, unfortunate events ensue, and things only look more and more grim for our 2 protagonists. Except for the addition of a few good things, in light of the horribleness going on for mankind on a global scale. The emotional moments pack a punch, but the ending is exceptional in this regard.
As far as the gameplay goes, it is archaic. The gameplay is really nothing we haven't seen before in other stealth games. It was fun at times, but it seemed extremely tedious and monotonous for the most part.
So, my verdict for the supposed "Best game ever", "Citizen Kane of gaming", "Life-changing experience", is an 8/10. It's no masterpiece by my standards. The game would've gotten a 7/10 had it not been for the fantastic ending. It's still held down by mostly generic and uninspired gameplay, somewhat mitigated by unique enemy design and flashy graphics. The story is the main selling point and the best thing about this game. Does the game live up to the hype? Yes it does.
Amazing game, but sub-standard gameplay
The Last of Us is one of those games that I picked up merely because of the hype. With lofty claims such as "The best game ever", "The Citizen Kane of gaming", and "A life-changing experience", as well as a winner of over 200 Game of The Year awards, it seems this game is seen as some kind of Sacred Cow of gaming. Does it live up to the hype? Here are my thoughts(Major spoilers ahead).
The story may seem like a standard zombie apocalypse story, but with unique elements and enemy design, it proves itself to be more. Joel is a veteran who has been hardened by the death of his daughter, Sarah. The prologue shows in full detail what we are to expect, since Sarah's death is shown on-screen. After a Time Skip of 20 years, Joel is not in very good emotional standing, but proves to be in good physical condition. Along the way, he meets Ellie and is immediately reluctant to accompany her. The reveal of Tess being bitten and doomed to turn only makes things worse. Joel and Ellie meet many other survivors in an attempt to find the "Fireflies", a group of advanced and armed individuals looking for a cure to the pandemic. Many, many, unfortunate events ensue, and things only look more and more grim for our 2 protagonists. Except for the addition of a few good things, in light of the horribleness going on for mankind on a global scale. The emotional moments pack a punch, but the ending is exceptional in this regard.
As far as the gameplay goes, it is archaic. The gameplay is really nothing we haven't seen before in other stealth games. It was fun at times, but it seemed extremely tedious and monotonous for the most part.
So, my verdict for the supposed "Best game ever", "Citizen Kane of gaming", "Life-changing experience", is an 8/10. It's no masterpiece by my standards. The game would've gotten a 7/10 had it not been for the fantastic ending. It's still held down by mostly generic and uninspired gameplay, somewhat mitigated by unique enemy design and flashy graphics. The story is the main selling point and the best thing about this game. Does the game live up to the hype? Yes it does.