I Thought The Last Of Us Was Better Than This

I remember the release of The Last of Us better than any other video game – which is to say I remember it at all. 

When I was 19, I preordered games online before knowing if I liked them. Unfortunately, the game arrived while I was away from home. My Dad picked it up at our local GameStop. He sent it to me in a picture that I loved. I looked at it for weeks, counting how many seconds I had until I could actually play it. 

When I finally did it, I was able to enjoy the experience as I had hoped. Although I wasn’t a media savvy person, it made me believe that the story was different from any other. I don’t think that’s true anymore – it pretty shamelessly borrows from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, There is no country for old men, etc. – but there’s still a special place in my heart for The Last of Us. Its sequel was released in 2020 and I found it to be a deeply moving story about addiction. I was excited when Sony revealed Part I. I wasn’t like my peers, and I jumped at the chance to review it. I love The Last of Us. Since it was fashionable to do it, I continued to do it when it became less popular, and I expect I will continue doing it in some way forever. It doesn’t matter what the critic consensus is that month. I love it so much that minute details about the game’s release are seared into my brain: happy memories of simpler times. It was, for better or worse for me, a very important text that shaped my life and helped to explain why I make the choices I do today. 

I’m not the only one. So well regarded is The Last of Us that in just nine short years, Sony has packaged and repackaged it three separate times – the first release in 2013 on PS3, the remaster in 2014 on PS4, and now The Last of Us Part I. You can count the number of times that the sequel has been repackaged, which is four, depending on how far the story goes. Part I sits somewhere in between a second remake and a remake. It is meant to feel and look exactly like the original, without any technological limitations. 

My problem is I can’t remember which Last of Us was better. 

In The Last of Us, the story depicts a world where everyone wears masks in order to keep others safe from an extremely contagious and fatal disease. 2013 saw the end of civilization due to the cordyceps disease. The world was ruled by military governments, gangs and scavengers. Joel is stuck somewhere in between all of them and must take Ellie across the country for a favor. Ellie is immune and could hold the key for saving the world. They might form an irreparable bond through the pain and suffering they will endure together. 

Part I is undeniably gorgeous, especially compared to the original, packing the visual fidelity you’d expect from a multimillion-dollar video game in 2022. The novelty of seeing the environments I’ve been able to recall for over nine years is something that has made them more amazing than ever. Particularly at daytime, it’s incredible to witness the greenery of nature returning cities and buildings. 

The cutscenes and character models are also included. Naughty Dog claimed in their marketing that Part I’s performances felt more authentic; the faces display more emotion, there is less stiffness on the PlayStation 3, and most scenes seem more real and natural. 

However, this huge boost in fidelity has a price; it highlights the many other areas where The Last of Us isn’t ageing gracefully. Ironically, many of the pieces that fell to their knees in 2013 feel utterly out of place in today’s post-The Last of Us world nine years later. 

It is particularly bad when Joel and Tess are in their early hours. This episode has the same vapid, egotistical quality as a HBO series that was canceled after only one season. While the violence may be difficult to view, which might be true, nearly a decade has passed and it feels almost as shallow as a bathtub. The world can be dangerous. To understand this fact, I don’t have to look at my protagonist breaking a man’s elbow or watching his friend shooting him in the head. Although violence is a great storytelling tool, I believe it can also be used as an emotional shock. But, The Last of Us doesn’t shock me. I am mostly bored. 

Many other games have dealt with themes such as violence, loss and love more effectively in the nine years that it has been out. I don’t doubt The Last of Us was a big influence on many of those games, and I wouldn’t try and take away its impact, but playing in 2022, it feels sorely lacking – even compared to its sequel. It’s unfortunate that the script was never rewritten. This only makes the problem worse.  

In many cases, the story washed over me; I felt far less for its characters than I anticipated – especially Joel, who is written ostensibly as a man hardened by the world around him, callous and trained not to show emotions. That’s fine; a story like that can work, but this time, I found him needlessly cruel to characters who don’t deserve it – such as Ellie, a literal child. There are two types of being cold: one is being rude and the other is being cruel. The Last of Us has been known to cross that line several times. Perhaps that’s what the point is. However, it does not make it an excellent point. 

However, the saving grace is It is Ellie. Stories often hit when she is the center of attention. Left Behind was released in 2014. It came as an optional two-hour DLC, which I purchased here along with the main title. With Ellie and her blossoming love with her friend Riley at the center, I found the short chapter moving – far more than I did the 10-or-more hours trekking around as Joel. Ashley Johnson’s portrayal is a wonderful example of how time has passed and it remains one of my favorite parts from both the original game as well as this re-release. 

Apart from the improved visuals, gameplay was reportedly significantly overhauled. Whether fighting humans or infected, there’s a significant weight to Joel’s actions; as reviewers loved saying in 2013, you really feel every melee swing, every bullet, and every close call. Naughty Dog also modified enemy A.I. They were more aggressive and it was fun to have to think rapidly as they surrounded and flanked. I found it satisfying to trick infected victims into cleverly placed traps. It also made for some funny moments. 

The Last of Us can still feel awkward and cumbersome despite the many overhauls. Walking slowly around levels opening drawers and cabinets scroungings for supplies is only fun to a certain point, and far worse is how often I’d get stuck in the inventory menu – which shares a button prompt with the melee strike. I would often have to get out of my inventory quickly to attack an enemy who was approaching me. The square button, which is melee as well as the inventory’s switching weapon prompt (which I would use to take damage), meant that I was forced to wait for my inventory not yet closed. 

While combat is exciting when things get chaotic, there are times when you can just do simple cover shots or cat-and mouse stealth. It works when it works. I loved the intense moments of running away from my enemies to turn the tides. When it doesn’t work, it only highlights how outdated a lot of the gameplay is – even if there are several gameplay improvements mostly hidden from the player. Ellie’s increased mobility helps to alleviate some of the problems. It is much more enjoyable running around levels with a small character. This is unfortunately only the beginning of the game. Rest of the game is slow walking between points A and B. There are boring puzzles and excruciatingly slow animations. Naughty Dog will click “L3 to see” what Naughty Dog considers to be the most significant thing. The handholding and restrictive game design feels archaic, outdated, and suffocating under the already-sometimes-clumsy encounter design. 

That’s what The Last of Us is: Naughty Dog want you to think of this new title as a PS5 game. This makes everything that’s still an PS3 game more evident. I think if I were playing the original, I’d be far more willing to forgive its growing pains, to chalk them up to age – to let my rose-tinted goggles blur my vision and skew my perspective. Because it is designed to be comparable with everything that’s coming out now, it’s difficult to not see the good stuff. I’m no longer 19; I’m now 28. I grew up. But The Last of Us didn’t. It’s not clear that I still enjoy The Last of Us listening to this version. Instead, I believe I cherish my memories of the Last of Us. It is a place I treasure and remember. 

A remake of The Last of Us is possible, as it rebuilds from scratch more than the visuals. Unfortunately, it’s not that type of game. These improvements are superficial and insignificant at best. It looks great, but it doesn’t deliver on its visual promise. A third Trek is not necessary, I think.

We’ll likely see the remake within nine years, but at this moment it seems unlikely. We’re hoping that it turns out.