Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PS5
Tested on: PS5
The Last of Us Part I – Review
The Last of Us (Part I) might just be that one game a lot of gamers consider the best game ever, or at least have extremely fond memories of. Back in 2013 when the game was released, it dealt a heavy blow to Xbox gamers, as this marvelous game was only available on Sony’s PlayStation 3. Thanks to its huge success, it was remastered in 2014 for the PlayStation 4. Now, another eight years later, we get a remake of the game, bringing the game to the next-gen PlayStation 5. This remake has received some warranted criticism concerning its extremely high price point as well as the relevancy of the actual remake. We, however, enjoyed the experience, but the new shiny layer of paint does have its fair share of cracks. As this game doesn’t really need that much of an introduction or a general review, we’ll be taking a closer look at what the remake does better than the original game. Rest assured, the game is still great, and we still very much enjoyed playing through this title.
This PS5 version is supposedly a remake and not a remaster, but we do feel as if the game is not completely a remake. For this remake, no new ‘animations’ have been made, which means that all character movements and the animations during cutscenes are exactly the same as they were when the game was originally released. This might already be the game’s biggest flaw, as the new graphical quality is amazing, but it is held back by the sometimes janky animations and the odd movements of the characters.
As a whole, you’re getting pretty much the same game that was released nearly a decade ago. The Last of Us Part I is a very atmospheric game that relies on a lot of stealth sections. Even though the game has combat segments, in which you can use guns, the focus is more on avoiding combat or making sure you can take your enemies down undetected. If you are detected, you’ll often have to find a way to escape or you’ll have to finally use the guns at your disposal. We found the overall gameplay mechanics fairly smooth, but we did notice that even the gameplay elements were basically the same as they were when the original game was released. The AI isn’t the best, and more than often, they’ll stand next to the guy you are murdering, without even noticing. Even when noticing the body of their brothers-in-arms, they just casually remark that they have found a dead body. Situations like these break the immersion.
We loved exploring the fairly linear world of The Last of Us once again, and with the updated visuals, the game is a very beautiful sight to behold. Sure, some sceneries look a bit less polished than others, but overall you’re getting a very beautiful remake. The characters look a lot more realistic than they did several years ago, but they also look a lot more worn out. Most characters appear to be older in this remake. We loved the new facial animations, but as mentioned above, some character movements still look a bit wooden.
Conclusion
If you’re diving in for the atmosphere and the overall experience of The Last of Us Part I, we can easily say you’re not going to be disappointed. This game is, deservedly so, a classic title, and it did very much deserve a new lease on life. Do we think the remake is heavily overpriced? We very much do – if – you have never played this title before. If you’re thinking of diving into this series, then we can state the price tag is worth it. That being said, it’s still very much a product of its own time as the AI is not always too clever and some animations are still a bit janky, even with the new textures and added details. All in all, it’s a decent remake and still a great game.
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