The Last of Us Part 1 REVIEW

A genre-defining masterpiece remade for the new generation

By Ameer Ammar

Graphics: This remake has some of the best graphics I've ever seen, Faces look incredibly real which genuinely boosts the story's quality due to how emotive the characters are now with their emotions, all cut scenes taking place in-game instead of CGI is also so damn cool.

Environments are gorgeous, and every single detail is so lovingly remade that it pretty much renders the original game obsolete, once again I wish Red Dead got this treatment instead of a lazy simple port. Gameplay: When this remake's gameplay was leaked I was massively disappointed to see it wasn't a remake as much as I had hoped, none of the TLOU2 evolutions are here, I still ended up loving it but it really was a huge missed opprotunity especially when you play as Ellie and you see how lacking melee feels without dodge and some of the newer animation work in 2, it just sucks to know TLOU1 & 2 will never really actually feel like parts 1 and 2 of one game

However if you love TLOU1's OG gameplay, this remake keeps that intact completely, and it is still as fuck as it was all those years ago, the craft/hide/attack gameplay loop never outstays it's welcome and is more than serviceable to the game as a whole. Joel & Ellie's story has become iconic over the years and for good reason, with amazing dialogue, characterization, and incredibly mature storytelling, it all comes together in a package that really has aged like fine wine, Joel in particular is still one of the greatest video game protagonists period, and this level of writing is what caused TLOU2 to be so controversial, no matter my feelings on the second game's story, TLOU1 stands as a beacon of storytelling on love, fatherhood and survival.

Misc: Haptic feedback & Adaptive triggers in this remake are put to really great use, almost every cut scene and gameplay moment is felt through the controller, a huge W and really boosts immersion. Audio design is also fantastic. Conclusion: it's really hard to add anything to the conversation around TLOU1 that hasn't been said before, it is a beautiful game with an engrossing story and this remake keeps all that intact, however it is simply too faithful on the gameplay side and constantly makes me wish more was updated

FINAL VERDICT

If you've never played TLOU1 before this is a must-buy, it renders the original obsolete with its amazing visuals and while the gameplay from 2013's The Last of Us still holds up, the lack of actual improvements or mechanics from the second game making its way back here is a disappointment.

8/10 - The Last of Us Part 1 - BUY