The Last of Us exemplifies the quality of Sony Computer Entertainment’s studios. Within them, Naughty Dog Studios, also known for the critically acclaimed Uncharted series, has created another masterpiece. 

Coming from such a prestigious developer, the expectations for The Last of Us remained high throughout development, and the final product has exceeded them. Despite a few issues, The Last of Us stands as a stellar example of character-driven storytelling in video games.  

The game itself takes place years after the start of a fungal infection that turns people into zombie-like creatures and at first follows Joel and his partner Tess. As the game progresses, the two take on a young girl named Ellie who becomes central to the game’s goal.  The game focuses on Joel and Ellie’s interactions. 

Ellie reminds Joel of his own daughter, and a very well-crafted bond is formed over the course of the game. The bond between the characters and the attachment the player feels to Joel and Ellie is a key element lending a lot of power to the overall story and its events. 

At first glance, The Last of Us looks like a standard third-person shooter much like Uncharted.  However under that shell are well-done stealth mechanics and nerve-wracking situations.

Ammo is very limited, especially on the harder difficulties, and while your fists can help against one or two unarmed enemies, if your foes are armed or numerous you will need something better.  Melee weapons are easier to find, but they have limited uses before breaking.  Stealth and picking your battles become very viable options when faced with these obstacles.  

At one point in the game I found myself hiding from a group of six soldiers searching the area. Instead of fighting them or even trying to stealthily take them out, I just used cover and made my way to the exit. Avoiding the conflict entirely was a valid way to finish that section, and I progressed to the next.

One enemy type called a “Clicker” created the most nerve-wracking situations in The Last of Us. Clickers are blind and can only hear through echolocation and clicking. These enemies are more difficult because they will instantly kill you if they reach you and cannot be killed by just your fists or while sneaking, unless you have the right item.  

The Last of Us employs a weapon upgrade system using parts found all around the game and a crafting system that allows you to make items that will help you against enemies.  Along with those two systems it allows you to upgrade Joel through the use of “pills” found throughout the game.

The game offers more than amazing single-player. It has a deep, fun multiplayer component.  The multiplayer has a meta-game where you are the leader of a surviving faction and, depending on how you perform online, you can get supplies and recruit more survivors to your faction or even lose some.

The one flaw seen multiple times during the game is the artificial intelligence of your allies. Allies will shoot if they get too close to an enemy, even if Joel sneaks right past the enemy and it poses no threat.

The Last of Us creates a believable and engrossing experience that is fun and deep.  It sets a new standard for emotional stories in games and gives fresh game play to the third-person-shooter genre.