Hands-On: The Last of Us

“Never walked through the woods … kinda cool.”

Ellie tries to take it all in as we descend into the outskirts of a forest just outside Lincoln. Her curiosity is fascinating and infectious. It’s just woods, right? This time it’s a forest beautifully realized by the talented people at Naughty Dog. I find myself moving slowly through the swaying vegetation, surrounded by animal sounds, the running water and the sun peering through the treetops.

“Wow, look… fireflies. Real fireflies.”

It was hard not to tense up as I approached the town. Too silent. But nothing happened. It was just me and Ellie. Ellie mesmerized by the fireflies, me looking for a way over the barbed fence in front of us. The solution was simple: Clumsily pick up a plank and place it as a make-shift bridge to the building on the other side. I say clumsily because Joel is as human as a binary entity can possibly be. His every movement from the moment he bends down to pick up the plank, carry it to where I want it and then put it down is done in such fine detail. With Joel and Ellie there are no shortcuts, and from what I’ve played of The Last of Us, shortcuts seem to be a rarity altogether.

My time in the game was spent in small portions of Lincoln and Pittsburgh. Over the course of these two locations I got acquainted with crafting, shooting, the terrifying infected and the even more terrifying humans. I’m not going to pretend it’s not panic inducing when an infected suddenly storms out of a room and heads straight for your jugular, but I was able to react and swing my weapon until it made contact with its disfigured head and flung it down into the floor. What’s even more scary is the devious scavengers that not only ambushed me as I was driving through Pittsburgh, but their relentless hunt for me after the car went crashing through a grocery store. They search, they taunt and in a lot of cases they kill you. It took me three attempts before I managed to overcome them, and even then I barely got by. The Last of Us is not an easy game, and you will probably be blown to bits by booby traps, mauled by the infected while you hang upside down trying your best to fend off the hordes that attack Ellie, or shot in the face by humans that clearly aim better than you. To aid you in some of these scenarios you have the ability to enable a focus mode much like in Hitman: Absolution where you see the outline of your enemies through walls and obstacles.

I haven’t shot a gun in enough situations in the game for me to conclude whether I’m a bad aim or that the shooting is a bit loose much like the pre-patch situation in Uncharted 3. It could also be the underlying tension the game builds as you move from one eerily empty area to the next never knowing what to expect, that make you wave your gun around more than you normally would. The melee combat though is deeply satisfying. As you search through drawers and cabinets in seemingly abandoned buildings you will find materials that let you modify whatever it is you have at hand to make it more lethal and effective. Contextual combat will have you smack people into the hood of cars and brick walls in a manner that feels very organic and natural. This is nothing new in video games, but there’s a feeling of raw brutality in the moment to moment brawls that has you on the edge of your seat at all times. It’s elaborate and captivating.

“Joel…!”

Ellie’s genuine state of disbelief amplifies the situation. Her reaction makes me feel bad, like I’ve done something wrong. Like I’ve done wrong by her. It stems from the quality work that has gone into the voice acting. It should not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Uncharted games that the character interaction in their games is pretty much spotless. From what I’ve played this will be no exception.

I might have some issues with the way the shooting works, but it’s rarely the preferred way to solve a situation in The Last of Us, and in the long run might not matter much at all. The inventory system does not sit well with me either, I find it a bit clumsy. Those are my main gripes with what I’ve played, but what I’ve played isn’t much so I will wait to pass judgement until I have the context of the full game. It’s a strange sensation watching the videos from previous press conferences and trailers, and then having the controller in your own hand. The changes from those perfectly played scenarios to your own insecure movements take away some of the magic and remind you that this is what it is: Just a game.

But The Last of Us feel different. Lincoln showed me a world to get lost in, characters to care for and listen to, and a captivating story with a firm hold on the player. Pittsburgh taught me to think, to act and to survive as you come to grips with your own fragility. All this and more set in a lavishly detailed and beautiful world that maybe only Naughty Dog can pull off. In less than a month we’ll be able to see if the rest of the game holds up, and if it’s not on your radar yet you owe to yourself to mark off June 14th in you calendar.

You can see more videos and screenshots over at our The Last of Us page.