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Let’s get this out the way. The Last of Us is terrifying - really terrifying. It’s an emotionally charged, harrowing tale of survival at all costs, that’s more in line with Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’ than the usual Naughty Dog matinee thrills. But then again, what were we to expect when the makers of the Uncharted series turned their eye towards darker material? A sulkier Drake, how about Jak and Daxter with blood on their hands, or maybe an Emo Crash?! No, Naughty Dog has actually grown up and we’ve witnessed their bold, bleak apocalypse and here’s what we made of it.
The section of the game which we got to play was relatively early on in The Last of Us’ running time. Set in downtown Boston, Naughty Dog’s vision of the future depicts a city overtaken by nature. The skyline has collapsed, Boston’s distinctive red brick buildings have become overgrown and the city’s rich history and heritage is crumbling away. It's a startling landscape – and one that recalls memories of I Am Legend’s stark New York apocalypse, but this rendition of Boston is far more fleshed out. Naughty Dog have displayed a keen eye for detail in the past, and The Last of Us offers no exception. There are cues and nods to when civilization fell apart emblazoned on newsstands dotted around the streets; and even a host of collectible in-game back stories. In short, the world feels lived in – or at least it was at one point. Of course, it is still lived in – to an extent. The fall of mankind has been at the hands of a terrible fungal virus that has left the infected in varying levels of decay.
In our brief spell with the game, we ran into 2 particularly unpleasant varieties of the Infected: the Runners and the Clickers. Our first encounter was with the sight-impaired Clickers: diseased humans who are so far along in their mutation that their heads have become giant oozing mushrooms that emit distinctively terrifying ‘clicking’ noises. Not something you want to bump into on a dark night. Lacking the ability to see you, the Clickers locate you via sound. Make a sudden movement in the dark and they’ll come dashing. The runners on the other hand aren’t as severely mutated… yet. They can still see you. And as soon as they do, they’re going to head straight for you. Navigating round both becomes a tense game of cat and mouse – especially in the dark, tight corridors of Boston’s financial district.
Creatively dispatching the Clickers and Runners feeds straight into The Last of Us’ unique combat gameplay. This isn’t just Uncharted with limited ammo. If you try to tackle the game as a straight up shooter, you’ll be overwhelmed fast. And die of course. A lot. Instead, The Last of Us’ combat breeds creativity, you can use stealth to sneak around, scavenge for makeshift weapons or go in all guns blazing.
The Last of Us also notches up another approximation of Arkham Asylum’s fantastic Detective Mode. With Joel’s ability to focus on his surroundings, you can see the outlines of any infected through walls. It feeds well into The Last of Us’ variable gameplay approaches – allowing you those precious moments to plan your attack and clear the way. Just so you can prolong your inevitable death ever so slightly.
Naughty Dog's latest title also sees them dip their toes in the RPG gene pool too. Short of letting you level up every time you pummel seven shades of hell out of the game’s mushroom men, The Last of Us showcases a unique crafting system. A quick dive into a sub menu, and you can craft melee weapons, health kits and – our personal favourite – the Molotov. It’s all born out of the constant need to scavenge everything. You’ll pick up every day items from glass bottles to scissors on your way to creating your DIY arsenal. And it gives the game a welcome sense of improvisation, allowing you to distract a group of clickers with a well-timed bottle smash before lobbing a strategic Molotov shortly after.
What we played of The Last of Us was pure quality. Whilst it’s clear that Naughty Dog are making leaps and bounds with their storytelling, it would be stupid to overlook how well this game plays. From the skin-of-your-teeth improv combat to the smart enemy classes via the sublime crafting system, this is Naughty Dog confidently stepping away from the shadow of Nathan Drake.
