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LTTP: The Last of Us remastered

T

The Artisan

Member
So I know about this game and that it is considered one of if not, the greatest games of all time. Up until now, I never played it. And that is because, while I am very much into story driven games, I have
relatively
no interest in the zombie horror culture/sub-genre. But I'll get to that in a second.

A good friend of mine who games on PlayStation recently bought a Ps4, but the thing about this guy is, he straight up does not play single player, ever. I caught him on PsN playing Valkyria Chronicles one time and messaged him saying "Hey dude, you know there's no multiplayer in that game right?" to which he responds "I know. Hence, why I'm never going to play it ever again." So yeah, he plays games only for the multiplayer and does not give an once of caring to single player.

...and the Last of Us is his favorite game. He fucking loves it. That speaks huge volumes of this games multiplayer, considering he hasn't touched the campaign. But anyways, he's played it mostly on Ps3 and since I've been bugging and persuading him to jump to new-gen, he did the gamestop deal and got himself the Ps4-tlour bundle. We made a deal that if he got a Ps4, I would have to get tlour - but that's once I get a job and stuff, but I'm currently still unemployed, unfortunately. However, him being the genuine guy that he is, bought and shipped me a copy of tlour.

I started up the campaign, I was playing through it while my mother was watching. She said she almost began crying
and I'll admit I almost did too
but I think she actually did, because she started snuffling a little after the intro. Now I have to say, while I have tremendous respect for ND on this accomplishment of a game, I'm not really having much interest in playing through it because essentially it is a zombie stealth game, and I'm not really interested in either of those genres. I also know how great the campaign is, but I'd really rather just hand the controller to someone and watch them play it. However IF there was a coop mode in the remastered version that would've been delightful too, but it is only single player offline.

Now some you will probably be befuddled considering my activity in the Walking Dead thread - the thing is, what got me into that series was, first of all, just watching the season 4 premier with another good friend of mine, and getting hooked onto the characters. The characters are why I watch the show, I really do not like zombies at all.

I want to continue playing through the campaign but I'm quickly losing interest...I figure it'll definitely help for playing the multiplayer though.
 
N

Nappuccino

Member
Good news!

The characters are great. Or at least exponentially better than TWD characters. (Also, you should play the first season of the Telltale game. Again, much better characters than the show.)

Also the game has zombies, but the human vs human combat is where things really get intense.
 
S

Slixshot

Banned
Nappuccino said:
Good news!

The characters are great. Or at least exponentially better than TWD characters. (Also, you should play the first season of the Telltale game. Again, much better characters than the show.)

Also the game has zombies, but the human vs human combat is where things really get intense.
Click to expand...

^^^ This guy knows what's up.
 
S

Sotha_Sil

Member
I just started the game up, I just did the PS3 trade in to Gamestop for $175, got TLOU bundled with the PS4 and Bloodborne on the side.

So far, I'm mixed on the game. Here's some general impressions from about an hour of gameplay on the hardest difficulty (which I believe was added in the remastering), note that this is my first time playing TLOU:

The Bad
-Forced walking sections. A personal pet peeve, and it's almost unbearable. The bit I've played has been loaded with them, and I came close to turning the game off in the second chapter.
-"Give me a boost" - this wasn't good level design when UC2 released, and it still isn't good level design.
-Occasional stuttering (very brief, hardly worth mentioning).
-A few overly scripted moments where I was wondering why they even bothered letting me control the character.
-Suspension of disbelief when fellow NPC isn't seen by enemies. Again, another trivial complaint.

The Good
-The combat is very tense and exciting, especially on the hardest difficulty. It appears to be perfectly balanced, all my deaths have been fair.
-Game runs smoothly vast majority of the time, and the graphics look great to my eyes.
-No pausing while using the backpack or health items.
-Scarce ammunition forces you to take every step with caution.
-Superbly animated, for people who really care about that sort of thing.

Mixed impressions so far. Great in combat/stealth, not so much during any other time.
 
E

enigmatic_alex44

Whenever a game uses "middleware," I expect mediocrity. Just see how poor TLOU looks.
I'm surprised this game never got the backlash that other AAA games received. Bioshock Infinite, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Skyward Sword for example are just 3 examples of the fans loving the games @ launch, the turning on them months later, yet somehow TLoU remains unscathed.

Definitely a great game but they could have done more with the Remaster imo when it comes to the visuals.
 
L

leng jai

Member
enigmatic_alex44 said:
I'm surprised this game never got the backlash that other AAA games received. Bioshock Infinite, Metal Gear Solid 4, Skyward Sword etc. for example, yet somehow TLoU remains unscathed.

Definitely a great game but they could have done more with the Remaster imo when it comes to visuals.
Click to expand...

That's because it's one of the genuinely amazing games that has very few genuine flaws and largely succeeds at what the developers were trying to do (IMO of course).
 
N

Nappuccino

Member
enigmatic_alex44 said:
I'm surprised this game never got the backlash that other AAA games received. Bioshock Infinite, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Skyward Sword for example are just 3 examples of the fans loving the games @ launch, the turning on them months later, yet somehow TLoU remains unscathed.

Definitely a great game but they could have done more with the Remaster imo when it comes to the visuals.
Click to expand...

The game does have its share of critics . . . but I think TLOU holds up better than, say BI or MGS4 is that the game doesn't take many controversial choices in the story-telling area. After the first 2 hours (or so), you're really in control through most sections and the game's pacing is pretty solid. The ending is also emotionally successful enough that I think many players overlook the minor faults, and for good reason.
 
K

kpaadet

Member
Zombie fiction is ALWAYS about the characters, no one really cares about zombies they are just an excuse to put people in crazy situations. TLOU have great characters much better than TWD anyway (at least better than the tv show, the comic is pretty good).
 
J

Jachaos

Member
Always good reading some more impressions.

I absolutely love the multiplayer so I can see where your friend is coming from. One of my most played online multiplayer games in years.

As for the single player, it's a stealth game on some difficulties but can be treated as a puzzle game on Grounded difficulty and as an action game on Easy difficulty. The atmosphere is top notch. Great music, great world, great characters, a lot of thought went into all the details that make the game. The plot itself is fine but nothing astonishing, it's really in the characters and the subtleties and the symbolism and the messages that the story shines. You could analyze it for a long time. I love how the intro and the end play off each other in gameplay (don't worry, I'm not spoiling anything, you'll know when you get there).
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
Gameplay is amazing, story is amazing, art is amazing...don't know wat to tell you! Sorry you don't enjoy it much, but its one of my favorite games of all time. It might be because I am fond of zombie media and steath games, but my affinity for the game goes well beyond its genre trappings.
 
G

Game4life

Banned
enigmatic_alex44 said:
I'm surprised this game never got the backlash that other AAA games received. Bioshock Infinite, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Skyward Sword for example are just 3 examples of the fans loving the games @ launch, the turning on them months later, yet somehow TLoU remains unscathed.

Definitely a great game but they could have done more with the Remaster imo when it comes to the visuals.
Click to expand...

Because TLOU gameplay wise is better than all those games. As simple as that really.
 
L

leroidys

Member
I still say it has probably the best realized characters in videogames, but the gameplay is just kind of there. I'm not one of those "games as art -> make moviegames to validate my hobby" people, so The Last of Us to me was just a very well executed single-playthrough experience. I really don't understand the GOAT hype.
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
This is literally the only game I've played where stealth and action are equally fun. I love stealthing a section and then getting caught halfway through and having to improvise in an intense as fuck shoot out/infected enslaught.

ND have had some trouble with enemy varity this gen, and while this game still suffers from it (you encounter every enemy type by around the 50% mark), it does a good job of differentiating between the human and infected encounters, which helps give it a combat pacing edge compared to the uncharted games.
 
T

The Artisan

Member
Nappuccino said:
Good news!

The characters are great. Or at least exponentially better than TWD characters. (Also, you should play the first season of the Telltale game. Again, much better characters than the show.)

Also the game has zombies, but the human vs human combat is where things really get intense.
Click to expand...
but there's not really getting away from stealth, is there? You can go in to sections guns blazing but that would not be smart. The game wants you to use stealth and you need to.
Mr Moose said:
There are no Zombies in The Last of Us.
Click to expand...
Oh yes there are. "zombie-like" whatever. It's ND's take on the zombie apocalypse.

struggler_guts said:
You could just play on an easier difficulty and you won't need to stealth
Click to expand...
I'm playing on grounded.
HeelPower said:
The only reason I kept playing was Ellie and the art direction.

The gameplay was so repetitive and boring!
Click to expand...
Really? I'd expect the game to have more criticism then.
Jachaos said:
Always good reading some more impressions.

I absolutely love the multiplayer so I can see where your friend is coming from. One of my most played online multiplayer games in years.

As for the single player, it's a stealth game on some difficulties but can be treated as a puzzle game on Grounded difficulty and as an action game on Easy difficulty. The atmosphere is top notch. Great music, great world, great characters, a lot of thought went into all the details that make the game. The plot itself is fine but nothing astonishing, it's really in the characters and the subtleties and the symbolism and the messages that the story shines. You could analyze it for a long time. I love how the intro and the end play off each other in gameplay (don't worry, I'm not spoiling anything, you'll know when you get there).
Click to expand...
It'd be convenient if I'm able to treat it as a puzzle game. I'm guessing by that you mean, figuring out which way is the right way to go, etc.

Game4life said:
Because TLOU gameplay wise is better than all those games. As simple as that really.
Click to expand...
Someone above described tlou's gameplay as repetitive and boring. If it's supposed to be better than those games, that would mean their gameplay is even worse than just "repetitive and boring"
 
N

Nappuccino

Member
The Artisan said:
but there's not really getting away from stealth, is there? You can go in to sections guns blazing but that would not be smart. The game wants you to use stealth and you need to.
Oh yes there are. "zombie-like" whatever. It's ND's take on the zombie apocalypse.


I'm playing on grounded.
Click to expand...

Well, you're playing on grounded. If you don't want stealth, that's probably the wrong choice. Normal and Hard allow for a bit more mixing it up in strategy.

Stealth vs. zombies is OK, but once you get their systems it's not really all that bad. Stealth vs. humans is a game of constant unknowns and surprises.
 
C

ChronotriggerJM

Member
I thought it was an absolute masterpiece. A great breakthrough for action games in my opinion in terms of overall impact and aesthetic.

Just play it on the absolute easiest difficulty OP, the game will dump ammo and supplies on you. The Journey isn't one worth missing in my opinion, ND crafted an amazing world that'll take you through a gamut of emotional ranges. At the very least it'll get you appreciate the craftsmanship behind the visuals.
 
P

Primethius

Banned
It's your first playthrough and you're playing it on Grounded?

zWVbK.gif
 
E

emrober5

Member
As others have said, first play through on grounded is probably a bad idea.

TLOU is my favorite game probably of all time. Just seeing this thread makes me want to do another run through. The story is just perfect.
 
F

Frank Serpico

Banned
I wasn't interested in the MP so I can't comment on that, but the SP was amazing. But I can't see myself replaying it, I felt exhausted after playing it. I haven't played the PS3 version but the remaster looked like a current gen game to me
 
H

hardcastlemccormick

Banned
The Last of Us has a great set of difficulty options. It's one of the few games - bar maybe Metal Gear Solid - that really does a great job of making each difficulty option a valid and enjoyable way to play.
 
M

Munkybhai

Member
The Artisan said:
I also know how great the campaign is, but I'd really rather just hand the controller to someone and watch them play it.
Click to expand...

This sums it up for me too. I know I'm missing out on something much loved, but I just can't be bothered. It's probably half because I suck at games now.
 
J

Javin98

Banned
I'm actually surprised that this is your first time playing the game, considering how active you are in Playstation threads. Anyway, if I were you, I would savor every moment of this masterpiece. Playing it again after that does not have the emotional touch of playing it the first time. Don't worry too much about the zombies though (technically they aren't even zombies). The most intense encounters are with the Hunters, especially when you have to stealth kill an entire section if you choose to. Even if you don't enjoy the gameplay (I think it's great), the characters and story are worth playing the game.
 
A

Arttemis

Member
Grounded? That's insane for the first time. Completely insane for someone questioning their affinity for the genre, setting, and experience. Stop it. Hard mode with Listen off is ideal and most enjoyable means of experiencing this game initially.

Also, you're not supposed to like zombies. They're a fucking mob of monsters. You're supposed to like the characters because they're facing an inevitable, walking plague of impending death, yet trying to survive and cling onto life. You're not supposed to like the setting, either; it's filled with people who have resigned themselves to surviving by any means necessary. Anything resembling civilization is replaced by a kill or be killed mentality. The entire draw is to observe humanity at its best and worst, following a small sample of people facing the worst scenario with the smallest chance for success.
 
S

SomTervo

Member
The Artisan said:
I'm not really having much interest in playing through it because essentially it is a zombie stealth game, and I'm not really interested in either of those genres.
Click to expand...

It's not a zombie game.

It's a game about people.

Don't let the prologue fool you. You've probably experienced 1% of the game at the end of the prologue.

And it's not strictly a stealth game. But certainly on harder difficulties most of the game demands stealth for survival.

Edit: also people are saying Grounded - you're playing on Grounded?! Put it down to Survivor, at least. You'll genuinely ruin some of the pacing on Grounded because you'll die so many times, and the checkpoints on Grounded are insane.

On Normal you can play it as an action game, if that helps. Plenty of ammo and Joel can sponge a lot of damage. For someone who says they don't like the genre of gameplay mechanics, why not just bump it down? Hard is easily managable. Survivor is a little difficult if you don't know the level design. Grounded is just, frankly, a foolish choice.
 
A

antitrop

Member
Hard Mode with Listen Off is the ideal gameplay experience. I think the gameplay is better than the story, even. The story dominates the conversation, but it's a fantastic survival horror game.

It has some of the most satisfying gunplay in any third-person shooter I've ever played, in addition to the most satisfying melee combat in a TPS, as well. Near-perfection.
 
T

tearsintherain

Member
I don't like scary stuff, I've never watched a scary movie in my life and avoid most spooky games. I own a PS3 but its a netflix machine in the guest bedroom, don't think I've actually ever played a game on it.

I played TLOU:R last summer soon after it came out. I really enjoyed it but never played more than 20 minutes at a time, I thought it was decent but didn't really understand the hype.

Something clicked though around chapter 3 or 4 (after you get to your friends camp outside town), while it took me probably a good 2-3 months to get to that point after that I was literally playing 8 hours a day until I finished because I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!! My daughter, who has never been into video games, started watching and playing too. We played on easy mode because, well, fuck scary zombies.

Easily my #1 video game of all time.

I'm currently playing Bloodborne and have to take a 2 day break after killing a boss because I am too amped up, haha
 
J

Javin98

Banned
Just read your post about playing on Grounded. Dude, I suggest you start a new playthrough on Hard or Normal if you aren't too good at shooters and stealth. I haven't played Grounded myself but from what I read, you'll definitely throw the controller at the screen.
 
B

BLUElightCory

Member
SomTervo said:
It's not a zombie game.

It's a game about people.
Click to expand...

Absolutely this. There are sections in the game built around (not)zombies but ultimately that's not what the game is about. The game is more about the people who are left after the world is decimated, and humans are by far the primary antagonists of the game.
 
D

DustyVonEric

Member
The "zombies" aren't the real monsters, OP ;)

SomTervo said:
It's not a zombie game.

It's a game about people.

Don't let the prologue fool you. You've probably experienced 1% of the game at the end of the prologue.

And it's not strictly a stealth game. But certainly on harder difficulties most of the game demands stealth for survival.
Click to expand...

Well said. And normal is perfectly fun to play on.
 
C

CouchMaster

Member
If you're playing on Grounded from get go and losing interest, I don't blame you. It is restrictive in so many ways that I'd probably quit before I even reach the first major encounter.
 
L

Lothar

Banned
The Artisan said:
Now some you will probably be befuddled considering my activity in the Walking Dead thread - the thing is, what got me into that series was, first of all, just watching the season 4 premier with another good friend of mine, and getting hooked onto the characters. The characters are why I watch the show, I really do not like zombies at all.
Click to expand...

This is a funny paragraph because Last of Us is like Walking Dead with much better more compelling characters, the moments between characters are so much more emotional than anything Walking Dead has to offer, and the dialogue is really good unlike Walking Dead which typically has dreadful dialogue and people just speaking most of the time in one line cliches.
 
S

SomTervo

Member
Lothar said:
This is a funny paragraph because Last of Us is like Walking Dead with much better more compelling characters, the moments between characters are so much more emotional than anything Walking Dead has to offer, and the dialogue is really good unlike Walking Dead which typically has dreadful dialogue and people just speaking most of the time in one line cliches.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Absolutely.

The Last of Us is written better than most texts I read during my English Literature degree.

DustyVonEric said:
The "zombies" aren't the real monsters, OP ;)



Well said. And normal is perfectly fun to play on.
Click to expand...

BLUElightCory said:
Absolutely this. There are sections in the game built around (not)zombies but ultimately that's not what the game is about. The game is more about the people who are left after the world is decimated, and humans are by far the primary antagonists of the game.
Click to expand...

Word up!

OP, seriously don't feel obliged to go for the hardest difficulty. It's really not that kind of game and Grounded is more for a very specific sort of challenge.

Like Uncharted 2, each difficulty mode is like a game of it's own. Easy: plays itself. Normal: a standard TPS action game. Hard: a good survival action game. Survivor: a sublime survival stealth and action game. Grounded: an overly challenging stealth game.
 
S

Solaire of Astora

Death by black JPN
Mr Moose said:
There are no Zombies in The Last of Us.
Click to expand...

Whatever, dude. Most of humanity was affected by a virus which turns them into brain dead, violent morons. The same bullshit argument was used to "prove" that the ganados from resi 4 weren't zombies, but they are.

Awesome game. Even more awesome multiplayer. I had an absolute blast playing with an online friend of a friend. We ended up becoming friends in real life. Anyone who hasn't checked it out should fix that ASAP. Just be wary of the ultra hardcore groups still playing at this point. You'll have no chance against them.
 
J

Javin98

Banned
SomTervo said:
OP, seriously don't feel obliged to go for the hardest difficulty. It's really not that kind of game and Grounded is more for a very specific sort of challenge.

Like Uncharted 2, each difficulty mode is like a game of it's own. Easy: plays itself. Normal: a standard TPS action game. Hard: a good survival action game. Survivor: a sublime survival stealth and action game. Grounded: an overly challenging stealth game.
Click to expand...
Agreed 100%, man! I started off on Normal and completed two more playthroughs on Normal. Got better and played on Hard once. Moved on to Survivor and never going back. Survivor is the perfect way to play the game. Combat feels a lot more intense and dramatic.
 
S

SomTervo

Member
Javin98 said:
Agreed 100%, man! I started off on Normal and completed two more playthroughs on Normal. Got better and played on Hard once. Moved on to Survivor and never going back. Survivor is the perfect way to play the game. Combat feels a lot more intense and dramatic.
Click to expand...

Yeah exactly - Survivor is tense and dramatic but not stupidly tight-rope difficulty like Grounded. You can still make stupid mistakes in Survivor and with some real sound tactics and level knowledge stay alive - but in Grounded, most cases where you mis-step you're dead quick.

Seriously OP, Grounded will ruin your immersion in the game. It's the only difficulty mode which constantly reminds you that you're playing a videogame. Which is fine once you've got 1 or 2 completions under your belt and need a challenge, but don't do this first time, you may be ruining it for yourself. If it's not and I'm wrong - then great! But I wouldn't take the risk. Bump it to Survivor at least, Hard preferably.
 
M

MadJackChurchill

Banned
I feel like an alien when I think the gameplay is highly mediocre and far behind the times of third person shooters/stealth games. Also, possibly the worst AI I have seen in a LONG time, they didn't give it a brush-up for the Remastered either. Really disappointing.

I'm just glad it had a gripping, albeit pretty conventional. story.
 
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