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[GrotesqueBeauty]

It's a good game, but to answer the OPs question the gameplay is very much run of the mill third person shooter fare imo. Well executed, but exactly what you'd expect. I recall talk about how dynamic the AI would be when it was originally unveiled, but I never had an "aha" moment that elevated it over other well reviewed games in the genre, and all the mechanics are straightforward variations of well worn conventions. I feel the same way about it that I feel about Uncharted 2- top notch production values but aside from the polished presentation it's generally overrated. So basically, it's a modern Naughty Dog game. If you're burned on the TPS formula you might as well wait and give it a whirl when you're in a more receptive mood so you can enjoy it on a thematic level without worrying about genre fatigue.

 

[Field]

I loved the gameplay and atmosphere as well as the story.

 

[Nintendojitsu]

The best thing about TLOU gameplay is that it doesn't get in the way of the game. Each element is additive to the overall experience, and carefully crafted so that the sum is greater than individual parts.

Not understanding the logic behind this reasoning.

 

[Night Angel]

Wrong group to ask, this lot...

Or maybe the way the question was asked in the first place was a bit ridiculous.

I don't like running and jumping in games. I also don't care for playing in anything other than first person perspective. If a game's main character isn't human, I instantly lose interest in a game.

With all that in mind, should I play Rayman: Legends?

(Does that sound stupid to you? It should.)

OT: the gameplay is great. It's a solid mix of stealth and third person shooting, with one favored over the other depending on the difficulty. The enemy AI is good at keeping you on your toes. The gunplay takes plant in a third person perspective, and is also well done.

 

[FatboyTim]

I thought that the storytelling and visuals were great.

Personally speaking, I wasn't too keen on the control scheme though. It felt a little more awkward than the Uncharted series for some reason.

 

[grandwizard]

Graphics and story (for a videogame anyway), are both top tier. I found the actual gameplay pretty average, and am mystified as to why it gets such universal praise arond here. GAF is usually pretty good at looking beneath pretty exteriors and analysing a games actual mechanics and I found the majority of the gameplay (stealth around, observe enemy patterns) was something I was already doing over ten years ago in the OG Splinter Cell.

The truth is people are effected more by the story, atmosphere, characters, etc than most would like to admit to themselves. You certainly do get adrenaline rushes and tense feelings from the game because it excels in presentation, but then once you are done and looking back on it with a critical eye you can see that most of it's gameplay systems are fairly shallow. You can see it follows the same pattern as most third person action games of walk into an area, deal with enemies, have some walk and talk exposition and then a cutscene. And outside of the presentation it isn't special, entirely serviceable but not outstanding.

 

[MavFan619]

TLoU survivor mode is more of an actual survival game than a lot of games that claim to be survival horror. The mechanics are solid in fact for me more enjoyable than a lot of TPS/stealth games with a great story to boot in my opinion. Also plot wise

Spoiler

its very far removed from a "redemption" story

But hey it's my GOTG and I'm very easily double dipping on PS4 so I have a very biased opinion on it. One born from loving every aspect of the game though.

 

[CharminUltra]

Everything about the game just felt so average and some aspects even just outright bad (AI).

I kind of agree and disagree with this a little. Yes, I found the companion AI to be aggravating and immersion-breaking (OK, maybe not aggravating. Companions "hiding" in plain sight and/or pushing enemies around with no consequence is far too amusing to make me legitimately angry), but I didn't really have that much of a problem with the enemy AI itself. The human (enemy) AI was par for the course as far as third person shooters and stealth games are concerned (enemies investigate sounds you make, alert their buddies when they spot you, attempt to flank you, flush you out, etc.) Nothing out of the ordinary, but it gets the job done satisfactorily. The infected are, well, infected, and thus mostly mindless, so they behaved accordingly- their routines are painfully simple and predictable as long as you know where they are and have taken a little time to observe their patterns. Yes, that makes for some boring stretches (not always), but It all felt consistent with the designer's vision. All in all, I wasn't too crazy about the AI, but I also wouldn't call it bad.

 

[8bit]

The story is OK, it's bleaktastic apocalypse porn if that's your bag.

The gameplay is good, though! I'm usually far too impatient for stealthy bullshit like MGS or Splinter Cell but with this I've played through 3 times I think now as it gets more tense/enjoyable as the items run out, the enemies increase in intelligence and the prospect of survival becomes narrower.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Story, setting and atmosphere can take a game from being somewhat average to being an incredible game that needs to be played.

TLoU is one such game. The overall mechanics aren't particularly unique or revolutionary and the combat is pretty much what you've expect from a third person action game, but the story, the setting, the characters, the writing, the bleak atmosphere all combine to elevate the game to a point where it's one of the must play games of a generation.

In that sense, it's a lot like State of Decay.

 

[RandyBobandy]

Nope. It's pretty average, in all honestly. It's pretty much exactly like Uncharted.

Go to a place where there's lots of stones/rocks that are conveniently placed to cover with, kill all enemies that appear. Rinse and repeat.

You can always tell when there's going to be a bunch of enemies just by the area you're in.

 

[Griss]

Yes, it's special, but its gameplay is only 'good', and isn't the special part.

The special part is how the
-plot
-characters
-dialogue
-art work / graphics
-music and ambient audio
deliver an incredibly engaging and emotionally affecting linear narrative game experience to you. If that doesn't sound like your bag, then dodge the game.

The gameplay is great in spots - weighty gun battles and 'stealth' sections full of tension reminiscent of the blind ganado fight from RE4 - but it suffers from a lack of enemy variety. It does nothing revolutionary, but does most things right. The rest of the experience is what sets the game apart, though. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's a place for it in the industry.

 

[Chinner]

miyamoto COULD have made TLOU if he wanted to.

 

[8bit]

Oh yeah, the music (and overall sound direction) is really good.

 

[sploatee]

With that thread title I did expect an analysis of TLOU, rather than a recommendation thread from someone who clearly doesn't want to play something like TLOU right now.

This seem like one of them 'Ahhh why is this game getting so much attention? I don't like this! threads'

I love the whole narrative around this game. TLOU haters always bring up the gameplay as if it's unanimously agreed upon that it's terrible and we only like it for the story. I don't know how many times they need to be told that, no, we love the gameplay as well.

You really want to hear what i'm thinking OP ?

Essentially what I wanted to write.

"I've already made up my mind, please humor me with this thread."

None of this is true and I'm not trolling, not at all. It's actually interesting to read the responses. But thanks for assuming the worst. So much paranoia! I have no agenda. Just nosey, that's all.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

miyamoto COULD have made TLOU if he wanted to.

You're being facetious, but Miyamoto definitely could have made deeper more gratifying gameplay scenarios. But we're obviously never going to see anything remotely similar from Nintendo on a thematic level, so I guess I don't really get the point of the joke. Been needing to get that one off your chest for a while?

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Another thread created to openly troll TLOU.

Even after a year since it's release people just can't give the game it's due.

A game doesn't automatically deserve 'dues' nor is it exempt from criticism.

To claim anyone questioning why it's good or why it's so well received is trolling is a pretty poor attempt at trying to shut down any criticism levelled at the game and that's not cool.

 

[MavFan619]

Nope. It's pretty average, in all honestly. It's pretty much exactly like Uncharted.

Go to a place where there's lots of stones/rocks that are conveniently placed to cover with, kill all enemies that appear. Rinse and repeat.

You can always tell when there's going to be a bunch of enemies just by the area you're in.

It will never stop being worth mentioning that the harder difficulties are about as far removed from Uncharted as possible. You cannot just cover and shoot when the game doesn't just give you all the ammo and resources you need to maintain this play style.

 

[Trickster]

I didn't really find the gameplay or level designs to be anything remarkable. To me TLoU is honestly a game you could get the same level of enjoyment out of by watching a let's play on youtube, where you skip all combat and wallboosting/ladder searching.

 

[blitzcloud]

but from the footage

that's the mistake you're making.

 

[Siegmeyer]

Another thread created to openly troll TLOU.

Even after a year since it's release people just can't give the game it's due.

Or maybe there are some of us who genuinely feel it's overrated? It may be an unpopular opinion but it has nothing to do with trolling.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

You're being facetious, but Miyamoto definitely could have made deeper more gratifying gameplay scenarios. But we're obviously never going to see anything remotely similar from Nintendo on a thematic level, so I guess I don't really get the point of the joke. Been needing to get that one off your chest for a while?

I don't know how you could have even reached such a conclusion. Miyamoto hasn't made anything like TLoU.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I didn't really find the gameplay or level designs to be anything remarkable. To me TLoU is honestly a game you could get the same level of enjoyment out of by watching a let's play on youtube, where you skip all combat and wallboosting/ladder searching.

I'd have to disagree. Watching a let's play would mean you miss out on getting a sense of how well realised the atmosphere is and that's one of the strongest elements of TLoU.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

I gotta ask, where are all these other "pretty average" third person shooters that play like The Last of Us? Cause I'd really love to get my hands on another shooter with sound design and animation blending that good. Or one where slipping up in stealth leads to so much swift brutality.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

TLOU game play is great , it's one of the reason i like it so much .
Health bars FTW.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

I think apart from a great story and characters, TLoU also had amazing gameplay and multiplayer.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Nope. It's pretty average, in all honestly. It's pretty much exactly like Uncharted.

Go to a place where there's lots of stones/rocks that are conveniently placed to cover with, kill all enemies that appear. Rinse and repeat.

You can always tell when there's going to be a bunch of enemies just by the area you're in.

Beyond just the obvious copy and paste gameplay from Uncharted,

Spoiler

when Nathan Drake showed up as a bloater

I was just appalled at the unabashed sense of deja vu in The Last of Us.

 

[thesolidshark]

Re-quoting my question from earlier:

As someone who's never played this also, and is interested in playing it (probably not the MP though), is this more worth buying or renting where the gameplay is concerned? Do a lot of people feel the need to go back and replay it? If so, why?

I don't know how you could have even reached such a conclusion. Miyamoto hasn't made anything like TLoU.

Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?

 

[Prototype]

Imo no. And I don't understand why people go crazy over it.

Nothing that was done in last of us hasn't already been done better in other games. It also didn't introduce a single new mechanic or gameplay element that hasn't been done before. But people like the story so it's omg goty.

Problem is I play, and like, games for gameplay first. I'll read books or watch movies if story is my main concern.

I think the game is highly overrated.

EDIT

Or maybe there are some of us who genuinely feel it's overrated? It may be an unpopular opinion but it has nothing to do with trolling.

ya, this too.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Re-quoting my question from earlier:






Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?

I dunno. Its such a ridiculous question, when the games both devs make are so different.

Hmmm I wonder if Miyamoto can make a driving simulator as good as Gran Turismo....can you see the absurdity of such a question.

 

[ethomaz]

Gameplay is what made this game fantastic.

BTW the story is not even close to what you are expecting

 

[Aureon]

It's "Aside from the characters and dialogue", because the story isn't that incredible.
I found the gameplay tiring, which kind of helped immersion, but still.

 

[Trickster]

I'd have to disagree. Watching a let's play would mean you miss out on getting a sense of how well realised the atmosphere is and that's one of the strongest elements of TLoU.

Well I can only speak for myself of course. But for me, the gameplay parts of TLoU were just really boring for the most parts. I don't think the game was very atmospheric, I never felt immersed in the world of TLoU. I also don't think the combat was particularly good or tense, as many people say it is.

My honest feeling after completing the game was essentially that I was very impressed with the quality of the cutscenes and story, but the most important part of any game, the gameplay, felt woefully lacking. It was basically a feeling of "man I'd like to watch those pretty cutscenes again, but I just have zero desire to actually play this game again"

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

I don't know how you could have even reached such a conclusion. Miyamoto hasn't made anything like TLoU.

I don't think his design prowess is relegated to any particular genre. He helped innovate a hefty portion of the design principles that remain standard to 3D gaming to this day. Genre is purely a matter of aesthetic, but the underlying principles are largely the same. I don't know why this would confuse you unless you are excessively literal minded.

 

[NekoFever]

I thought the gameplay was good, but it was the presentation, story, etc that elevated the game to great. I don't think ND has yet nailed shooting in a game, zombies are overdone and uninteresting enemies, and the human AI seemed to play that annoying trick where if one guy spots you everyone in the area knows exactly where you are.

 

[Hoje0308]

None of this is true and I'm not trolling, not at all. It's actually interesting to read the responses. But thanks for assuming the worst. So much paranoia! I have no agenda. Just nosey, that's all.

If you were simply curious you could have asked your question in one of the numerous threads in which other members have done just that. Instead, you made this thread. Congratulations, your very pedestrian observations and questions have garnered the attention you feel you deserve. How about you use the search function and find the appropriate thread next time?

Spoiler

Or just look on the first two pages.

 

[Diprosalic]

No it's absolutely not. The story is fine for a video game but the rest is just average. Main reason I didn't care much for it.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

I don't think his design prowess is relegated to any particular genre. He helped innovate a hefty portion of the design principles that remain standard to 3D gaming to this day. Genre is purely a matter of aesthetic, but the underlying principles are largely the same. I don't know why this would confuse you unless you are excessively literal minded.

How would you know his prowess in genre's he's never worked on? Genre is not an aesthetic lol. Sure there are some design principles that are common through all genre's however creating a outstanding game in a genre is not just made by using solely those principles. There are design choices entirely dependant on the genre at play.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

OP, it's a great game but it doesn't sound like something you'd be into, at least at the present time.

Maybe wait for a price drop? It shouldn't take too long to hit $40, since it's launching at $50.

For what it's worth, The Last of Us is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had and I'm not usually into these types of games (Nintendo is my "go to" gaming company).

 

[Omotesando]

The best part of the gameplay of TLOU is one aspect that is done better than any other game before it. The world is full of things that wants to kill you, danger lurks around every corner. Everything is designed around this aspect; the visual design of the clickers, the frenzied animations, the screeching when they detect someting and the viscerality of the dead animations. Then there is the underrated quiet moments when it is only you and your trusted bow, that is before all things go out of hand. These kind of games depend a lot on this, and is in my opinion the primarly reason what makes TLOU so great.

It's those adrenaline filled moments when you run away from the clickers with your heart in your throat and the speed how things unfold is just right, the gameplay design gives you time to aim and shoot, but you only have one or two shots, before the frenzied foe can reach you, so you better make it count. Fail and you can hope to run away, but most of the time this only delays the inevatible. I am really looking forward to the Grounded difficulty (which is designed around this aspect, no HUD for example is a great choice) and as I have already beat the game 3 times on PS3 I just want to come back for the augmented viscerality of the PS4 version. I am coming back for the gameplay, because it's a mental trip and emotional rollercoaster.

 

[thesolidshark]

I dunno. Its such a ridiculous question, when the games both devs make are so different.

Hmmm I wonder if Miyamoto can make a driving simulator as good as Gran Turismo....can you see the absurdity of such a question.

Just because he hasn't tried one, I don't automatically think he would be terrible at it. If he did work on or assist with the likes of a TLOU or GT, I'd be really interested to see his gameplay contributions to something like those games. May not be desirable to you, but I doubt it would be run-of-the-mill, if that's what a lot of TLOU is in gameplay.

 

[Darkstorne]

"it just looks like a fairly standard third-person action game with stealth bits."

The general consensus is that the gameplay is the most polished example of a modern game that you can possibly imagine. So it doesn't do anything new or ground-breaking - it takes everything we consider "established" about a third person game and executes on it perfectly.

So you've got a fantastic story, great characters, and highly polished third person action. If those three things appeal to you, buy it. If you dislike third person shooters, typically only play first person or some other genre (RTS for example), and usually couldn't care less about story and dialogue in games, then it's probably not for you.

 

[DevilFox]

It doesn't look like you're actually interested in the answer, OP, but whatever..
I wonder if people comparing TLOU to Uncharted or even Vanquish, like they're the same thing, are remotely serious?

I thought that the storytelling and visuals were great.

Personally speaking, I wasn't too keen on the control scheme though. It felt a little more awkward than the Uncharted series for some reason.

As it was supposed to be. The gameplay is built around Joel's capabilities, which is just a man, an old one and not a soldier. You're quite slow, heavy, your hands will shake when you aim and the recoil isn't something you can ignore. You don't cavort like an idiot and you don't jump from a cover to another like it's the easiest thing in the world. If you get hit, you'll feel it, both in health and animation which means that you can't just go out and shoot.

The hand to hand combat is brutal, like I imagine it would be in those situations, very different from Uncharted. Joel learned to hit and to hit hard, not for fun but because it's necessary, violence is never gratuitous. Enemies will do the same and forget Assassin's Creed, they'll all jump on you together.
When they can't fight anymore you can either finish them or grab them and use them as a shield but they'll try escape making your aim very difficult.
Human enemies can be smart, make a noise and they'll look for you, get spotted and you'll be in danger.
A real danger, not like Uncharted when you failed the stealth, because bullets and health aren't infinite, most of the time you'll go around with <10 shots for gun so make them count. Same goes for medikits, bombs and everything you build, they aren't free.

Starting from Hard mode you'll realize how dangerous infected can be. If they see you, they just run towards you making more noise and attracting the others. You can either shoot them like crazy (but you'll waste bullets..) or run and hide, whatever you do you must be fast.
This leads to some very awesome locations with high tension, I'll not make spoilers here.

Guns side, in the journey you'll collect some good pieces, all with different feeling and they can all be upgraded.
Same goes for melee weapons, they can be upgraded for more powerful attacks or longer strenght.

Level design is great, there's almost always more than a way to reach the end, One is the easiest, the other could be full of useful stocks but also clickers.. your choice.
Artistic side, you'll appreciate a hell amount of details everywhere.

More can be said but I'll leave ot others. Remember that in all this Ellie will be with you. There's a goddamn good reason if she can't be spotted. Sometimes she'll help you, sometimes she will not, sometimes you'll have to help her.

Said that, the story can't be separated from the gameplay. The story is the journey, everything you've been through with Ellie, every location, conversation, every jokes she told you. The story is the notes you find in the houses and the stories of those people who lived the outbreak. The story is the characters you've been with and those you left behind. Story and gameplay are one and the same thing, this is what makes TLOU so great.

tl;dr: just play it and see for yourself but without prejudices.

 

[Auto-Reply]

What stood out for me aside from the story was the characters and the setpieces, I can appreciate parts in a game where you basically just explore your surroundings, TloU is not an open world game but it had some areas where you felt like you could explore different buildings and the post/apocalyptic theme always lends itself well to such areas as it is expected to not find anyone around and everything is decaying.

Aside from that I had a hard time with the game. It was way too easy as a stealth game for me, to the point it was gamebreaking. And I disliked the combat, I really disliked shooting and fighting in this game. To me it is not a good game because of of that.

 

[Carl]

No. The story is great but i thought the gameplay was generally poor. Especially the combat. Every time waist-high walls appeared i sighed because i knew that more horrible combat was coming

 

[Huggers]

Ignoring the story (which is brilliantly judged), the atmosphere, the characters, all that jazz. Talking strictly mechanics. The Last of Us is brilliant. I think it is an exceptionally well polished experience. Tight controls, visceral combat, multiple ways to approach encounters, item management... It's a great fucking game. Believe the hype

 

[Bedlam]

No. The story is great but i thought the gameplay was generally poor. Especially the combat. Every time waist-high walls appeared i sighed because i knew that more horrible combat was coming

I can only shake my head at posts like yours.

The last point is wrong. btw. There are plenty of parts with cars etc during which you're just doing traversal and on the other hand there are also plenty of parts without waist-high cover during which enemies appear.

A game that honestly annoyed me giving away enemy encounters miles away through waist-high cover blocks appearing was Mass Effect 2. TLoU is definitely not that game, however.

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

Genre is purely a matter of aesthetic

wut

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

How would you know his prowess in genre's he's never worked on? Genre is not an aesthetic lol. Sure there are some design principles that are common through all genre's however creating a outstanding game in a genre is not just made by using solely those principles. There are design choices entirely dependant on the genre at play.

"Entirely dependent", huh? Please point out one mechanic unique to TLOU that doesn't have a parallel in some game Miyamoto has direct involvement in. He hasn't done a third person shooter? He directed games that figured out how to represent entire genres in 3D that hadn't yet been successfully translated beyond the clumsiest most rudimentary attempts. I think anyone who had heavy involvement with Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, and Pikmin could probably wrap his brain around environmental navigation + shooting. Hell, look at his involvement with the original Metroid Prime, where Nintendo intervened and miraculously took a flailing studio going down in flames and managed to whip them into the team that created one of the most tactile first person games ever. All because he had the intuitive sense they had the capacity for it.

Like I said, if you think the driving gameplay elements of third person shooters exist in a vacuum you are excessively literal minded.

wut

... Use a dictionary?

 

[milkham]

I popped the game in with zero hype because I waited a year and forgot everything I ever heard about it. Ended up doing 4 consecutive playthroughs and then buying the dlc for more. What are these games that are better? I want to play them.