After about eight years in development hell and a tentative big screen adaptation helmed by none other than Sam Raimi, The Last of Us finally got an HBO show in early 2023, sparking renewed interest in the video game franchise and doubtlessly contributing to the sale of the PC port you’re currently reading a review for.

The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure game that, for the most part, takes place twenty years after a global fungal infection reduced non-violent society to working messy jobs in fascist-run quarantine zones. You play as Joel Miller, turned into little more than the shell of a man after a heart-wrenching prologue, laying a believable foundation for the brutal acts you will perform while controlling him. You get a first glimpse into our protagonist’s true self within ten minutes after meeting him, when, leaving no room for argument, he ignores the pleas for help from a helpless family stuck on the side of the road, child in tow. And it only goes downhill from there.

In the desolate landscape of TLOU’s America, FEDRA basically represents the government, struggling to keep the filthy and overworked population under control. Opposing them are the Fireflies, a rebel faction operating across the contiguous United States and harboring a secret that could potentially change the fate of the world. To this end, the Fireflies’ leader, Marlene, makes a deal with Joel to smuggle the foul-mouthed and lively Ellie from Boston to Salt Lake City.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961702392

Your journey will take you through bush-covered highways, trap-ridden towns or industrial hellscapes where the rust intertwines with the overgrowth as if stuck in a stalemate. Skyscrapers and giant hotels may gleam in the sun and look shiny from a distance, but their guts are infested with Clickers and Hunters, in-universe jargon for marinated mushroom-zombies and bandits, respectively.

Quiet drama scenes will alternate with encounters against armed thugs or zombies, and you will shoot, stab or strangle your way out of every unfortunate ambush you run into. About half the game’s playtime will be spent searching every nook and cranny for crafting consumables, which you will use to make medkits, Molotov cocktails, nail bombs, smoke grenades and upgrades for the breakable melee weapons you will find scattered throughout the world. There’s a heavy emphasis on crafting, weapon upgrades and using your environment to overcome enemies: sometimes you’ll have to use craftable shivs to open doors or quickly dispatch Clickers, and two of the biggest encounters in the game in terms of enemy numbers are completely trivialized when you realize that throwing a brick in an empty plaza will result in a massive bloodbath where the people hunting you and the dormant zombies in an abandoned mall wipe each other out without you firing so much as a shot.

The two strongest aspects of the game are its writing and acting - what really sets The Last of Us apart (and thankfully survived the transition to the small screen) is the profound, believable and magnetic relationship between Joel and Ellie. They are both tested physically and mentally by the torrent of misfortune they have to endure, and there’s a very delicate balance between the tension and dread inherent to the story beats and the more relaxed optional conversations or Ellie’s terrible dad puns that act as levity.
With a minimalistic soundtrack and a very eloquent string theme that evokes a sort of deep melancholy, the game’s score and sound design are nothing short of memorable. Composed mainly by Gustavo Santaollala, it avoids big, swollen orchestral themes in favor a more simplistic, personal soundscape, in a way that lingers in your mind long after you’ve finished the game.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961702202

Included in the game are its original campaign, the Left Behind DLC (a story that provides more backstory into Ellie) and a couple of documentaries on the making of the two campaigns. All in all, you will spend anywhere between 20 and 30 hours clearing the content, depending on how many optional achievements and collectibles you’ll go out of your way to complete.

Despite its bleak and often violent subject matter, The Last of Us Part I is a story about love, more specifically parental love, blooming inside and pushing a jaded man to cross the few moral thresholds he has not yet crossed to save a girl he barely knows. The flawed but powerful characters elevate what would otherwise be a pretty generic pitch in an oversaturated genre to a very delicate and deep level. The are no easy decisions in the name of survival, and after spending about twenty hours in the company of Joel and Ellie, perhaps you will understand the complicated morality governing this universe.

The game looks and feels great: you will traverse dark interiors and wide, open spaces, all rich in cover and debris. The level design really encourages carving your own path - most encounters can be avoided altogether, by sneaking around and getting through the next door, and even when you have to engage groups of enemies you have space to flank, hide and stalk your prey and even set up traps on their patrol routes.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961701792

Soft light will creep through holes in the walls, your eyes will adjust as you exit and enter the ruins of all sorts of buildings and there’s this perpetual feeling of discovery. The attention to detail, the notes left behind and vestigial remains of 21st century pop culture and easter eggs really conspire to create this beautiful sad world. The Last of Us isn’t a game you’re in a hurry to finish - there’s a trance-like quality to taking it slow and enjoying every little bit of lore and drama, understanding the ensemble of novelette-like yarns you take part in and the colorful array of characters you come across, be they a foil for your own journey (Sam and Henry) or the darkest, most twisted drives in human nature (the sinister David).

You should be aware that a considerable number of players have reported poor performance / optimization on launch. While the game ran without a hitch for me, the game in its current state is quite demanding in terms of hardware.

After about eight years in development hell and a tentative big screen adaptation helmed by none other than Sam Raimi, The Last of Us finally got an HBO show in early 2023, sparking renewed interest in the video game franchise and doubtlessly contributing to the sale of the PC port you’re currently reading a review for. The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure game that, for the most part, takes place twenty years after a global fungal infection reduced non-violent society to working messy jobs in fascist-run quarantine zones. You play as Joel Miller, turned into little more than the shell of a man after a heart-wrenching prologue, laying a believable foundation for the brutal acts you will perform while controlling him. You get a first glimpse into our protagonist’s true self within ten minutes after meeting him, when, leaving no room for argument, he ignores the pleas for help from a helpless family stuck on the side of the road, child in tow. And it only goes downhill from there. In the desolate landscape of TLOU’s America, FEDRA basically represents the government, struggling to keep the filthy and overworked population under control. Opposing them are the Fireflies, a rebel faction operating across the contiguous United States and harboring a secret that could potentially change the fate of the world. To this end, the Fireflies’ leader, Marlene, makes a deal with Joel to smuggle the foul-mouthed and lively Ellie from Boston to Salt Lake City. https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961702392 Your journey will take you through bush-covered highways, trap-ridden towns or industrial hellscapes where the rust intertwines with the overgrowth as if stuck in a stalemate. Skyscrapers and giant hotels may gleam in the sun and look shiny from a distance, but their guts are infested with Clickers and Hunters, in-universe jargon for marinated mushroom-zombies and bandits, respectively. Quiet drama scenes will alternate with encounters against armed thugs or zombies, and you will shoot, stab or strangle your way out of every unfortunate ambush you run into. About half the game’s playtime will be spent searching every nook and cranny for crafting consumables, which you will use to make medkits, Molotov cocktails, nail bombs, smoke grenades and upgrades for the breakable melee weapons you will find scattered throughout the world. There’s a heavy emphasis on crafting, weapon upgrades and using your environment to overcome enemies: sometimes you’ll have to use craftable shivs to open doors or quickly dispatch Clickers, and two of the biggest encounters in the game in terms of enemy numbers are completely trivialized when you realize that throwing a brick in an empty plaza will result in a massive bloodbath where the people hunting you and the dormant zombies in an abandoned mall wipe each other out without you firing so much as a shot. The two strongest aspects of the game are its writing and acting - what really sets The Last of Us apart (and thankfully survived the transition to the small screen) is the profound, believable and magnetic relationship between Joel and Ellie. They are both tested physically and mentally by the torrent of misfortune they have to endure, and there’s a very delicate balance between the tension and dread inherent to the story beats and the more relaxed optional conversations or Ellie’s terrible dad puns that act as levity. With a minimalistic soundtrack and a very eloquent string theme that evokes a sort of deep melancholy, the game’s score and sound design are nothing short of memorable. Composed mainly by Gustavo Santaollala, it avoids big, swollen orchestral themes in favor a more simplistic, personal soundscape, in a way that lingers in your mind long after you’ve finished the game. https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961702202 Included in the game are its original campaign, the Left Behind DLC (a story that provides more backstory into Ellie) and a couple of documentaries on the making of the two campaigns. All in all, you will spend anywhere between 20 and 30 hours clearing the content, depending on how many optional achievements and collectibles you’ll go out of your way to complete. Despite its bleak and often violent subject matter, The Last of Us Part I is a story about love, more specifically parental love, blooming inside and pushing a jaded man to cross the few moral thresholds he has not yet crossed to save a girl he barely knows. The flawed but powerful characters elevate what would otherwise be a pretty generic pitch in an oversaturated genre to a very delicate and deep level. The are no easy decisions in the name of survival, and after spending about twenty hours in the company of Joel and Ellie, perhaps you will understand the complicated morality governing this universe. The game looks and feels great: you will traverse dark interiors and wide, open spaces, all rich in cover and debris. The level design really encourages carving your own path - most encounters can be avoided altogether, by sneaking around and getting through the next door, and even when you have to engage groups of enemies you have space to flank, hide and stalk your prey and even set up traps on their patrol routes. https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961701792 Soft light will creep through holes in the walls, your eyes will adjust as you exit and enter the ruins of all sorts of buildings and there’s this perpetual feeling of discovery. The attention to detail, the notes left behind and vestigial remains of 21st century pop culture and easter eggs really conspire to create this beautiful sad world. The Last of Us isn’t a game you’re in a hurry to finish - there’s a trance-like quality to taking it slow and enjoying every little bit of lore and drama, understanding the ensemble of novelette-like yarns you take part in and the colorful array of characters you come across, be they a foil for your own journey (Sam and Henry) or the darkest, most twisted drives in human nature (the sinister David). You should be aware that a considerable number of players have reported poor performance / optimization on launch. While the game ran without a hitch for me, the game in its current state is quite demanding in terms of hardware.