Playing The Last of Us for the first time in 2022: A re-review

I’ve been living without seeing you for nearly 10 years Last of Us spoiler. How did that happen? For one thing, I didn’t cover the video game industry in 2013. Working early in the morning kneading bread in the bakery, creaming butter for cookies, and fiddling with keys to walk the dog at a stranger’s house. Play console video games on your old Xbox 360, star craft 2 on my Mac laptop. I haven’t had a PlayStation console since PlayStation 2. A PlayStation 2 was in my parents’ garage for a long time, but I didn’t have my own console until the PlayStation 5 — except for a short period of time when I borrowed a PlayStation 4. Death Stranding.

This is all I say I didn’t have physical way play Last of Us, And against all odds, I somehow avoided spoilers too. Last of UsAnd yeah, it’s still a fucking good game.

It feels trite to summarize The Last of Us Part 1given its importance and ubiquity, does it for others who don’t know the setup yet: Last of Us It’s set in an apocalyptic world where humans are infected with Cordyceps fungus — a parasitic fungus that infects the brain and turns infected humans into violent, mutated monsters. The main plot takes place 20 years after the initial outbreak. to start. There, the human race has languished, migrating to militarized quarantine zones and remote and dangerous settlements. Joel and Ellie are his two survivors. Joel survived his first outbreak, but his daughter survived. Ellie, on the other hand, was born into this world. Their relationship begins at first, as Joel is tasked with smuggling teenagers out of Boston and into the hands of the Fireflies, a revolutionary group that seeks to use an immune Ellie to find a cure for infections. is hostile.

Last of UsThe world is as dangerous and violent as any other zombie epic, and its characters are ruthless and brutal. Last of Us It constantly reminds players that the world’s brutality is a holdover from pre-infection societies.Sure, there used to be a lot of games centered on violence Last of Us, and many continue to do the same. But despite the plethora of post-apocalyptic games, movies, and books, Last of Us‘ wake up, Naughty Dog’s still feels inspired in 2022 — almost fresh — which may be a result of zombie fiction falling out of fashion in recent years. Either way, the timing for this re-release feels just right.

Nevertheless, in 2022, Last of Us still upset. People have said it before and I’ll say it again: Last of Us it’s not correct fun play.it is no Halo Infinite Also fortnite, shooting and killing here is just a series of ever-changing numbers on a scoreboard. Holding Joel’s gun, aiming that gun, and shooting that gun is miserable, intolerable, and painful — not only is Joel fending off other human survivors, but resources are so scarce. because there are: Would you regret using that bullet?

For every moment of cynicism and regret for a lost world, Last of Us It’s also a very friendly game. It navigates Joel and Ellie’s relationship, journeying through a broken America with subtle and tectonic changes. It’s another stranger who dumps her at some point.

Image: Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment

But each city in the American West offers a new catalyst for that relationship. From Boston to Pittsburgh to Jackson to Salt Lake City, Naughty Dog’s choice to pace the game with the seasons works wonders. felt Heat radiating from decaying buildings welcomes winter in Silver Lake, Colorado, with blood standing out on the pure white snow. The game is relatively short, but by modern standards there is at least no bloat, but the seasonal movements make the time feel tangible.

Little by little, they settle into a strained father-daughter bond. The most moving of them all comes when Joel and Ellie arrive in Utah to find a herd of giraffes thriving outside an escaped and abandoned zoo. It’s a pervasive scene, almost a meme — something everyone talks about when they’re debating. Last of UsThere are good reasons for this. That moment still overwhelmed me, nine years later.

The moment comes so suddenly, surrounded by misery. Ellie, hoisted onto a ledge by Joel, drops the ladder she was tasked with handling—she sees something Joel can’t see. Her voice changed and I realized it wasn’t a bad thing. it was beautiful. Naughty Dog allows players to stay in vantage points. Giraffes pluck leaves and wander the flooded city. It’s like a lake now. I stayed there for a while and savored Ellie’s joy and picturesqueness. Looking back, it felt cruel to open the door. Last of Us‘ Then the dark phase.

Image: Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment

In a way, I’m glad I just saw it Last of Us to that conclusion.You can see it outside of the violent, sad dad tropes that dominated the environment when it was released — think bioshock infinite, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, When grand theft auto 5, that too. Last of Us Very dated and there are certainly issues with it. But now that I know how matured it is overall, I really appreciate it not as a cultural relic or a stepping stone, but as a hauntingly beautiful piece of art in its own right.

The Last of Us Part 1 will release on PlayStation 5 on September 2nd. This game was reviewed using a pre-release download code provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.