The Last Of Us (Part 1 PC) – Review
In 2020’s The Last of Us Part 2, Naughty Dog had me so immersed in its world and its brutal story of revenge that I wasn’t ready to say goodbye when the credits rolled. When I started up The Last of Us: Remastered, I was excited to play the first game in the series again, but the huge technological leap between the two games soon dampened my enthusiasm.
The Last of Us Part 1 is the same wonderful game that we all know and love, but redesigned with the Part 2 toolset, so either Naughty Dog hacked my brain or they had the same sensation.
Pros:
- Looks stellar
- Industry leading acting and story telling
- Fantastic moment to moment gameplay
- Very accessible
Cons:
- Performance issues
Score – 10/10
If you’ve seen a video or heard any of The Last of Us Part 1’s advertising, you know that the game’s visuals are a significant improvement over the original. Following the stunning visuals of The Last of Us Part 2, the recreation of Part 1 is also stunning to look at, and the updated visual style does much more than just freshen up a game that is almost a decade old.
To begin, the game’s depiction of a post-apocalyptic United States is a sight to witness due to the incredible attention to detail it features. The Last of Us’s level design does an excellent job of building a believable world, with derelict houses still bearing signs of the people who once lived there and vast urban areas overrun by nature. However, unlike 10 years ago when similar technology was unavailable, this time it seems the developers have been able to completely deliver on those concepts.
More care has been taken to detail the various household trinkets one might find in a family home; on more than one occasion, I found myself sidetracked by old photographs that told a tale about a family that wasn’t even in the film. Part 1’s attention to detail is so extensive that you can spend hours upon hours of playtime merely appreciating it.
Light effects have also been improved, and they do a great job of showcasing the power of Sony’s newest system now that the game is being rendered on the PS5. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite as taken with Bill’s hideaway in the beginning of the game, but the way the light filters in through the church’s windows made me pause and take notice.
Naughty Dog has paid special attention to the improvements made to the character models, which are most noticeable during the game’s sequences. I’ll confess that the first few comparison trailers left me confused, and I think that’s because the PS3 versions of those cutscenes were so well animated. When experiencing the PS5 port, however, the full scope of these enhancements becomes clear.
For instance, Tess now has a new, more realistic appearance that represents her age and maturity. More realism was brought to their exchanges thanks to the addition of Joel’s middle-aged appearance, which did the original motion capture and voice acting credit and amplified the intensity of each scene.
The game gives you the option to play in either “performance” or “fidelity” setting from the get-go, depending on whether you want to get the most out of the visuals. The former aims for a smooth 60 frames per second, while the latter places a higher premium on graphics and is limited to 30. There is a clear distinction between the two settings, and switching between them is quick and easy so you never have to feel stuck in either one.
In my run, I focused almost entirely on the “performance” setting. After all, the option to play in the improved frame rate was one of the best additions to 2014’s The Last of Us Remastered, perfectly complementing the frenetic action of the game’s gunfights.
The audio quality of the game has also been impressively fine-tuned, with sounds feeling more layered than ever and dialogue coming through plainly and defined than ever before. The game’s infected foes can be gunned down with even more intensity thanks to the inclusion of 3D Audio.
It’s worth noting that, unusually for a modern video game, I experienced almost no graphical or auditory glitches while playing. This is as close to launch-ready as a AAA title can get.
The narrative of The Last of Us is bound to come up at some point in any discussion of the game. When it was first released, the game caused a stir with its grim vision of life after civilization collapsed.
In a post-pandemic world, the many allusions to quarantines, testing, and face coverings suddenly don’t seem quite abstract in The Last of Us, and few games have come close to matching its storytelling heights. Part 1 is the second re-release of the game, so it’s reasonable to assume that many players are pondering if they should bother with it again. I think it is safe to say that this is the case.
As was previously stated, the improved character models enrich the game’s story by making the players feel more connected to the protagonists and antagonists. Having not played the game in about eight years, however, I find it thrilling to rediscover what made it so enjoyable the first time around. This is where the game starts to get challenging if you’ve played it lately.
From a gameplay standpoint, unfortunately, Part 1 is virtually similar to its inspiration. Since there has been much discussion of the game’s visual improvements being inspired by those of Part 2, I had hoped that some of the gameplay changes introduced in that installment, such as the option to go prone during battle and the addition of new enemy types like attack dogs that are trained to sniff you out and force you to constantly move around, would also make an appearance.
These features should have been included in the original release to entice returning users beyond the cosmetic changes. However, this does not mean that there is nothing new to enjoy; in fact, there is a “permadeath” mode for those who just can’t take it easy and a “speed run” mode to see how fast you can finish the game.
Intense moments, like sneaking up on an adversary and grappling them, are amplified by the inclusion of haptic feedback, provided by the DualSense controller. Some firearms’ adaptive triggers may also alter their use. With L2 you can release the bow from your pack, and with R2 you can slowly draw back the arrow, experiencing the pushback in the trigger.
After beating the game, you can swipe a few new unlockables, such as outfits and concept art, but I ended up spending most of my time in the game’s new model viewer. As in the previous installment, you can examine a set of character models as though they were miniatures, focusing on the incredible level of detail some of them sport in their faces.
Many players will be interested in purchasing the game because of the improvements made to its accessibility features. Part 2 paved the way for new methods for gamers with disabilities to enjoy the game’s core experience, and those additions have now been made to Part 1.
Naughty Dog went above and beyond to make The Last of Us Part 1 accessible, adding features like colorblind modes, audio description during cutscenes, navigation assistance, and narration of on-screen text, which is fantastic news for anyone who was unable to play the game the first time around due to a disability. It would be great if other programmers followed suit.
