023THE 100 GAMES TO PLAY NOW
04
And now, the end is near.
And so you reach, the
almost final curtain... which
just happens to be hiding a
Clicker behind its velvet
drape. Naughty Dog’s
sombre masterpiece is oneof the greatest PlayStation games of all
time. After all, what’s not to like? Incredible
performances by the two most likable leads
on PS3? Good. A majestically crafted
apocalyptic world where every abandoned
building has a story to tell? Good. A Nolan
North-voiced psychopath? GOOD.
It’s testament to the power of Naughty
Dog as storyteller that it can take such dark
subject matter (global pandemics, the death
of family, the ruthlessness of humanity) and
make something so universally beloved. The
Last Of Us isn’t an easy game to play at
times (take that scene with the two
brothers, for instance...), but it remains
effortless to adore. And that’s down to an
experience completely unsullied by dodgy
dialogue or any form of padding, and one
that’s entirely beholden to showing the
unflinching consequences of your terribly
violent actions.
The Last Of Us is a game of tremendous
integrity. It never once talks down to its
audience or tries to insult your intelligence.
It doesn’t pander through the use ofside-missions or lob meaningless MacGuffins
your way. This is simply a game about real
people caught in extraordinary
circumstances in a world that is never
anything less than unfailingly believable.
Of course, it’s also a ruddy amazing
stealth shooter. Tenser than a dozen
oh-so-fateful England penalty shootouts, Joel
and Ellie deliver consistently mesmerising
encounters, where breaking line of sight and
acting as an adaptive, desperate predator is
key. For its time, it looked, played and
sounded better than anything else on PS3.
Why is it not No 1? Sadly on PS Now we
get the PS3 original and not the PS4
remaster. A minor gripe but it matters.The Last Of Us
Naughty Dog’s remarkable remains of the doomsday
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2013 / PUB SONY / DEV NAUGHTY DOG / ISSUE OPM #85 / SCORE 10/10