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[-Pyromaniac-]

What surprised me most is I was expecting run of the mill gameplay with great story but instead I got awesome stealth/horror/suspense style gameplay WITH the awesome story. I feel like it ended at a good time too. Some games would have taken it a scene or so further but ND ended it exactly right.

 

[Tagyhag]

Between both threads I've seen some craziness from both sides. Some haters of the gameplay making silly demands like making Ellie able to be spotted (Her AI sucks so that would be a terribly idea, even ND seems to have known that themselves) for the sake of realism, while the game's semi-realism already perfectly complements it. If you have issues with the gameplay, don't offer solutions that would just make it worse!

Then you have the hardcore fans who believe ANY attack on the game stems from being cynical, jealousy of it being an exclusive, or lack of taste because you just can't dislike a game with so many awards. That's also insane. You should allow others to express their opinion and counter it with an actual counter instead of a wave of your hand and a "professional gaming reviewers are infallible, it's impossible to dislike it now"

That's the same situation with Rotten Tomatoes using film goers.

 

[Cthulhu_Steev]

The writing is probably the best thing about the game. That's not to say the game itself is bad, far from it, but it's not amazing either.
The terrible AI, glitches and repetitive gameplay definitely wore on me, but the game had some really great moments throughout that made up for those not so good elements.

I loved the Benny Hill-comedy AI. One character was running around in panicked circles shouting while I hid behind a bin, he ran through a garden gate, then suddenly doubled-back being chased by three clickers.

I accidentally dropped a nail-bomb at my feet and killed myself laughing.

It's moments like that which make the apocalypse worth living. And dying.

 

[Neff]

I think it's a legit question, and I don't buy the 'sum of its parts' thing.

For example, Bayonetta has amazing gameplay, but a lousy story. Conversely, FFX has a pretty good story, but the gameplay is (imo) lame as shit. It's certainly possible to split the elements and scrutinise and enjoy them in their own right, while discarding the rest. Requesting detailed clarity on the muddied issue of TLoU's gameplay- particularly when it's praised and damned in equal measure- is valid. The fact that there's still no public demo further legitimises OP's curiosity.

Instead, she gets called out as a troll without much basis. Some people's relationship with this game is weird to say the least.

 

[Phased]

As a whole the game I thought was really good.

The story is excellent and the voice acting sells it. No complaints. However the gameplay has it's low points in my opinion.

There's certain areas in the game you can enter, see the layout of chest-high walls, and go "well after all the story stuff is done im gonna get ambushed here" and sure enough, it happened. That sort of thing took me out of the game a fair bit, and the biggest offender would be

Spoiler

near the end of the game, when you finally reach the University and it's completely empty. As you're exploring it and making your way deeper you pass lots of long corridors with overturned carts and such, perfect for cover. When you get jumped by the bandits it's the least surprising thing in the world

I'm not sure how to fix that though, but overall it was a great game for me.

 

[Corine]

No, it's just a standard generic linear third person action game. Better to just watch a good foreign film if you want a good story.

 

[conman]

For all of its slavish devotion to very familiar plot and mechanical conventions, it's as good a version of those conventions as you are likely ever to play.

Don't think Orson Welles. Think Frank Capra and Stephen Spielberg.

 

[Cthulhu_Steev]

The fact that there's still no public demo further legitimises OP's curiosity.

Not really, it's the exact same game as the PS3 version, AI warts and all, why didn't he ask the question then?

No, it's just a standard generic linear third person action game. Better to just watch a good foreign film if you want a good story.

Better still, go to the cinema in GTAV and play a great game and see a good foreigner's film.

 

[TNeck]

I enjoyed the gameplay in The Last of Us about as much as I did the story. It actually made me more of a fan of using stealth and avoiding enemy encounters (which is how I've been trying to play Watch Dogs).

Before TLOU came out for the PS3, I remember lurking GAF and seeing a thread with an off-screen gameplay demo of it. The player kept trying to "Rambo" his way through the Clickers and Runners. He ended up dying via Clicker bites three times throughout the video. I'm not particularly great at using stealth in games, so that worried me a little.

After playing the game and getting a feel for the enemy AI, I actually found that being patient, managing my shiv count and using stealth turned out to be more enjoyable than trying to gun down everybody in an area and occasionally chucking Molotovs to speed up the process. There were moments where I had to do the latter, but I didn't find it boring or frustrating.

Another thing I liked is that Naughty Dog found a way through story and gameplay to

Spoiler

allow Ellie, a 14 year old girl, to adequately defend herself and fight almost as competently as her adult male guardian. Ellie and Joel were both equally fun to play as. They could've pulled a Resident Evil 4 and made her a helpless non-combatant with a bland gameplay section (Ashley Graham), but they didn't and I absolutely respect that.

That's a great example of synergy between gameplay and storytelling.

My only other experiences with games that have post-apocalyptic settings are the Dead Rising series and Telltale's The Walking Dead series. The Dead Rising games are extremely fun to play, but have mediocre stories (decent at the start, but they don't close out well). The Walking Dead games have great stories, but the gameplay isn't anything to write home about (other than a few memorable QTEs). The Last Of Us manages to make both the gameplay and story very enjoyable.

 

[JB1981]

The fact that there's still no public demo further legitimises OP's curiosity./QUOTE]

There was a demo on PS3. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

 

[Timeaisis]

There's really no reason to play it if you don't feel like you'll care about the story. The gameplay is good, but it's not incredible.

 

[jon bones]

Some people's relationship with this game is weird to say the least.

there you go again...

No, it's just a standard generic linear third person action game. Better to just watch a good foreign film if you want a good story.

i totally believe that you played the game

 

[akidnamededdy]

Gameplay and story are both serviceable. The game's real standout is production values: graphics, music, VA.

 

[TheKastorian]

Personally, playing The Last Of Us was the most intense and immersive experience I've had in gaming. Nothing even comes remotely close (maybe playing MGS for the first time in 1998 but that's it).

 

[Cthulhu_Steev]

Neff must've fallen asleep and forgotten he dribbled all this stuff last night already

#neff4therealgamers

Personally, playing The Last Of Us was the most intense and immersive experience I've had in gaming. Nothing even comes remotely close (maybe playing MGS for the first time in 1998 but that's it).

You'd love Rick Dangerous on the Amiga.

 

[Gbraga]

This. Matt Lees is awesome, I feel kind of bad about some of the stuff I said in that Killer is Dead thread.

For the record, I still think that video was awful, but it's definitely a very rare exception of what is otherwise a great catalogue of videos, it was just really unfortunate that a lot of people were exposed to him through that exception.

 

[Majmun]

No, it's just a standard generic linear third person action game. Better to just watch a good foreign film if you want a good story.

Woooooow, good one!11!

 

[TitusGroan]

It's a valid question because every single time one of these threads pop up, I rarely see any good conversation, I just see a lot of exasperated defenders expecting their arguments to be self-evident.


I don't really think your examples of reduction display anything. The problem that one could have with The Last of Us is that the plot is already pretty reductive. It's a short story told over many hours, with character development used to fill in the gaps. It uses a lot of TV show ideas to do that, but the real gist of the plot is basically Children of Men remixed - and you don't have to reduce the plot to prove it, it's pretty obvious in the details. Not to say that's a bad thing, it's just, well, that's what the game wants to be. The plot is a vehicle for the characters.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed this.

 

[PolarGamer]

If you like Ellen Page, you should really play it. One of her best roles

You'd love Rick Dangerous on the Amiga.

.

Rick Dangerous. Thou bringest the flashbacks.

 

[TetraGenesis]

The Last of Us has tremendously fun combat mechanics, the best stealth system I've experienced in a game, incredibly tense encounters, beautifully crafted environments with intricate level design that are a treat to explore and scavenge, and supplies that have real, significant value. The narrative, characters, dialogue, environmental storytelling, and visuals are all just gravy.

If I want to play a wonderful story with poor gameplay I'll play The Walking Dead (which is one of my favorite games). The Last of Us is the best marrying of story and gameplay in a AAA game I think I've ever played. It's ludonarratively harmonious, emotionally resonant, mechanically captivating, and in general the most polished and adult AAA action-adventure of the past generation.



So why don't you just play it, instead of making a thread about it.

 

[Fracas]

For me, yeah. I loved just about every minute of it (though I felt the ending of the prologue was a bit ham-fisted, though there's obviously a reason it was there'). Playing it was a tense and rewarding experience. The mechanics are well-polished. Audio playing a large role was interesting too. I played the whole game at night with headphones on.

 

[Neff]

There was a demo on PS3. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

There's no demo on either the US or UK stores, sorry.

 

[JLeack]

The story and graphics were what made it so great. I think the level design is what made the gameplay feel good enough that is was satisfying. Truthfully, there wasn't a whole lot going on in the combat front.

 

[shinobi602]

There's no demo on either the US or UK stores, sorry.

Well the majority of games out there don't have demos...

 

[Hubb]

Well the majority of games out there don't have demos...

The Last of Us had/has a demo. Unfortunately you needed to buy GoW:A or know someone who had it.

 

[TetraGenesis]

Some people's relationship with this game is weird to say the least.

Yeah, some people. But not "gamers" right? True "gamers" all hate the game as much as you, don't they?

 

[Statue of Limitation]

There's no demo on either the US or UK stores, sorry.

I saw someone talking about how they'd played the demo the other day and I don't recall one?

GOW: Ascension, of course. Completely forgot about that.

 

[shinobi602]

The Last of Us had/has a demo. Unfortunately you needed to buy GoW:A or know someone who had it.

That's true, but it still stands, the vast majority of games released don't have public demos.

 

[Hubb]

That's true, but it still stands, the vast majority of games released don't have public demos.

Yeah I was agreeing with you though I didn't make that very clear. I was piggybacking on your response to the guy who said it didn't have a demo.

 

[RoboPlato]

I think it's a legit question, and I don't buy the 'sum of its parts' thing.

For example, Bayonetta has amazing gameplay, but a lousy story. Conversely, FFX has a pretty good story, but the gameplay is (imo) lame as shit. It's certainly possible to split the elements and scrutinise and enjoy them in their own right, while discarding the rest. Requesting detailed clarity on the muddied issue of TLoU's gameplay- particularly when it's praised and damned in equal measure- is valid. The fact that there's still no public demo further legitimises OP's curiosity.

Instead, he gets called out as a troll without much basis. Some people's relationship with this game is weird to say the least.

Prove that's it's praised and damned in equal measure. I've barely seen any specific references to actual gameplay scenarios from people who criticize the gameplay, you included. It's always vague statements without any actual argumentation. If you're going to offer a contentious opinion, you need to support it so a dialogue and discussion can occur.

 

[kvothe]

It's not a rhetorical question!

I'm in two minds over whether to buy it or not. Almost all the reviews I've read or watched focus on the story and the 'experience', but from the footage it just looks like a fairly standard third-person action game with stealth bits.

I can appreciate that the story might be this wonderful, transcendent Citizen Kane of videogames but I'm not particularly interested in yet another post-apocalyptic journey of growth and redemption. I also don't really have an appetite for a third-person shooty/stealthy game right now (I'm more excited by Diablo 3).The PS4 release schedule is so empty, though, that I'm not exactly spoiled for choice.

What do you think?

(I'm expecting the usual one word answers, but it'd be great if you could actually, you know, explain your thinking. Thanks.)

Just so ya know, Citizen Kane wasn't so fantastic because of its story, it was fantastic because it took all the best parts of movie-making and put it into one film. The people that called TLOU the Citizen Kane of video games did so because they thought it did the same thing for games, which includes fantastic gameplay, graphics, sound design, etc.

 

[Neff]

Well the majority of games out there don't have demos...

I don't know about that. TLoU was the first gen 7 game I ever wanted to try before buying but couldn't. Every other title I was interested in which was a potential risk buy (and many that weren't), I was able to sample first.

Either way, I think it adds weight to 'what is this game like - please tell me'.

 

[StuBurns]

I don't know about that. TLoU was the first gen 7 game I ever wanted to try before buying but couldn't. Every other title I was interested in which was a potential risk buy (and many that weren't) I was able to sample first.

He doesn't mean in the history of games, he means now. There are like ten PS4 demos.

 

[TetraGenesis]

I don't know about that. TLoU was the first gen 7 game I ever wanted to try before buying but couldn't. Every other title I was interested in which was a potential risk buy (and many that weren't) I was able to sample first.

God,TLOU was the first all generation you didn't get to sample? What a villain!

What hasn't this game done to wrong you?

 

[HardRojo]

The threads are already starting and the Remaster hasn't been released yet. This is gonna be awesome!
Gameplay was very tense and kept me tight on my chair, I felt like it fit the story perfectly and no, The Last of Us doesn't shine just because of the story, it shines because of its gameplay, pace, sound and more.

 

[lukeskymac]

Instead, he gets called out as a troll without much basis

This

I can appreciate that the story might be this wonderful, transcendent Citizen Kane of videogames but I'm not particularly interested in yet another post-apocalyptic journey of growth and redemption.

Isn't enough?

 

[professor_t]

It's not just the story -- the atmosphere in this game is spectacular. It's one of the few games where I would have been much happier to have more time exploring and sneaking than actually fighting enemies.

And, to be fair, I wasn't very impressed with the gameplay/gunplay. I think that facet of the game is highly overrated because people are so enamored with everything else, which is understandable. However, I have almost no desire to play it again, and the gameplay is the chief culprit here.

 

[Canucked]

I think the gameplay is great. On the harder modes, trying to stealth it wasn't easy (for me) and I enjoyed the challenge.

It's also one of the few games of last gen where I had fun enough in the multiplayer to go after the trophies.

 

[Siegmeyer]

It didn't get all those awards and GOTY for no reason OP, try it out for yourself. You've got nothing to lose.

Too many posters playing on easy/normal with listen mode on, saying it's a boring stealth game and a standard 3rd person shooter (i'd love to play more "boring" 3rd person shooters of TLoU quality).

Play it on the proper difficulties before passing judgement. That's akin to playing through Dark Souls all in Co op and saying it's too easy or Guitar Hero on beginner and claiming you've mastered it. You're not really experiencing the proper game when it's throwing so much ammo and resources at you, whilst also being able to see enemies through walls. Might as well call it kiddie mode.

I played on Hard with listen mode off as GAF was saying that was the best way to experience the game. I still found the gameplay pretty average. You sem unable to accept that some peope were disappointed.

 

[Cthulhu_Steev]

If you like Ellen Page, you should really play it. One of her best roles

She was much better in David Crane's Heavier Rain on PS3.

 

[Morfeo]

Havent played it myself, but this is my impression from the footage and reviews I have seen as well, so glad you made this thread!

 

[Corine]

there you go again...





i totally believe that you played the game

Believe what you want. He asked a question and I gave an honest answer. Not my fault you can't take criticism about a videogame.

 

[Neff]

He doesn't mean in the history of games, he means now. There are like ten PS4 demos.

Well for a game released during a generation which had a lot of demos available, it's more likely that TLoU is one OP never got to sample (assuming she even had a PS3). It just seems to me that people should factor that, and other things, into her post before deflating 'criticism' by assuming that she's up to no good.

 

[Jito]

I played on Hard with listen mode off as GAF was saying that was the best way to experience the game. I still found the gameplay pretty average. You sem unable to accept that some peope were disappointed.

Nah just some advice for those who played on easy or normal and complain. Good for you if you didn't enjoy it.

 

[Fbh]

I really liked the gameplay in the last of us and don't get why some people say the only good thing about the game is the story. It wasn't the most mindblowing and innovative gameplay out there but it as solid all around

Some people recommended me hard mode and disabling listening mode so that is what I did and I enjoyed it A LOT.

- As a non stealth fan I really liked the stealth. It was basic enough for people that are not very much into that type of gameplay like me, yet still enjoyable and with a real sense of tension. I specially liked how clickers had to be evaded based on sound rather than line of sigh

- I liked how the aim was a bit loose and I don't get why people have an issue with it. You are, for he most part, a "regular" guy with a gun. Not a super soldier who runs into 10 enemies blindfiring headshots

- I liked the survival elements. Non regenerative health and limited resources. I never felt like I had no items but I sure has hell didn't feel like I had a lot.

- The limited resources also forced me to use what I had at hand. In other games I tend to stick to the 1-2 guns I like, here I used the one with bullets and the throwing Items I managed to craft with what I had. In turn I felt like through the game I used every gun and every item unlike in many other games

- I think the pacing was great. Excelent mix of stealth situations, direct confrontations and slower paced traversal

 

[shinobi602]

I don't know about that. TLoU was the first gen 7 game I ever wanted to try before buying but couldn't. Every other title I was interested in which was a potential risk buy (and many that weren't) I was able to sample first.

Out of the thousands and thousands of gen 7 games last gen, you're going to tell me most had demos? Most AAA titles didn't. Come on dude.

 

[StuBurns]

Well for a game released during a generation which had a lot of demos available, it's more likely that TLoU is one he never got to sample (assuming he even had a PS3). It just seems to me that people should factor that, and other things, into OP's post before deflating 'criticism' by assuming the guy is up to no good.

I don't know what the demo for TLoU included, but it seems like an extremely difficult game to demo. You can't give someone three hours of the game, and you can't just throw someone in to the encounters that are interesting. There shouldn't be a demo for it.

 

[Danomeon]

I think the story and atmosphere of TLOU are its biggest strengths, (The post-apocalyptic level design is second to none) and a few moments had a pretty heavy impact on me. I actually found myself actively appreciating the fact that my world wasn't falling apart like those of the characters. It was weird for a game to hit me that hard.

If you're in it for the gameplay, it's not a terrible deal, either. Its shooting and stealth controls play very much like your vanilla third-person shooter, but there's a heavy emphasis on scavenging and crafting items that keeps it a bit above the crowd. I enjoyed rationing out my melee weapon swings, shivs, bullets, molotovs, and health kits as I tried to find out which was the best for the situation. Some ammo scarcity on the harder difficulties created tense moments, and I had a few of those light strategy sessions where I wondered if taking out the clicker without alerting the other zombies was really worth the wasted shiv.

The gameplay has a great core, but it doesn't do much to change itself up once you get used to it. There are only 3 real infected types, and it's hard to tell the difference between human enemies. The pattern of cutscene - traversal moment - combat puzzle - cutscene got a little old halfway through the game, and at some points it feels like the developers were running out of ideas. One environment traversal puzzle gets repeated 5 or 6 times over, each time with the same solution. It feels like padding.

If you're interested, multiplayer has a really cool match-to-match metagame where your performance determines the survival of a colony of people you're maintaining. It's a neat twist on the traditional experience system that made me care about the multiplayer a lot more than I would have otherwise. It helps that one of the modes is your no-respawn standoff gametype, which creates some great tension if the match is good.

I think The Last of Us has good gameplay bolstered by a great atmosphere and story. It's not quite reaching the level of narrative and gameplay I think video games are capable of, but I think it's worthy of a lot of its accolades.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Gameplay is excellent, it allows for on the fly improvisation in fairly open and often vertical environments. Add a nice selection of tools and you have excellent hunting grounds. Love that type of predatory gameplay.

 

[HeelPower]

What surprised me most is I was expecting run of the mill gameplay with great story

but but but...that's exactly what TLoU is!

Art direction, animation , voicing, sound design etc Really elevate this game to great heights.

TLoU represents a leap in presentation and cinematic quality of games but the gameplay is really just ok.

There is no survival gameplay, no role playing , no true choice when it comes to the story.Enemies are still just targets for you to slay around every corner.

In that sense I don't think TLoU achieves perfect union between its script(teases you with morality all the time) and its gameplay.

TLoU is to TPS what Bioshock is to FPS.