I just played through the game for the first time. It's a flippin' masterpiece, if you haven't played it I highly recommend it as the most immersive single player experience I've ever had. Full spoilers to follow, turn back now if you're not done. My favorite moments: The entire first half of Winter, when you think Joel is dead until she mentions "antibiotics". shifting between players as they try to save each other is the sweetest, most intense thing. That ending scene when you're running away from Firefly with Ellie in your arms, with the music and lighting and all things beautiful. I cried. I don't know guys, I just want someone to obsess over this game with. Heh
I totally agree with you Ein, it is indeed a masterpiece! Would I be able to say the entire game, haha..? Because I honestly felt like the whole gameplay was polished in close to every aspect. However, I do have to admit there are some stand alone segments in the game that really pushed it over the boundaries of a great game, to a masterpiece. A short list of some of my favourite moments (spoilers): The Prologue; it was so perfectly executed. Beginning as Sarah as you witness the opening of the outbreak really attached you to her character and her relationship with Joel. Then how it swapped over and you took over the shoes of Joel. It really made you feel like you needed to run and save Sarah at whatever the cost. In addition, the opening sequence was amazing hearing a radio announcement of the last 20 years of the outbreak. Tess; she was a beautiful character and was written well to complement Joel. When they talked to one another it felt real, not written (like many moments throughout the game). The way they relied on each other for survival really made her shine as a support character. As such, when we and Joel find out she has been infected... That moment was so beautifully created. First meeting Ellie and The Outskirts; this is the first sequence when we start to learn more about Ellie, about her situation and the character development between her and Joel. This is also the first time we are introduced to Clickers and are thrown fully in the deep end. The level design for this part; and the next in the subway station, are simply fantastic. Bills Town and Pittsburgh; both offered us additional support characters that shape Joel and Ellie, and effect their decisions for the future of the narrative. The level designs were very well done. Especially the design with Pittsburgh, this chapter is definitely the longest in the game, filled with both Hunters and Infected to deal with. The Winter segment; this is definitely the highlight of the narrative, as it's the turning point of the entire story. I loved every second of this chapter, how at first you play as Ellie believing Joel may have just passed away, looking through her backpack and if you hold an object for a particular amount of time she actually said a heart-warming piece of dialogue that meant something for that item; whether we knew what it was or not (as some of it was information only giving out in the dlc!). Then, as Ellie gets caught and you're a very wounded Joel, running through the snowy terrain screaming "Where is she!?", as a bunch of hunters run away in fear. The Ending; for some reason it was very controversial, it seems like you either loved it or hated it. Personally, I have never seen a better ending to a game than the ending of The Last of Us. It was so beautifully made, it broke so many expectations short, created so much disappointment and was incredibly thought-provoking between what was right and wrong. Which is exactly why it was so good. What was even better was that it wasn't completely out of the blue, as I saw that ending happening long before it happened. I could tell the story would end like that by the end of the Winter chapter, all it took was Joel to say "I've got you baby-girl" to Ellie. Lastly, it felt real... Real life doesn't always have a dramatic 'They saved the world' ending, the ending just closed with a simple lie that Ellie believed, all their work just stopped on one man's wants. I could go on for hours about this game aha. But I'll stop here as these are the main highlights for me.. but there are many more >.>
I enjoyed the game, but personally felt some stuff was just really forced and tried too hard to elicit a sad reaction (the part where the guys brother turns into a zombie and you kill him and then he shoots himself), overall I thought the gameplay was decent. It was an overhyped game but would still recommend playing for the interesting story.
