On June 14th 2013, Naughty Dog released “The Last of Us”. A third-person stealth action game set in a post-apocalyptic world. Following the story of hardened survivor ‘Joel Miller’ as he travels across the United States escorting a fourteen-year-old girl named ‘Ellie Williams.’ Nine years, one DLC, one remaster, one sequel and an upcoming TV adaptation later. The Last of Us has now been “Rebuilt for PS5” and released for the third time as The Last of Us Part I.

So what’s the story?

There’s no need to go into story beats here. The game is unchanged and has been left intact. The only two new additions I noticed are, Jerry’s character model from Part II is included as the surgeon in the final act. Also, Ellie now sports a Mortal Kombat II poster in her bedroom during the opening cinematic of ‘Left Behind’. However storywise, The Last Of Us Part I is still as powerful and engaging as it was the two previous times. If not more due to the upgraded graphics. The past two games look almost cartoonish in comparison to Part I. This game is beautiful. From the lighting, environments and character models, Part I has set a high bar for standards as to how good you can make a game look on the system.

The facial capture in this rendition is second to none. The final moments of the prologue, a scene I have watched unfold about twelve times now, hit me harder than it ever has in the past. The subtext that was always implied in behind-the-scenes footage and director’s commentary tracks can be read on the character’s faces clearly as if you were watching a live-action performance of the actors on stage. As well as that, performance and fidelity modes can be switched anytime by pausing the game and opening the required menu to access it.

Are sixty frames per second just not enough for you? Have you got the tv/monitor that supports more? Well, you can enjoy the feature of an unlocked framerate of up to one hundred and twenty frames per second. But looks aren’t everything though, how does the gameplay differ in this new rebuilding of the game?

Is it not just the same game with better graphics?

I’m not going to say all barriers have been removed but the huge and vast amount of accessibility options that Naughty Dog have provided to new players who have difficulty or disabilities is astounding and has opened the door for new players to approach this game now who previously could not. These include high contrast settings, audio and haptic feedback while exploring an arena, audio description during cutscenes, a screen reader while navigating menus and a huge array of gameplay features to toggle to assist players who are finding the game difficult (invincibility while crouched, allies don’t get grabbed, puzzle skip).

Starting difficulties include ‘Very Light, Light, Moderate, Hard, Survivor and Grounded’ Custom is unlocked after completion of the game. (All of these can be paired with ‘Permadeath Mode’ for the hardcore players out there) For my playthrough, I played ‘Survivor’ difficulty and I don’t know if it was me being rusty at the game from not playing in a while but my death count for this run of the game was ridiculously high. The AI will pick up on every move Joel makes, telling their allies to flank him while he’s in cover or charges up on him while reloading.

Glitches and guns

Enemies yell they are moving up to get the drop on Joel, while their friends hang back with their guns fixed on Joel’s last known location. Staying in one spot, hiding in cover and expecting to clean up while picking off headshots will just get you a death screen. Gunplay is still fast and frantic, every shot missed during a firefight is felt and can force you to change your plan of action in real-time as you figure out how to deal with a group of enemies with less ammo now.

Sadly, some of the jarring problems from past games seem to be present in this one too. Ellie still can walk in front of an enemy while you’re sneaking up on them and they will just be oblivious to her. Also, some enemies just have tunnel vision for Joel and ignore everyone else. I had a hunter chase me down with a 2×4. While this was happening he was getting shot in the back and not caring about the collection of 9mm rounds he was assembling in his spine. These moments were sparse and few between to take me out of the experience.

The Last of Us Part I – What makes it different to the last gen version?

In regards to this being rebuilt for PS5, it uses everything the system has to offer. The haptic feedback is nice to have present throughout the playthrough, not up to par with ‘Returnal’ I will admit but nice to see it being used by other developers.

The activity cards are just an absolute treat to have, each chapter has its own activity card and every collectable, optional conversation and hidden area is listed in the order they appear. Great to have for completionists out there who are gunning for that platinum trophy and don’t want to have a guide open on their phone beside them. Fun fact, I actually used my old PS3 walkthrough in tangent with the activity cards to see what collectable was next. Then I used the guide in front of me to pinpoint the location as a player.

Tools of the trade

Joel’s tools for upgrades are now actual tools you can inspect as a collectable and each one is needed for its respective upgrade. It’s nice to see Joel’s little toolbelt fill up over the course of the game as he assembles various tools and then see him reach for them and use them on the workbench. One little nitpick would be, that so much attention to detail is put into some of the upgrades as Joel works on the weapon, for example physically extending the magazine in his handgun for more capacity and seeing the clip customised. To then pick the same upgrade on the hunting rifle and Joel just gives it one good wipe with a cloth and it magically gets +1 in ammo. Again not enough to take me out of the game but I did get a good laugh out of it whenever it happened.

The photo mode is back and revamped. In my playthrough, I say I spent 60% of my time playing The Last of Us Part I and the remaining 40% was getting lost in taking fancy screenshots. The images you can set out to create are nothing short of stunning and look like professional stills from a movie set.

So much content for completionists

Last but not least I cannot write about this game without mentioning one new feature of the new game plus. Known as ‘FULL LOADOUT’. In the past during NG+, you kept your upgraded weapons but only received them as you would normally on a playthrough. FULL LOADOUT means as soon as Joel gets his backpack in Boston he has everything. This includes the automatic assault rifle from the final area. This along with infinite ammo, infinite crafting and explosive arrows from the cheat menu you unlock at completion creates what I like to call ‘Murder Miller Mode’. I cannot state how much f*cking fun I had for that playthrough. Becoming a one man murder machine is so satisfying. I highly recommend it for anyone doing a collectable cleanup run.

As stated, cheats unlock with completion of the main game, along with skins for Joel and Ellie and weapon skins for the handgun, shotgun and bow (for Ellie). A speedrun mode is unlocked too, a great tool for anyone out there looking to get started in the speedrunning community and some visual and audio filters become unlocked too. Back at the main menu, you get a heap of models to view in the model viewer. There is also concept art from both the 2013 and 2022 releases of the game.

What’s the verdict so?

All in all The Last of Us Part I is indeed the intended way to play this game. If this is your third time around with this title I would recommend holding off for a price drop. You are not missing out on anything new or secrets to find.

If this is your first time with the series then I would say go for it. As a new game, as a new experience, The Last of Us Part I has more than enough for you to sink your teeth into. I have nothing but a mixture of envy and excitement for you if you decide to dive in and discover the cordyceps-infested world of The Last of Us for the first time.

Words by Lewis Magee.

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So I’m here with the infamous…

Infamous?

Well, you were in one of them.

Ha! Pun.

I should say who you are, it’s Troy Baker. I thought it be funny to do a quick fire round first as you’re a part of such secretive projects. Can you tell us anything about Death Stranding?

Yes.

Oh!? I am genuinely surprised I thought you couldn’t say a word.

I can tell you some stuff. It was a blast to work with Norman Reedus. It was mindblowing to work with Hideo Kojima. You get to see my character which I’m super excited about. I can tell you that if Kojima pulls off what he wants to pull off it could literally change the way we play games.

Can you say if you’re in any scenes with Mads (Mikkelsen) or Guillermo (Del Toro)?

I can’t say.

I thought so that’s fair Will you be voicing both Bruce and Hulk in the Avengers game for Square Enix?

No, I’ll just be voicing Bruce because Fred (Tatasciore) is my Hulk and I’m not sure if Fred is voicing the Hulk.

You also have Joel. Can you talk about Joel and his part in The Last of Us Part II?

I can, but I won’t. More will be revealed as we get closer to the release date which I can’t wait for, especially as a player.

I think everyone who’s been watching Retro Replay has seen how much of a gamer you are.

A frustrating one for sure.

You must have the patience of a saint when it comes to the Uncharted Playthroughs?

For Uncharted sure but what’s funny is when people were screaming at us that circle is cover I don’t sit there and think I’m pressing circle now it’s all muscle memory and in my defence, there’s a lot changed between Uncharted 4 and Uncharted. Cut me some slack.

So how does it feel playing Uncharted with Nolan (North)? I say this because you’re living the dream of playing the game that you loved with the guy who was a part of that genre that you yourself are now famous for?

It constantly amazes me because after being his friend for so many years now there’s a lot of stories that I’ve heard and a lot of stories that I haven’t heard that he’ll only remember by replaying the game. So I intentionally made sure he didn’t get a chance to practice (which he wanted to do) so every time we play he’s experiencing this for the first time.

On a weird tangent, how does it feel to be returning to Vincent Brooks for Catherine: Full Body?

Dude!

I know!

Man, they wrote the hell out of that sequel. It’s a follow up to the previous game and an expansion on the franchise. Dude it is, I thought Catherine was banana’s, this game is insanity.

Can you imagine putting Nolan through that game? It’ll be Spider-Man all over again.

Oh no, no, no we will eventually play through Catherine and I can’t wait. That guy is going to lose his mind.

So how does it feel with Retro Replay being a year old now? Traveller and Retro Replay are now your two one-year-old babies.

Somebody put it best, I love this age of babies because they’re little drunk people they just stumble around and it’s pretty accurate. This morning I finished because we do episode reviews and we’ll go back and we’ll watch through. I mean we finished episode 53 and it blows my mind. We’ve been doing it for so long and we’re constantly growing our community. That person not only like watching us do this but the way we’re doing it. We’re also not operating out of that place of fear and have built a great team that has stuck with us since the beginning. It just keeps getting better, and better, and better.

Finally, we’ll end with how does it feel to have something that is a passion project that is so popular that isn’t even a game?

All I wanted to do was to be a part of something that had a t-shirt. It meant a lot to us. We’re also about to roll out a lot of new merch in July so when we come back we’ll have a proper shop set up.

Well see you next time you’re in Dublin Troy

Thanks for taking the time.

Stay tuned to GamEir, and if you’re interested, converse with us on Twitter (@gam_eir), Facebook (@GamEir), and Instagram (@GamEir). We still have more interviews coming from Comic-Con Ireland so if you’ve been enjoying them well you’re in luck. Check out our videos on Twitch (GamEir) and YouTube (GamEir) and we’ll give you all the latest content!

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With this GamEir discussion, I thought I’d start with Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite. She is in my opinion where the dynamic duos in gaming began. Before her, these characters were ineffectual followers that offered nothing in the way of meaningful companionship outside of the cutscenes. For example, Sparx and Aku Aku were great shields but there was no sense of companionship. I suppose this was due to the era of gaming we were at back in the 90’s but even when the games got their sequels the unimpressive relationships remained. Then along came Elizabeth and she swept us away with her whimsy and her charming vulnerability. Not only that she had some incredible reality warping abilities and she would assist the player in getting health, ammo, and collectibles. She was amazing and as she travelled with you her experiences in the world of Bioshock Infinite further enriched yours.

As well as her impressive abilities there was the wonderful rapport between Booker and Elizabeth which further solidified Elizabeth as a one of a kind character. The player (Booker Dewitt) and Elizabeth were a hell of a double act and like the other members of this GamEir discussion their story came to something of a bittersweet ending but in the words of River Song, spoilers.

Another heroine of note and one of my favourites is Ellie from The Last of Us. Born into a post-apocalyptic where humanity has been ravaged to the point of extinction by a horrifying disease Ellie is a shining light in the darkness and not just because she’s humanities last hope. This is where Joel (who the player controls) comes in, tasked with helping Ellie get to a specific place their relationship starts off quite rocky but through the course of the game they build an incredible relationship that will bring gamers to tears. Though not as super powerful as my other choices Ellie has an unbelievable rapport with Joel. This all comes down to the on-point acting from Troy Baker (not his first time in this article) as Joel and Ashley Johnson as Ellie. Travelling the barren country facing off against Clickers and the broken human beings that inhabit the scorched Earth players learn much about Ellie and her past. She starts off as quite the spitfire and grows to be an even more fierce individual when push comes to shove.

Gameplay wise Ellie is special in the sense that she is immune to the disease that has ravaged the world. So when Joel needs to access somewhere that he can’t access otherwise he’d become infected her nifty trick comes into play. She also always does it with a wry sense of humour that always got a smile from me. As players of The Last of Us know Ellie’s story is not over yet and when E3 comes around again this year we may learn something more with the next trailer for The Last of Us 2.

I thought it would be suitable to end the GamEir discussion with the person that started it, Atreus. He’s a hell of a kid, watching his relationship with his father Kratos grow throughout the course of their story is magnificent. Not only that but Atreus is maybe the most combat savvy of the three characters I’ve chosen. As God of War progresses his competency with his weaponry grows and grows in tandem with his relationship with his father. It’s a subtle visual choice by game director Cory Barlog but an effective one that helps the player understand what is going on with him. It’s also great to see him grow more confident as a person as he learns more about himself through talking to his father. Like all the characters in this discussion, there is a central theme of parent and child and it is why all these characters are so compelling because it is a universal theme everyone can appreciate.

Ultimately I can’t decide who is the MVP in this GamEir discussion and the simple reason is because all of these characters are wonderfully engaging, brought innovation to the sidekick mechanic in gaming and became as pivotal to their games as the leads. If you have your own favourite gaming partners in gaming and they aren’t here let us know in the comments below and let’s get this GamEir discussion started.

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Escayg served as the Creative Director and writer of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and led the cinematics team as the Director of Photography and Animation Supervisor on The Last of Us. In addition, he worked as an animator at Industrial Light & Magic.

“I’m thrilled to join Crystal as Creative Director and be aligned with a team as passionate about telling great character-based stories as I am.”

Barry held multiple positions at Electronic Arts and was formerly the Director of Product Development at Visceral Games, working on several games over his long career including the critically acclaimed Dead Space franchise.

“Crystal’s been around almost as long as I’ve been in the business. The immediate chemistry and camaraderie has been exactly what I’d hoped for.”

“We’re committed to delivering an incredible, completely original Avengers experience to our gamers, and that means we are always looking to add amazing developers to our existing best in class studio talent,” said Scot Amos, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics. “As development progresses, our studio continues to grow. The tremendous progress we’ve made on The Avengers project further drives us toward our goal of crafting something all Marvel fans will be proud of and will play for years to come. We can’t wait to show you what we mean in the future.”

“We recently hired fifteen world-renowned industry veterans, spanning production leadership, animation, design, art and engineering, who have previously worked on games such as Batman: Arkham Origins, Dead Space, Star Wars: Battlefront and many more.” said Ron Rosenberg, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics. “Their AAA experience adds to an already deep roster, making us well-positioned to deliver on the ambitious goals we’ve set for ourselves with The Avengers Project. It’s a stellar addition of many people who fit incredibly well into our wheelhouse of building game experiences we all love.”

Crystal Dynamics has developed and published over 30 award-winning titles during its 25-year adventure. Some of the most beloved franchises include Gex, Legacy of Kain and more recently, Tomb Raider.

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Highly cinematic, the behind the shoulder camera which trails the trailer’s unknown protagonist and her captors as thunder roars the skies above and rain pummels them and the ground below establishes a tense and hostile atmosphere from the get-go. Much has been made of how violent the trailer is and, simply, there is no denying it. While realistic depictions of gratuitous violence have been commonplace in film and television for half a Century now, comparable displays of violence have only emerged in video games very recently as it was impossible for the relatively new medium to do so with the primitive technology and graphical ability of previous generations. In fact, it really wasn’t until the sixth generation of consoles, which emerged at the turn of the millennium that realistic, that the hardware was sufficiently powerful enough to depict convincing visual brutality (it could even be argued that it wasn’t until the seventh generation, the last one before the current generation, that it became truly realistic). What makes the trailer so hard to stomach for most people, I believe, is lack of context.

In film, heinous violence can be rendered bearable to the viewer if it is acceptably contextualised; it’s what separates, albeit brutal, movies like Hacksaw Ridge and Casino from the gore-porn of Saw and Hostel – emotional engagement, morality and quality storytelling. The problem that this trailer faces is that without sufficient narrative context, a woman having her arms broken with a claw-hammer is just, well, a woman having her arms broken with a claw-hammer. The first Last Of Us game was critically acclaimed not because of how violent it was (and it is, as anyone who has played it will tell you, exceptionally violent) but because, among a litany of other redeeming qualities, how it was able to suck the player into its dystopian world, through brilliant storytelling, outstanding scripting and voice acting, and the genuine emotion it evoked. Therefore, just as in Cormack McCarthy’s novel The Road, which is arguably The Last Of Us’ greatest source of inspiration, it is able to deal with uncomfortable themes of murder, starvation, tribalism, the death of children, rape and molestation without coming off as being deliberately antagonist or controversial. It’ll be interesting to see as graphics improve in gaming, becoming more detailed and vibrant if developers will forego quality storytelling in favour of graphical flare and depictions of increasingly graphic violence and death. Some games, in the past, have driven explicit violence to the forefront as the focal point of the experience (such as Manhunt or State of Emergency), and with rare exception – such as the latest seventh instalment in the Resident Evil franchise – it usually highlights a game lacking in any redeemable content or, worse still, overshadows any quality that may exist.

The good news is that, in an industry with a relatively low percentage of casual and passive consumers (when compared to film and music), I cannot see most developers becoming complacent with regards to its software’s other integral elements, one of which is storytelling, by simply relying on using violence as a shock tactic. What’s even better is that this is less likely to occur with The Last of Us Part II. Naughty Dog has, at this point, a rock solid track record and a reputation as one of the best developers in the world to uphold, with the first Last of Us game being one of the brightest jewels in its crown. (A quick side note on the sparseness of the trailer too is that games which tend to have minimalist trailers, or are indifferent to promoting their games at expo’s, usually indicate a developers confidence in their product – just look at Rockstar’s history of cryptic trailers and E3 no-shows.) It will be violent yes, probably the most violent product the studio has ever sold to the masses, but the violence will take place in a beautiful dystopian world, within which a wonderful story is likely to be woven, the chapters of which will be accessible through what is likely to be a masterfully crafted gameplay experience. In context – bloody, glorious context.

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