The Last of Us Part I
Naughty Dog

LET’S get it out the way. Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated PC port of the 2013 smash-hit action-adventure, The Last of Us, has not gone well…

For non-console gamers, who have diligently avoided spoilers and HBO’s critically acclaimed series, it’s been a disaster of such epic proportions it could put an outbreak of the mutant cordyceps to shame. 

After paying the hefty sum of £49.99, excited players have been treated to constant crashes, meme-worthy bugs, and an experience so poorly optimised it’s effectively rendered the game unplayable. 

And that’s to say nothing of the need to compile shaders. From the very get-go, it’s necessary to sit through this process which, according to some accounts, is taking as long as 10 hours to complete — leaving many outside Steam’s “two-hour” refund window. Small wonder then, that ratings on the platform initially nosedived and are only now beginning to climb.

It’s impossible to imagine that developers at Naughty Dog were unaware of these problems before release, and considering no review copies were distributed, it rather suggests a co-ordinated effort at damage control. 

But here’s the thing. The Last of Us is brilliant. Behind all the technical issues there is a rare, AAA confluence of groundbreaking cinematics, storytelling, acting and gameplay. 

You play as Joel, a 52-year-old broken man, haunted by his past, doing his best to survive life in a totalitarian quarantine zone.

Meanwhile, outside the walls, a parasitic fungus ravages the United States, turning humans into zombies — though, very sensibly, great lengths are taken in-game to avoid the “Z-word.” 

That then, is the basic set-up. It’s nothing original and, frankly, on the back of so many “apocalyptic” fantasies, it does feel a little stale. This is particularly true, of course, if you’ve been watching the TV adaptation.

However, where The Last of Us really shines is in its execution. There’s familiar tropes, yes — but they’re handled so well, and delivered with such passion, you can’t help but invest in the game emotionally. 

Much of this is on account of the writing, which is superb, as is the evolving relationships and interplay between the main characters.

The narrative doesn’t pull its punches — nor does it shy away from a serious deep-dive into themes of loss and redemption. As far as survival horrors go, the Last of Us beats them all. Just wait a few weeks for the dust to settle, and those hotfixes to arrive.