If you were to ask any Sony PlayStation gamer the one game that a new PS adopter should try, the first game on the list would be The Last Of Us. Released nearly a decade ago on the PlayStation 3, the game still holds its I daresay, cult status -- from the story to the characters, to even the gameplay -- Last Of Us is a journey like no other.
With the phenomenal success the game had, it was also remastered when the PlayStation 4 was released (almost a year later), giving it a lot more aesthetic fidelity, to make the most of the newer hardware. And now, the game devs Naughty Dog have taken this to the next level, by remaking the game entirely, from the ground up, for PS5 gamers, promising more graphical fidelity and detail along with a bunch of more inclusions.
While the PS4 remaster made sense, the PS5 remake definitely made some gamers question this decision, more so with a price tag similar to any new game coming this year. I got to try this game on my PS5, nearly seven years after I first played it on a PS3 Super Slim, and here¡¯s what my experience was like.
One of the biggest changes this remake brings is a new level of detail to the world as well as character designs.
From Joel¡¯s beard to the ragged, dilapidated walls of buildings, the game truly lets you witness it all in excruciating detail. Even the expressions on the characters feel much more realistic. So much so that the game doesn¡¯t even feel a decade old. In fact, one could easily mistake it as a title launched this year.
The reflection in puddles when walking through the streets or the detail in the shrubbery, the game looks phenomenal. They've even found a way to make clickers more disgusting, with the added level of fidelity.
The game offers you to pick between two visual options -- a high fidelity one with 4K 30fps and a slightly lower fidelity mode with 4K at 60fps.
I chose the latter since I preferred the smoother frame rates, and even with slightly lower graphic settings, the game looked leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor.??
When I first played Last Of Us, it was on a PS3, and at the time the rumble motors on the controller did a fine job of making me feel the elements of the world. And for the time, they pretty okay.
However, with the remake, the game is also making the most of the PS5¡¯s DualSense haptics, and triggers, and boy, you feel almost everything.
Whether it¡¯s a vehicle passing by on the street, the tension of the bow on the triggers, or the bang of the hammering pin of the revolver. The feedback makes the experience so much more surreal.
Another place the remake makes the experience better is that load times now last just a few seconds. The PS3 and the PS4 versions of the game took their sweet time, due to the hardware of the time. Using the super-fast onboard SSD, getting killed isn¡¯t as painful anymore as it used to be.?
The Last of Us Part I gets the same accessibility options as were seen in the Last of Us Part II from 2019 -- such as audio descriptions for cut scenes, alternative control options, visual aids as well as revamped combat and HUD options.
This game brings two new options under accessibility, however -- a new speedrunning mode and more challenging difficulty, where dying can make you lose a lot more completion.?
The combat on the Last of Us Part I has also been tweaked ever so slightly, and now it feels relatively snappier, although it¡¯s still not as snappy as we¡¯d like it to be. Yet, it¡¯s so much better than the PS3 version was. In fact, even the enemy AI seems to be given an upgrade, making taking down clickers and runners that much more challenging.?
The Last Of Us Part I offers nothing new in the story when compared to the original. The only upgrades are those that enhance the overall viewing and playing experience and after completing the remake, it is safe to say that this is the only right way to enjoy the critically acclaimed title if you¡¯re playing it for the first time on a PS5.
For those who are wanting to replay this on their new console, the price tag of Rs 4,999 might seem a bit steep, but if you enjoyed it the first time, chances are you¡¯re going to enjoy it even more with the visual, audio and haptic upgrades it has to offer, making it worth its price tag.
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