The 10-year running best game series?

Now... you may read that opening title and think 'wow, that's a bold statement' but I don't think there can really be an argument made against this. 


The Last of Us, released by game developers, Naughty Dog in 2013, captures the harsh reality of a world overturned by a virus, causing humans infected to turn into a dangerous zombie like state, fatal if bitten. For background for new readers who have never played this wonderful game before, it opens in a suburban home with who will eventually be the games protagonist Joel, and his daughter Sarah, sharing a heartfelt moment by gifting her dad a watch for his birthday. At this moment we are met with one of the most iconic moments when Sarah is asked where she got the money for the watch, which will always make me think of this game:


'I sell drugs, hardcore drugs'







Progressing onwards, Sarah wakes up to find her dad is out the house and comes back in a panic state saying herself and her uncle have to evacuate their house; something serious is happening. During their escape, this is where we first get a glimpse of 'infected' humans, who are chasing the three characters during their escape. Sarah's uncle Tommy runs in an opposite direction, to allow Joel to escape with his daughter, who hurt her leg in the heat of the escape. Whilst running they bump into a member of what appears to be a military force, trying to control the commotion. Whilst Joel begs for help, the military officer fires multiple shots, due to suspicion that Sarah was infected, thus killing her tragically in the process. 

This introduction builds into the main story, where there is a time jump and the player can explore the overgrown world, where humans who survived the outbreak have to live with infected people and try to not be turned into one of them in the process. Joel appears to now be living in a gated community, controlled by guards, to keep the humans in and the infected out. During this time, Joel is hired on a mission: to escort 14-year-old Ellie to a group called the fireflies, in order to help find a cure for the infection causing humans to turn into this viscous state. 



I won't spoil the game too much and leave this at your leisure to find out more if interested, were here for the real deal, the remastering of this game, and how this has influenced the level of gameplay we can experience. This game was first released on PS3, which was becoming a dated console, due to the release of the PS4 not long after. This drove Naughty Dog to utilize the consoles' ability to adhere to better graphics, frame rates and resolution to create a remastered version. The game is still popular to those who enjoy a 'lets-play' feel story line, and especially to those who love to follow the growth of a father daughter relationship, particularly between Joel and Ellie.

With the release of the PlayStation 5, it was evident that Naughty Dog again had to do something to make this game a much more immersive experience and enjoyable on this console, as much as it was on the previous to. This is where the remake of the original game was released in September 2022. Whilst I haven't had the chance to play the remake myself just yet, I am so excited to delve into the world that is The Last of Us once more, and experience the dark, dystopian vibes on a new level. It is evident below the upgrades this game has had, and therefore evident why this is one of Naughty Dogs bestselling games, which I'm sure will be hard to surpass for years to come.



Thats all for this week. As always thank you for reading, and I would love to know your thoughts on this game, and if there were any other games you would like me to review, please comment below! 

Liv 

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