The Last of Us does not deserve a masterpiece status.

Just finished playing thru the remaster on PS4.

And while the looks, sounds and characters were great, the gameplay was not.

The game is extremely repetitive. The same hide-fight-shoot action from start to finish. There are few interludes, but they only last few minutes, and then its back to hiding and shooting.

And the gameplay does not change even when you change character. Ellie shoots and blows stuff up just as effectively as Joel, so the game feels exact same even when you play as Ellie. (even tho fanboys love to claim otherwise...)

This repetition makes the game painfully tedious to play thru, as its basically you clearing the same locations in every chapter, with slightly different graphics and decor trying to mask it as a different location.

Tho I'm Naughty Dog fan, I would give the game only 7/10. Just as I did on PS3. Hardly a masterpiece.

Did you skip the story? Because you didn't mention that at all in your critique and that's what makes that game a masterpiece.

Uh.

Any game that has a random person/zombie with their back towards you.. Just standing there so you can learn the 'stealth' mechanic gets a thumbs down from me by default.

Story was ok, pretty straight forward and easy to follow, zombies were boring to fight but I did get a bit of enjoyment from the game. I gave it a 7 myself..

henrythefifth... downplaying TLOU, one of Sony's most highly rated exclusives..... I am shocked to say the least...

I believe you.

Atleast better than all of unfarted.

That's like saying DOOM shouldn't be called a masterpiece because it doesn't have a complex story. Or the witcher for having basic gameplay.

It's a masterpiece for its amazing characters, personal story, immersion, and imo the ending helped too. Gameplay isn't bad but it isn't special, it does the job of putting you into their shoes. It's meant to be barebones and "down to earth".

Very disappointed, Henry!

Also The Last of Us 2 2019 release.

11/10 GOAT

Naughty Gods be praised

My thoughts which I've articulated a thousand times on this board is the game is absolutely a masterpiece. The gameplay is gripping and intentful. This is not light on relevant gameplay naughty dogs other franchise feels.

Its story is excellent and it works together wonderfully.

I also maintain that it does not need a sequel. I'm worried about it.

Yes it does.

You can scratch off a lot of games if you simply describe the gameplay loop like that. TLOU is a great game great story and some of aspect of the gameplay were very good. At the time it came out it was a change of pace from the popular cover shooters. The combat encounters are some of the best the biz. From purely gameplay alone it could have been a masterpiece if it delivered the promised AI. Overall though is a masterpiece in story telling with powerful characters.

It did not need a sequel, it will be very hard to touch the original magic even with the new modern technics. The only thing this sequal can deliver for me is if it pairs that griping gameplay with the promised AI. None of these games you play today will be able touch that gameplay if that kind of AI is even possible.

I agree.

the story is great, but I did not enjoy playing the actual game. the gameplay just felt awful and sluggish to me. I felt the pacing was also quite poor in some stretches though I can't remember the specifics since I haven't played it since the original PS3 release.

I'll agree.

Good story. Poor game mechanics. Solid 7/10 indeed.

this just in... tlou doesn't have stellar gameplay shock horror

You didn't enjoy pushing Ellie on a raft multiple times? Dat gameplay depth though... LOL

I actually enjoyed the game quite a bit, but its flaws were obvious and it certainly is no masterpiece. I gave it an 8/10.

I agree.

It's just another movie-game with crappy gameplay. I played through about the first 3 hours and was so bored and annoyed with the game, I had to quit.

People kept saying how amazing the story was though, so after I quit playing, I did turn to YouTube to finish watching the rest of the story, and that was overrated too. Do the people that consider this story to be amazing never watch quality TV dramas, movies, or read books? Because the story in this game would not cut it against quality works in those other mediums.

Maybe the story is better than stories in most other video games, but that doesn't make it great. When I want a great story, I'll turn to TV, movies, or books and get a better story than what The Last of Us offers. I turn to video games for gameplay and the gameplay in The Last of Us sucks.

9.5/10 for me

All I can say is, I really and I mean really enjoy TLOU on PS3 & now, PS4. So much better then Uncharted series to say the least.

I really enjoyed the game. It’s not in my top 10 list though.

In my opinion the story wasn’t groundbreaking. I look at it as: “If this game was a TV series, people would find it generic.”

But man oh man was the gameplay some of the most immersive stuff ever. Absolutely intense. That’s what I liked about it the most and I think that’s what did it for others too.

I haven't played it yet, but my experience with Uncharted titles last gen has me believing Naughty Dog's games are given more credit than they deserve, always top notch production values and story and characters but gameplay has always felt nowhere near as developed as the rest of it. Sounds like you just confirmed my assumptions on it, but you also said you were a ND fan, so not sure why you'd think gameplay was lacking in this game and not so on past titles.

I enjoyed this game...on YouTube.

Depends on how you play this game. I played grounded difficulty and it was challenging enough.

9/10 for me.

Perhaps my favorite game of all time. 9.5/10 imho. Narrative plays a big role for me though. A playthrough on grounded mode is the best way to experience this game.

is a master piece for me and many others!

I agree the gameplay was weak. Once you see a bunch of places were you can crouch for cover you know what's coming. Also the AI was stupid. I had multiple times while trying to be sneaky and Ellie run in front of an enemy and the AI just continue to walk around as if she was invincible.

Loved the game despite some AI quirks. Yes sometimes Ellie would run in front of guards, but what other option was there? If she was seen by the guards and they were alerted people would still complain.

The sneaking felt strong to me and was very intense. I love the way they use sound in the stealth play instead of visual indictators. It is also great how challenging it felt, which adds weight to the stealth and a sense of danger.

The guns aren't too powerful either so its not a matter of just blasting through levels.

Its good how they combine the character moments with the game play, such as when Joel and Ellie are separated.

Also, the game wasn't looking to distinguish their characters at that moment. It was more about showing how much the characters need each other. The cross-editing in that one section completely outplayed all the character switching in GTA5.

The game also has very unique MP in that it tries implementing the stealth play of the campaign into each round.

I can agree. But the opening is.

The sum is greater than its parts. I think it deserves masterpiece status.

Oh shit... OP is an edge lord...

?

TLoU is a masterpiece and the gameplay is phenomenal. It demands good reflexes, quick thinking, improvisation, and effective inventory management contingent upon evolving circumstances. The action is visceral and brutal, and it never stops so you have to be prudent in choosing when to change weapons or craft, which is further assisted by efficient UI design. The only criticism I can lay at TLoU's gamplay is sometimes faulty AI, but the game overall executes what it sets out to do exceptionally well. The whole argument that it's only good due to its narrative is complete rubbish. If you're sitting behind cover playing whack a mole and then complaining about the game, that's you being a bad player.....it's not the game's fault. I've not played many games as dynamic and heart pounding as TLoU at its best.

In fact I find the combat so enjoyable that my main gripe with the game is it didn't include a horde mode, where you'd have to survive as long as you could against ever increasing enemy waves in large set-pieces with custom load-outs. A link (with a video) demonstrating some great gameplay, and another (you have to disable ad blocker for it to work):

TLOU is an adult game and anyone who hates it is a kid or has the brain of a child.

The same complaints are from the same man children “It doesn’t play like Halo/cod/gears/fortnite or doom, therefore it sucks” or “too many cutscenes”.

Anyone who uses these excuses have no real opinion. It just shows that the people who think like this have adhd and can’t stand anything but mindless killing that is very fast paced aka Teenagers/kids.

That’s the reality. Sadly one of my best friends is like this. He would rather play trash games and gets angry even if 1 second of cutscene appears.

It’s nuts. Grow up and enjoy the masterpiece that is TLOU.

Yeah TLOU had quiet a few noticeable bugs, glitches and overall design flaws but if you were to point them out you'd get attack by rabid Naughty Dog and Playstation fans.

Damn TLOU still causing butthurt 6 years after launch damn it was a great game.

While it was a good game that can stand on its own, I don't consider it as a masterpiece too, or GOAT as many gamers have said.

AI was basically non-existent and there are some immersion-breaking experiences here and there. The story's great, but the gameplay is anything but.

All in all 8/10 for me.

@ajstyles: Wait a second. If I don’t like LoU I’m a child or strictly a mindless bro shooter fan? Many (especially in this thread) have stated that the gameplay is below average, but the story is great. So if I don’t like a videogame where the videogame portion is flawed, I’m in the wrong and I should think higher of it because of a strong story unrelated to gaming?

Huh? You for real?

Wrong. It's a masterpiece.

It not a game to be played but to be remember is one thing. On another hand it more to watch as a movie than to be play as a game.

@Miyomatic: So every aspect - including gameplay - makes it a masterpiece to you?

It wasn't a masterpiece to begin with, not in gameplay, not in story and definitely not in story-telling.

Ellie is ridic efficient killer, which makes her feel so unrealistic when she is the playable character.

In the section where Ellie is armed only with a knife, she can easily massacre everyone with this simple ploy:

Throw object at enemy, and while said enemy is dizzy, rush in and stab. Done. I managed to kill everyone in no time with this, as Ellie. Which is just silly when you think about it.

Same with guns. When Ellie has rifle and shotgun, you can basically run and gun with them. Little Ellie is able to wave those heavy guns around like they weigh nothing. Again, very silly.

They should've used battle fatigue with Ellie, like Kojima used with Snake in MGSIV. Simply put, more Ellie killed, more mentally fatigued she would've become, untill she was a gibbering mess and it was time for game over. This system would've made Ellie feel more real, as it would've reflected how killing people would affect someone like Ellie.

But no. Ellie functions just like Joel; remorseless, efficient killer. Silly.

And critics praised how realistic Ellie feels. RIDIC!!!!

I think it almost does... but like I said quite a few flaws that people ignored.

TLOU has better gameplay than The Witcher 3 which most Xbox and PC people here says is their favorite game of all time.

So if TLOU isn't a masterpiece then everyone else favorite game isn't even very good.

I gave it an 8.5

It really isn't anything special from a gamplay standpoint. It is ND's status quo to write a good script, get great voice performances for their games and reviewers rate a game after a one time play through of the campaign. Well then it will get "blockbuster credit". But in subsequent play throughs its meh.

Yup, I look at videogame stories in the same way. It seems every "ok" story in games gets deemed "masterpiece" by gamers and reviewers. It doesn't take much. The story of Last of Us is a pretty good example as it seems very generic. The characters have personalities taken from other movie characters, the zombie thing and all its' variations is very trite. Throw in some unexpected deaths and bonding of main characters and you can call it a day. Everything is very derivative, like most Hollywood movies. "Masterpiece". lmao

It's not a masterpiece. But it's a very good game. It has a good story, and good shooting mechanics. But it has some gameplay flaws, like you mentioned.

The Last of Us moved into my top 5 games of all-time when it came out. The story was magnificent and the game play was gripping, especially on the higher difficulties with less resources.

I am concerned about the sequel. This was a game that did not need one.