Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Intro:
… the best version of an all-time masterpiece of a video game and a grim, engrossing experience that’s well worth your time.
The Last of Us was first released on the Playstation 3 back in 2013. The latest work from Uncharted developers Naughty Dog, the game was immediately hailed as an emotionally resonant masterpiece, showcasing a slow burn and often very grim tale of a broken older man (Joel) and the young woman (Ellie) who becomes like a surrogate daughter to him, while the pair struggle to stay alive in a postapocalyptic, zombie filled world. Imagine The Road meets The Walking Dead and you’re getting close.
In 2014, with the release of the Playstation 4, The Last of Us Remastered was released, taking full advantage of the new console’s extra grunt. It was widely regarded as the definitive version of the game… until now.
After the 2020 release of The Last of Us Part II, and the upcoming release of The Last of Us HBO adaptation, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Naughty Dog have decided to have another bite of that cherry with The Last of Us Part I. And the result is pretty bloody stunning, with a couple of heavy caveats.
First off, let’s talk about what The Last of Us Part I actually is and, perhaps more importantly, what it isn’t. The Last of Us Part I is the same game you know and love from 2013 and 2014, rebuilt from the ground up (apparently) and updated to the quality level of graphics and animation used in The Last of Us Part II, and featuring a host of gameplay and accessibility options. The visuals are sharper, the animations smoother, the environments look amazing and, in certain cases after the first few hours, opponent and friendly AI has been improved greatly. Beyond that, however? It’s the same game. Same story, same voice acting, same music, same basic experience.
If that sounds like a remaster, as opposed to a remake, to you – then you’re not alone. The internet has been awash with spicy hot takes decrying the game as a cash grab or expressing annoyance that more wasn’t done to update the experience. And while the current $100(ish) price tag is certainly higher than one might expect for the package, this rather bloodless metric fails to take into account how spectacular the result looks and feels.
Put it this way, do you love a movie so much you have to own it? Probably, right? So, if you’re ancient, you likely owned a copy of it on VHS. And then perhaps on DVD? Maybe you even upgraded to Blu-ray and are now wondering about the jump to 4K UHD. Well, The Last of Us Part I is that jump in video game form.
If you love this game as much as your humble word janitor does, or have never played it before, then this package is well worth the time and effort. And if the price point is too high? Wait a few months and you’ll be able to grab it for much cheaper. But make no mistake, The Last of Us Part I is the best version of an all-time masterpiece of a video game and a grim, engrossing experience that’s well worth your time.
