## Description
_The Last of Us_ is a survival horror action adventure game. The story
focuses on the two characters Joel and Ellie. The game starts in a
contemporary, but post-apocalyptic version of Boston twenty years after the
outbreak of the Cordyceps Brain Infection (CBI), an infection spread by a
mushroom that turns anyone infected into zombie-like creatures in two days.
The opening sequence is set during the outbreak and it has Joel escape the
invaded city with the help of his brother Tommy. Twenty years later,
civilization is almost entirely destroyed. Independent groups of survivors
have organized themselves into military outfits that quarantine zones, hold
curfew and distribute rations. Others are part of the resistance group the
Fireflies, while Joel is a member of an independent group. Together with his
friend Tess, he survives by smuggling goods in and out of the city. During a
mission they get into contact with a Fireflies member who offers stolen
weapons back if they escort the 14-year-old girl Ellie out of the city. After
some events and revelations about Ellie’s importance, Joel and Ellie end up
together and their journey is documented in the course of a year and a few
months, spread over five seasons.
The player controls Joel from a third-person perspective. Ellie can also be
controlled by herself for some extensive parts in the later chapters. Similar
to the developer’s previous Uncharted games, gameplay combines action
elements, exploration and puzzle-solving. Joel is however not as strong or
acrobatic and he often needs to use ladders, planks and other items to climb
and get around. Similarly, the survival horror theme with limited ammo and
health makes him very vulnerable to attacks and a stealth approach is often
more effective. Enemies include various five types of infected (Runners,
Stalkers, Clickers, Bloaters and Spore Cadavers) each with their own
characteristics, but also humans from the military groups and other survivors.
There is a selection of close and long-ranged guns, along with melee weapons
that can be modded, regular fist fighting, and items such as molotov
cocktails, smoke bombs and nail bombs. Ammo is very limited and initially the
reloading speed and firing rate are slow. Melee weapons can only be used a few
times before they break down.
More can be achieved through stealth. Joel is able to duck and sneak around at
various speeds, and he can activate a hearing sense that allows him to vaguely
see and hear silhouettes through walls based on sounds. By sneaking up on an
enemy, it can be taken out through strangling, a quick kill with a shiv or
another type of takedown. Certain enemies are blind and only react to sound.
As soon as Joel is detected, other enemies are warned and the player has to
decide upon confrontation or breaking the line of sight by hiding for some
time. During attacks or when being held there are often short quick time
events to break free, but for some enemies a single hit is deadly right away.
Further possibilities include sprinting, using a flash light in dark areas,
and swimming. Joel can pick up bottles or bricks and throw them to distract
enemies. Certain enemies can be stun by throwing at them directly. Cover is
based on line of sight and is not performed through a separate action. It is
achieved automatically by moving behind objections and Joel is not glued to
his cover position, as both sound and line of sight entirely determine the
cover’s effectiveness.
Progress through the story and the environment is entirely linear, but there
is some focus on exploration along with small optional areas. The city is
almost entirely destroyed and the characters move through the debris and
abandoned houses, but there are also parts where nature has taken back the
environment and lush scenery outside the city. Next to Boston and the
surrounding environment, the characters visit Pittsburgh, Colorado and Salt
Lake City eventually. A large part of the exploration is needed to gather
items. Various tools and items can be collected to craft them into items such
as health kits, shivs, molotov cocktails, (smoke) bombs, modded melee weapons
and more. Supply is limited, so the player has to choose between offensive and
defensive means. At workbenches gears, bolts and other metals are used to
improve the characteristics of weapons such as firing rate, reloading speed,
weapon sway and ammo capacity. The full range of upgrades only becomes
available when up to five levels of tool skills have been unlocked. Supplement
pills collected along the way are used to improve the overall skills
influencing maximum health, hearing capacity, crafting speed and more.
Abilities can also be upgraded by locating training manuals. Ellie and other
AI companions are controlled automatically and can never be detected or hurt
by opponents, except for a few specific sequences. There is a lot of focus on
conversations along the way, as well as the relationship between the
characters. This is also furthered through various cut-scenes, both rendered
and in-game.
Multiplayer is called Factions with matches for up to eight players
simultaneously. At the beginning the player chooses between the Hunters of
Fireflies factions with a custom character. The initial faction selection
cannot be reversed until the clan has been defeated or the multiplayer story
has been completed. The story consists of a light narrative that frames the
various encounters, as the aim is to help a clan grow and survive. Players are
organized in clans, but these can also be populated with friends’ names
through a Facebook connection. While playing various status updates about the
members are shown, as they are sent out to fight, locate supplies etc.
Multiplayer progresses by one day at a time by playing matches in one of the
two game modes: Supply Raid and Survivors. Both are team death match
variations, with a finite pool of 20 team respawns in the former and one life
per round in the latter. Just like the single-player, the focus is mostly on
stealth and gathering supplies to craft. Ammo is also limited and the Listen
mode from the single-player is available, but only for a short duration and as
a specific perk. Crafted items can be used in-game or can be saved to further
the clan’s status in the larger frame as supplies act as a currency. Sometimes
there are specific objectives such as a set number of kills to have the clan
grow. Characters can be customized, there is a perk system with survival
skills and an overall experience system, and clans can be populated with AI-
controlled characters. Character classes consist of Assault, Sniper, Support
and Stealth, and a custom one can also be created.
The Last of Us
