The last of us guardian review

The Last of Us. The Crown leads in Bafta TV nominations. Published: 20 Mar

A triumphant tale about humanity, or a zombie-lite ruining of the video game? Even in a bloated field of high quality TV, this stood out as appointment viewing. The central premise, established right from the opening shots of the scientists, is brilliant and terrifying, but the centre of the success of this series was in the casting of Pedro Pascal [Joel] and Bella Ramsay [Ellie]. Episode three barely featured the main cast and yet was perhaps the best single episode of TV any of us will see this year. Just try and avoid ageing gamers like me spoiling it for you through tear-filled eyes as we mumble something about giraffes.

The last of us guardian review

Z ombie game pop quiz: You've finally found the exit to the abandoned warehouse you'd been scavenging supplies from, but between you and freedom are four shambling infected monstrosities, all eager for tasty man-shaped snacks. How are you going to make it past without ending up as human tartare? If this was pretty much any other recent survival horror title, the answer would be simple — reach for the trusty military grade shotgun, grenade launcher or plasma cutter as appropriate, paint the walls with rotted brains and waltz across the room, scooping up an assortment of high-powered ammunition along the way. This isn't one of those games though, this is The Last of Us, and your arsenal right now consists of a brick and a length of drainpipe with some scissors taped to the end. Good luck, you're going to need it. Keeping your resources limited is just one of the many things Naughty Dog's latest action adventure gets right — forcing you to think through your approach to every encounter while keeping the tension ratcheted up to 11 generates a level of unease that the genre feels like it's been missing since the early Silent Hill games. It seems an obvious point that a zombie-themed game should be scary, but it's a rare enough occurrence that here it feels fresh. Then again, it's an injustice to call The Last of Us a zombie game anyway. As in 28 Days Later, these creatures are infected rather than undead, and although they remain consistent antagonists throughout, this game is clearly more interested in telling a story of post-apocalyptic survival than smashing rotten heads, and it's all the better for it. That's not to say the story spares us the usual tropes — a virulent infection has decimated the population, degenerating it's victims into mindless ravening lunatics and bringing civilisation to its knees, pretty much exactly as it has a thousand times before across every possible media.

She starts off unlikable and brash but becomes fiercely powerful and a strong character all on her own. The only people who can betray us are the ones we trust.

Spoiler free. It is difficult to explain how exactly it does this without robbing players of the chance to experience it for themselves, but I will say this: no video game has ever gone to these lengths to humanise the enemy, or to interrogate the violence that it asks the player to perform. Since the events of The Last of Us , she has been living in a stable community of survivors, making friends, learning the guitar, kissing girls at dances. But a traumatic event drives her to leave the relative safety of Jackson on a revenge mission that takes her to the remains of Seattle. The city has been ravaged first by the military, then by the infected, and finally by nature. Vegetation grows through the cars rooted to the highway and rusting skyscrapers preside over ominously empty streets.

The Last of Us finale recap — what a brutal, sadistic triumph of television. In an absolute gut-punch denouement, Joel and Ellie reached their destination — then much blood was shed and they movingly shared their truths. Published: PM. The Last of Us recap episode eight — TV just got a whole lot more abhorrent. Joel and Ellie try to survive the bleak midwinter — then encounter David and his strange meat-eating club. What unbelievably horrifying viewing. The Last of Us recap episode seven — the most painful farewell of all. Ellie tended to Joel in a dilapidated basement, then flashed back to bliss, booze and photo booths with her best friend — just before disaster struck.

The last of us guardian review

Do not read unless you have seen episodes one to four …. All was going swimmingly until they got to Kansas City, where the highways were blocked and they needed to find a detour. Of course, this being The Last of Us , nothing can go to plan. Later, he gave his ward a few pointers on stance and grip for her troubles. Ellie, meanwhile, said she had killed before. Whoever could she mean? We then met Kathleen Yellowjackets star Melanie Lynskey , leader of a local band of revolutionaries who have seemingly risen up to overthrow the Federal Disaster Response Agency Fedra , which has control of the city, and dismantle the quarantine zone.

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The Last of Us recap episode seven — the most painful farewell of all. Moments for which we are absent in the games are seen in detail here. My husband played the game when it first came out and like everyone else at the time, he realised very quickly this was one of the greatest stories about humanity. In one corner, we have Kieran Culkin, the actor who rose from Succession B-lister to steal the show. How about that? Published: 16 Jan We can still find a way. About six minutes later, he was walking out of the operating theatre with Ellie in his arms. Keeping your resources limited is just one of the many things Naughty Dog's latest action adventure gets right — forcing you to think through your approach to every encounter while keeping the tension ratcheted up to 11 generates a level of unease that the genre feels like it's been missing since the early Silent Hill games. In the third, which is almost film-length, we barely see the two leads at all. The only people who can betray us are the ones we trust.

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It is a joy to see video games treated in this way, but it is also a reminder of how few studios and releases will ever see this sort of reverent repacking. Comments … Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion. Just as in the games, the giraffes show that there is still innocence in the world, despite the horrors. She once again outlined their plans for the future, saying she would go wherever Joel wanted when it was all over. How about that? As in 28 Days Later, these creatures are infected rather than undead, and although they remain consistent antagonists throughout, this game is clearly more interested in telling a story of post-apocalyptic survival than smashing rotten heads, and it's all the better for it. Starting with a brief prologue which introduces protagonist Joel during the first panicked moments of the outbreak, the game then flashes forward 20 years to a devastated America where the remnants of the population eke out a living in oppressive militarised quarantine zones. It all happened so fast, and no sooner had the shrieks stopped than a rather more magical kind of screaming struck up. No thanks. Published: 13 Mar The Lost Levels reminded me of the excellent talk given by Uncharted lead designer Richard Lemarchand at the GameCity festival a few years ago about the development of Uncharted 3. These short sequences are unfinished and understandably rough in places but offer a truly fascinating glimpse into the development process — this sort of content is very rarely shared with players or journalists, for that matter. He continued to try his best, talking about trying to find a guitar and making uncharacteristic small talk.