Titanic blockbuster smash hit? Check. Escort Mission? Check. Young, sparky female sidekick with no experience of the outside world? Check. Troy Baker? Check. With all these similarities I’d be stupid not to draw comparisons between The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite. Long time readers might remember that last December I drew comparisons between Bioshock Infinite and Uncharted, a different Naughty Dog game. So because it is almost December and that isn’t much of a reason but it’s the best one I’ve got it here is round two of the Naughty Dog v Irrational Games showdown.
The premise is a great one. The Cordyceps fungus mutates and moves from zombifying ants (not scientifically accurate) to zombifying humans and you play as Joel, a grizzled survivor of the initial outreak, escorting the key to humanities redemption across the destroyed United States. In between you and salvation are the mutated mushroom headed monsters that once were humans and the monstrous looters and cannibals who supposedly still are humans. To add some substance to this weighty narrative the player puzzles and navigates their way through enemy forces in a very similar manner to how progression is managed in Bioshock Infinite.
So if it’s similar to Bioshock Infinite is it better or worse? I’d say it is better. The inclusion of stealth mechanics saves and elevates the combat above the usual boring encounter based arena gameplay. Unlike the battles where you had to kill certain number of enemies before continuing, the vast majority of these engagements could be completed with no kills whatsoever. The added variety ensures these don’t sink into tedium and feel diverse enough that each encounter is distinct and memorable. This is in part due to clever design allowing the player choices on how they proceed. You might opt to sneak around and with limited ammo this might actually prove easier than going all Rambo and slaughtering everything in sight. For the less gifted or more challenge easier levels allow the player to ‘hear’ through walls to track enemies and guide your progress for silent take downs of an entire room of enemies and the hardcore can have the pride of working it out themselves.
Unfortunately some similarities do exist between the titles that take you out of the action and make you feel like a visitor to a really cool interactive museum or tourist attraction. Encounter loading is fixed and inflexible. Enter from the wrong direction and enemies might spot you on sight or alternatively be so far out of position as to be cannon fodder. Additionally in its efforts to make you brown your underwear the game loads enemies out of thin air for a jump scare rather than trying to encourage frights naturally. Sneaking along with detection on only to have enemies pop up out of nowhere is frustrating but also immersion breaking. The game is pretty creepy as it is and a bit more faith in the horrible (in a good way) characters and environments they have created would do Naughty Dog some good.
Post-apocalyptia has never been so good. From first minute to last this is an exhausting, terrifying and challenging environment that thanks to great writing you really share with the characters on screen. Sections of this game rank alongside some of the most legitimately stressful gaming experiences I’ve had but every one of them is worth it. At times the game could be accused of trying too hard to manufacture a sense of wonder, a trait it shares with Bioshock. When it stops trying to force things and focuses on what makes it good which is solid game play and a brilliant story it is a cut above its blockbuster competition.
Rory's Retrospectives 