ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- With The Last of Us Part II releasing next week, I wanted to go on record about what I think of the first game.
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Let me guess you rushed out a review negative of TLOU so that when TLOU 2 comes out you can dump on it.
Kage 777 isn’t that sad bro?? How stupid people can be...
Sob... I haven't finished the game yet @_@ I got the game with my ps4 (had xbox) and put it on the back burner for GoW and newer exclusives
@@alphaqgentley897 What are you doing watching TH-cam, go and play The Last of Us :)
What about that Half Life Alyx review king
So there's hope for Sekiro, that's what you're telling me.
*+*
You just got the heart of confirmation.
Yes please.
Let's hope!
Haha my first thought :D
Sarah's death has one of the biggest impacts, cos she dies so realistically. No last speech or head drops with a "urrggghhh". She just stops moving and stops making noise.
I've never played this game or even watched someone play it, but as a relatively new dad with an 18 month year old daughter, just seeing it here, even completely without context, just fucked me up pretty hard. Like...jesus. I gotta go hug my girl...
@@coreyzard and this is exactly why TLOU is a masterpiece and TLOU2 is a steaming pile of horse crap
Its still just petty shock value however. Its so lazy and easy to pull on a person's heart strings by killing a kid.
@@cake6851 I heard for ages how shocking the opening of the first game was, when I finally played it I was like.. Eh.. Thats it? I thought it was going to be something actually shocking, like making the player have to be the one to have to kill her or something.
@@cake6851 Is it? I thought it was a good display of realism. I, the NAIVE FOOL, thought the soldier would help them escape. This really showed me that this game was not fucking around.
“Joel’s decision is so spectacularly selfish that it’s impossible to rationally justify. But it’s also so devastatingly human that we can’t say we would do any different” I know I’m late on this video, but,HOLY SHIT, if that doesn’t perfectly describe Joel’s decision and the player’s different reactions. As always, great stuff man!
I was really glad I quit playing a few hours into the game when I learned that's how the game ended. The zombie parts were good, but I hated everything with the human characters, both in and out of cutscenes.
it's not entirely selfish, and can be rationally justified by the fact that joel finds out that fireflies hacked up multiple people before and failed to do anything about the infection; all the fireflies had achieved beforehand were simply killing multiple people who were immune.
@@beefjerky7154 And not to mention that Ellie and Joel weren't given a choice. Ellie had no say in it.
1000% wrong. First of all, there's no way in hell Joel would allow for Ellie's "sacrifice." That was never a "choice." It was not going to happen, period. No sane parent would sacrifice their real, alive, healthy child for some abstract "cure." So, about that "cure"...
Here's one of the best summaries of the Fireflies I've seen, from JosephAnderson:
"First off, the fireflies are a bunch of amateurs that have no idea what the fuck they're doing. Marlene is near dead
the first time you meet her. Her group was being squashed out of a safe zone that just Joel and Tess had a better handle on.
This is an organization that's so mismanaged and desperate that it had to entrust the potential cure for all of humanity to two strangers, who also happened to be some of the worst thugs around that are doing the deal to get their stash of weapons of all things.
This is a group that has continually been absent in every area they're meant to have under their control. They're losing bases and resources all over the place. The perimeter guards didn't even know how to handle a drowned girl and a man with both of his hands in plain view trying to resuscitate her, which almost resulted in that precious cure for humanity dying right there on the spot.
Which hey, if Marlene was smart, she would have just told Joel that Ellie died right there in the street and that they quickly did an autopsy to salvage What information that they could. It gets worse, because you can't even trust their research staff of Nobel Prize rejects because the last time you saw some of their work, it was a man so stupid that he managed to get bit by one of his own test monkeys that he had just infected with cordyceps.
Oh, and these are the people that want to work on Ellie. These are the people that think killing one of the rare few or only cases of someone with immunity to cordyceps is the right call without even a day of observation or live tests or all of the scans that they could possibly think of, before resorting to ripping fungus out of her brain.
Joel is unconscious long enough for the fireflies to have done even a fraction of all the possible tests that should be ruled out before they have to kill Ellie and to be clear. This isn't even about the moral dilemma at hand. It's about saving humanity. Killing her forever destroying this one potentially unique instance of immunity.They are idiots who have no clue what they're doing by jumping to this irreversible procedure. The average IQ of the planet goes up when you kill this guy."
7:15 A brilliant touch in this scene is that Sarah dies as soon as the camera pans to Tommy. We look away for one second and in that one second, she's gone.
7:29
Just recently found out that Sam is the same voice actor for Miles Morales in Spiderman PS4
No way, what! That's awesome
You just had to show the whole Sarah death scene... ugh still gets me after all this time.
I know. I wish it could have been more brutal too.
Unfortinatly one of the only original Things the Game had
BeThomsen There’s not much originality, but they nearly perfected environmental and cinematic storytelling, which is why the game is so revered.
I've never even played this game, and it still really hurt watching that.
please it was predictable i did not see her face on the cover and she was related to joel who was on the cover, put one and one together and she was either gonna die or go to a rave with aliens, prostitutes and crack.
Hearing Sarah die to this day, still gives me chills and still brings tears to my eyes. and we only knew her for 15 minutes. and yet I feel nothing about going golfing.
What a masterpiece this was at the time, I hope someday they make a sequel though I heard a spin-off golf game it's coming out the next week or so
Lol
💀
oh no no they dont know PepeLaugh
Haha
Apparently there's a special achievement for getting a Joel-in-one
Yeah, the upside down moment was... I was surprised and fascinated by how much it changed everything without actually changing anything about the mechanics.
That sort of scene existed in games before this, e.g. Dead Space 2 that released a year earlier than tlou. I know that's irrelevant but just dropping this for the fanboys who think tlou devs had some extremely novel idea here.
@@Eagle3302PL aside from the unique spin on zombies, the devs didn't do anything new. Just did it pretty well
@@Eagle3302PL Naughty Dog most likely had the upside down scene already crafted by the time DS2 came out.
@@robardian3697 You mean the game that came that came out 2 years prior to this mediocre fest and was in development longer? Yeah definitely Naughty Dog the gods already had it done. Nothing inspires gods in their craft.
@@Eagle3302PL I didn't say or think they were the first to do it, in fact, I was sure they were not, but I personally encountered it for the first time in this game. But again, notice how my comment doesn't in any way directly or indirectly mention that it's a novel idea, just that it's surprising how much it changes the gameplay of that moment, without actually changing anything.
Last minute review - better now than never. Liked it!
Oh god I wonder how this game's story is going to feel after the Embargo goes down for TLOU2....
I am expecting an utter embarrassment in story based on his "initial" review so far.
In Joseph Andersons video he argued that joel made the correct decision in saving ellie. From his perspective, hes watched the fireflies fail at everything they try through the entire game, and who knows whay in the 20 years between sarahs death and the start of his journey. They are a band of unreliable people, and now that he has accepted her as his daughter, he can't take the risk of losing her for them just to fail again. I kinda agree with this. Idk if he should have lied about what went down when they left the hospital though.
That's still just justification for a selfish move. It's understandable, but we don't get much insight on the Fireflies in general. We see them fail, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that they were actually being productive, while Joel took the easy way out of indifference after his daughter died. Not saying it's easy to get over a death like that, or that he's not more relatable, but it's a desperately selfish act. His lying at the end prove that he's ashamed of what he did.
Ellie would've wanted to do it, via her dialogue at the end. Ellie is also wondering why her real guardian, Marlene, let her go with Joel if everything was "okay" now.
I feel like in this world/setting everyone is "Living in the now", day by day worrying about the next meal and stuff. Highlighted by the "Only take what we need." sentiment no one is thinking about 20 years from now, even if a cure is made. Joel could have given them Ellie but that doesn't stop the world from being totally fucked, we would still have Cannibals and Cults like the ones from the sequel. Joel would have another significant traumatic event and who knows if losing Ellie would break him and he ends up killing himself years later not to mention how he might feel if he let her be sacrificed and there was nothing to show for it.
I love this ending because there's so much to unpack so many variables and ways to approach the situation in his shoes there's no real "Right" answer that makes everyone involved happy.
Thing is fireflies wouldn't"save the world" as skill up states in the video,even if they would succeed in making a cure or vaccine they wouldn't just give it to people,sell it rather or keep it for themselves. The world is fucked anyway at this point in the game,cure or not people will keep killing each other for food or without any reason whatsoever or territory and so on. So yeah I'm with Joel on that one.
Yeah how would they possibly engineer a vaccine 20 yrs into an apocalypse? How could they have all the equipment and knowledge they need? Right now in today's world we're months into a pandemic with no vaccine yet.
I disagree, but there’s some valid points made there, and I love that. It’s what makes the ending “unsolvable” as skill called it. I really enjoy media that leave you in this grey area, that’s what makes stories like this last.
"Love, even the pure protective love of a parent, can be evil."
When I first finished this game I remember feeling legitimately uncomfortable because of its hauntingly true depiction of human nature and your statement gave me that exact same feeling
Erick Perez Dude desperate parent is the most dangerous huma being there is. This game shows that perfectly. There is just no holding back when it comes to your child.
I think what worked on this theme in the 1st one is that its just an idea. That there could be a vaccine. The idea of hope. But Joel is constantly shown as pragmatic and feet on this cruel Earth. Maybe COVID just makes the idea more ridiculous, but after finishing, I constantly doubted they could even create one. Post COVID? Its impossible. One doctor creating a cure to save the world? Maybe in a Disney movie or fantasy tale. But in this harsh, 'fuck all hope' world they created - that idea sounds idiotic at best. They also made a point of telling us Joel and Tess have been on these missions of a cure before. Nothing ever worked out. But the theme at the end makes it powerful, because in that fleeting moment - it does seem wrong. The sequel didn't help any idea of bringing realism or pragmatism to the Firefly goal.
Scum8ag Maybe that's why I hated the first game, because of it's ending. Because I, as a person cannot even think of doing something that selfish no matter the context. Which is why I gave away my copy to someone who wanted it. I just could not justify the actions of Joel at that given point of time. But now, after watching the playthrough of TLOU2 and the scene where Joel says that "he would do it all over again." I am starting to get his point, understand his motivation behind the actions. I am now able to realise that it wasn't just a heat-of-the-moment decision, it was a well thought out move and he knew the gravity of the situation, yet he still chose to commit to that idea.
@@notdeepee Joel did the right thing. The choice of killing one child to save thousands of others is a classic philosophical question, and it has been largely agreed that it is deeply immoral to kill the child in this circumstance.
The Nazis in WWII did similar things, killing people for medical research. The civilized world found their actions so monstrous that they destroyed their research, even though it would have saved millions of lives, because the implications of sacrificing human lives for the greater good and medical research was so incredibly dangerous that they felt it had to be eliminated at all costs.
This is a world that has been completely destroyed - not by zombies, but by human selfishness. The reason everything went to shit in this world is because everybody was willing to sacrifice other people for their own convenience.
It's why they can't contain the cordyceps in the quarantine zones. It's why all these horrific gangs of murderers and cannibals are popping up everywhere. It's why the military keeps being overrun by civilian resistance groups.
Right from the beginning, they murder Joel's daughter and try to kill Joel too. Not because they're infected, but because someone made the determination that it would be a slight benefit to them to kill them so they don't have to risk the possibility that they might be infected.
In the very first scene in Boston they kill someone who is likely also immune just like Ellie, because they can't be bothered with waiting for an infected person to turn - or even listen to her explanation of why she's not infected.
It is the very concept of sacrificing people for the good of other people that has caused this entire world to crumble.
@@thatothermike3612 I agree with everything. Though we didn't destroy the Nazis work lmao. That would be idiotic and wasteful. It would've been more disrespectful to the dead if we had destroyed their research.
The Last of Us was the greatest game I've ever played, right up until the point I tried to play it again, then I realised it was just the greatest story I ever played. The actual gameplay was only average, and I could not even make it all the way through on my next attempt, I just lost interest. But that's ok, it was a wonderful 1-off experience that I'll never forget.
I agree 100% with you here. But, I feel we give the game too much credit. The story, while good, cannot hold up and entire game. And, now that I have played Dad of War and realized that a game can be cinematic and also have interesting gameplay and mechanics, this dates the Last of Us even more.
azeremen12 perhaps you ought to play the game once more? Obviously each to their own but I finished the game yesterday for the first time and genuinely think it’s my favourite story of all time. The gameplay is definitely pretty average but the emotional moments just invested me so much. I’ve loved God of War and RedDead 2 and while obviously different, to me none of them hold a candle to this story. I am devastated about Part 2.
@@samuelabbottchannel I have, and don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly moved by the story once it was over. But that's it, once. I feel the Last of Us, more than Naughty Dog's other series, just isn't a good game. You have an emotional, gut wrenching cutscene and then 10 minutes later you are back to "sneaking" while Ellie just runs across Clickers as they ignore her, and then back to a move-the-square-object-to-climb-over-something "puzzle. This is just lazy gameplay/design. After playing games like Dark Souls that creatively used the medium of gaming to tell a story in a way only games can, I find myself asking why the Last of Us couldn't just be a movie. You would feel the same, and the gameplay is so dissonant as to take away from the experience.
Ok so your right about it being the best story but what I’m also hearing is that y’all are garbage at the game
@@samuelabbottchannel Red dead 2 has the best story in a videogame IMO
7:10
SkillUp: "The Cutscenes"
Me: "Oh shit"
"If it had a shitty story, we would struggle to remember the name of this game..."
Me: looks nervously at Last of Us 2
@White-Van Helsing God of War lifted review embargo 2 weeks early and got great reviews. Your comment literally means nothing
@White-Van Helsing implying critic reviews are in any way reliable or relevant nowadays
The first one has a lot of cult like members who I've noticed look at it like a first child. The second one was already perfection to them before it came out. It's creepy.
thats like saying 'if final fantasy 7 etc had shit stories we wouldn't remember them' come onnn
@@ryansmloh3400 We wouldn't. Ff7 is a character driven game. We follow the story of the characters.
Thanks for yet another high quality game breakdown Skillup!
Can we show some love for the soundtrack and the impeccable work from Gustavo Santaolalla. Without his work, those emotional moments wouldn't have felt anywhere near as heart-wrenching.
Yessss. It’s like he’s playing my heartstrings instead of the banjo every tine
I liked the soundtrack but tbh it was too light. By that I don’t mean that it should have been loud in game or prominent but that there were very few musical pieces being used over and over and apart from that the rest of the tracks were very ambient. It is beautiful music but there is too little of it for a 15 hr plus adventure.
Its fantastic. I still have the main themesong as my ringtone today.
I guess it pays off being awake at 4:40 am
I feel you 🤣
4:25 here. I get it.
Maybe once they show off elden ring or announce a sequel
bruh i saw this comment just now and its exactly 4:40 where i am lol
But were you woke at 4:40 AM
Story-Great
Gameplay- Average
Nice you watched the video
I’m going to defend the gameplay design. Yes, it is a bit clunky, but I think it’s fair to say that’s on purpose (ND also made Uncharted games that feel much more smooth); you are not supposed to feel confident in combat, it is supposed to be moments of desperation that support the key theme of trying to protect something fragile and stay alive in a dangerous world. It’s not the most fun gameplay, but it is gameplay that perfectly fits the theme of the game.
also music/sound design-fantastic
ThrawnCaedus L
It’s not that the gameplay is clunky thats minor clunkiness is good just like in resident evil. It’s the fact that the gameplay is shallow and bland that makes it’s gameplay average-bad.
@@thrawncaedusl717 "Not supposed to feel confident" while Joel kills countless men with ease. Maybe they shouldn't have made the body count so high if they wanted this.
I didn't mind the gameplay. However the story, acting, emotional drama and gut punching moments were so incredible that this game will hold a very special place in my heart forever. I think the giraffe scene is the best scene in any game ever. Masterstroke is the best way to put it.
Good for you, man. I can't play this game constantly back then. I finished it in about 1,5 months. 'Cause I was so bored with the repetitive gameplay (different map, same approach (stealth crouch, stealh kill, shoot). Story is great tho, not gonna lie. One of the best.
@@rnggalp I've played the first game 6 times and still crack through no problems... I wonder what that says about me...
@@oskocio Well, good for you. 'Cause I won't bring myself to experience this repetitive gameplay multiple times. Well, unless I forget the story, maybe I'll play it again.
@@oskocio I think it depends on the players, the amount of games or variety of games you've played in the genre and how immersive or captivating you find the experience. For me I was engaged pretty well and I would play it again. I understand why people don't like the gameplay but I can get immersed easily and I felt it was balanced enough to satisfy me. And the second game is a newer version of that so it makes sense that I and you and people like us would like it.
Rengga Aditya Pratama remember the E3 demo of last of us right it has none of that
geez, I got emotional just watching the review
Last time I was this early, Last of Us wasn't controversial.
Rosencrantz Do you have any idea how dumb you yourself look?
@Rosencrantz lmao you're doing the exact same thing haters are doing except excessively sucking it offyou're gonna look goofy asf if the game crashes and burns
Sk2Neat story leaks don’t really help it so I doubt it’s gonna be GOTY material
Rosencrantz Few things make me dismiss an opinion as quick as “HaTeRs xDxDxDXdXDd” being used as an argument unironically.
Now, now, everyone, no need to argue if TLOU2 is at least MTV Teen Choice awards material. I know about the leaks, and I won't be playing it until I see the spoiler reviews. If the leaks are wrong, then I'll give it a shot. If the story is still Game of Thrones season 8 material, then I won't bother.
People keep forgetting that this was a ps3 game
tofu teh lmao literally nobody forgot that
Think he’s reviewing the ps4 copy
Agree he was a little harsh on the gameplay
@@OscarPerez-jh6yf Nah. I played it in 2014 and the gameplay sucked back then as well.
@@nomercy8989 The same with Read Dead Redemption, the gameplay wasnt very smooth, the animations stiff but it was a brilliant game one of my favourite games I've ever played but even back then it felt clunky
6:15 one detail we have to remember is the massive skill gap in players. my mom has been learning to play games for about a year and the slow sections with the ladders, etc. really helped give her a break or teach her to control joel. Combat was really a challenge for her even on the lowest difficulty. so when something seems really easy or stupid, try to think of how it would feel to play as your 1st game ever.
What you're describing is the purpose of tutorials, not pace limiting puzzles.
Watching Troy Baker and Nolan North play was a huge reminder of that, :D
@@ihateusernamesgrrr no, a new player to gaming in general has a hard time just moving around the 3d environment. they don't want to spend 5 hours in a tutorial, so naughty dog tailored the game to all skill levels and gives them moments of reprieve.
Damn Sarah's Death still gives me chills... After all this time.
I think “Dollar store last of us” is a bit harsh for Days Gone, I thought the writing in that game was pretty outstanding.
Still, really happy to hear some more in-depth thoughts on this from you after always getting the impression you were pretty meh on the game! I’m guessing 2 made you give it a bit more of a chance?
I liked the gameplay in days gone far more than Last of Us. It’s definitely heavily influenced by naughty dog games though. Just glad they didn’t go full woke agenda with the narrative like TLoU2 sounds like it will be
Really enjoyed TLOU but Days Gone has blown it out the water for me, fantastic game
@@peterelliott4922 what agenda?
Days Gone was a great game.
I just finished days gone and think the story is phenomenal!
I agree with all of this. But there was something about that Factions MP that was just sooo damn fun.
The mechanics are surprisingly good in a multiplayer setting.
Loved the storyline and the feel of the single player mode but good memories from the multi-player as well
TLOU MP, for me, was exceptional even with its flaws. i kid you not, i played mp for 4 years straight almost everyday for 6-7 hours with my friend and we never were tired fo it.
It was so disappointing finding out that there will be no mp in TLOU 2
@@bluespiral4678 The story line is a basic zombie movie plot with a kid for cheap drama.
I was bummed about hearing no MP on TLOU2, too. Correct me if I’m wrong but it was in there initially and the scope got too large and they plan on doing a stand-alone factions MP? Fingers crossed that materializes.
Your observation was on point and even if I always felt similar, I could never have put it that way. Truly a great job, the video as a whole.
'He tried to...'
When I heard Ellie say that I just burst into tears. It had a bigger impact on me than Joel's daughter dying.
For me most frustrating parts - invisible triggers of spawning enemies, like at Bookstore, where game will spawn 5-10 enemies if you were spotted, or in school, where they just spawn and run on you because you step on invisible trigger.
God I hated that.
Dont forget the waist high cover in every section
@@violent_jiggler You can stealth it but it's extremely tedious.
Speedrunner Anthony Caliber is constantly complaining about things like this
I was thinking that this would be the first time I haven’t agreed with your opinions on a game - The Last of Us is my favourite game.
But then you said this:
“If we can accept that video games shouldn’t always be defined by their playability alone, and that story is just as important then the argument that the last of is is among the greatest games ever released, holds a lot of water.”
This stood out to me as the mark of someone who knows exactly what they think, and exactly what they are talking about.
I saw on twitter that you won’t be doing a spoiler review of Part 2, I think because of some of the backlash. Mate, you’re the gold standard of reviewers, and I’d personally love to hear your unadulterated take and compare it to mine once I’ve played the game.
This is one of the best reviews you have ever done. Really loved the way you talked about the story of this game, making this game even better than the 3 or 4 times I've played it. Scenes like the turning point where Joel starts to take care of her, the watch and the baby girl part where stuff like that didn't "struck me" heavy enough, maybe because English is not my primary language, but when you talked about it, it went right in the feels. Thank you, hope to see more of this in other games with awesome story.
Next to your RDR2, this is hands down the most relatable and well-put review of a video game I have ever seen/heard. Well done!
"But she does need him to save her from herself". Why do I get the feeling that's going to be one of the underlying themes in the sequel.
Hard to save you from yourself....
When you are dead.
Because you ignored tge spoilers and don’t realize it’s going to be a political jack fest
@@jhunscrown The only political thing is that naughty dog was reputed to have changed the characters design to avoid offending people. Abby isnt actually trans, that was a joke because of her design.
Dang! Spot on mate.
He actually does save Ellie from going down a dark path in the end.
I feel like I’m the only one who likes the gameplay of The Last Of Us.
I loved the gameplay too, don't know what all this people complain about. But I love stealth games so maybe that has something to do? I really loved crafting those bats full of bolts and screws my favorite weapon in game by far. And the bow and arrow was way better than guns at times when you wanna silently sneak in a ln area full of Clikers.
i loved it too. but its likely because it throws out the conventions of your typical shooter. Everything feels sorta deliberate.
I think if you go into it expecting Uncharted level of gunplay, you're gonna be disappointed.
No no, I enjoyed it too. Enjoyed it so much that I’ve clocked about 3 weeks worth of time in Factions lol I’ve heard complaints about clunkiness and boring gameplay as well as being too slow.
I only felt enjoyment with the gameplay with its PvP mode, shame that naughty dog cancelled to be even more progressive with its writing because that’s one of the only sole reasons that kept me from uninstalling the game
Fantastic summary; as always thank you and amazing work!
Been revisiting the original and agree with everything you said about not actually enjoying the gameplay and having already beaten the game before I have been struggling to progress. Watching this video has reminded me why I loved this game so much 7 years ago and has given me that spark to see it through one last time. Thanks SkillUp from one Aussie to another.
While on the one hand I appreciate how high quality the story and cutscenes are, I feel like gameplay has really stagnated with all these "movie games."
Same. I optimistically hope that it's due to hardware constraints (weak console CPU) but then I remember what Monolith did with F.E.A.R in 2005. This cynically convinces me that it's probably intentional to make these cinematic experiences instead of the exhilarating and exciting (action) gameplay experiences that I prefer.
I disagree. It hasn't stagnated. It was always that bad.
"...but she does need him to save her from herself."
Strongest quote I've ever heard about this game and probably the strongest I'll ever hear.
As always Ralph, what an incredible review. I've always loved the fact that you provide us with a perspective, that is not only unique but also amazingly deep and incredibly thoughtful. When I finished The Last of Us years ago, I didn't know whether to love or hate it. Although I loved the journey every step of the way, after the credits rolled, I got an inexplicable feeling that I didn't quite enjoy it. Your review today has cleared the fog in my mind, with your take on Joel's actions explaining away that gut punch I felt after the ending. I now realise that I do love the game, but the fact that I didn't agree with Joel's decision at the end didn't sit well with me, and that's why I felt conflicted. Thank you so much for this insightful review Ralph. I can't explain how grateful I am for this video, and for being a subscriber to your channel. Keep on doing what you do best, and love from Penang! ♥
This is one of the most well thought out reviews I've ever heard. Subscribed.
Ralph has to explain his feeling about the last of us once and for all, for the 30th time
My beef with this game is it doesn’t really feel like a game. I’d say it’s a great cinematic experience, but I’m happier watching it than playing it.
Agree, the game mechanics actually make the story worse. Clickers dont act like the lore says. Ellie is a ghost to everyone. The raft segments withe ellie are obnoxious.
@@MrDrManPerson Fucking pallets...
I'm probably just going to watch a movie version of TLoU 2 and not play it.
@@littledreamling4829 supposedly the story is the worst part of the sequel though lol
Yay! Nice surprise this morning... I agree with pretty much every single conclusion here... As someone who ordered a well written/delivered sorry over gameplay, this is still one of my all time favorite games! Looking forward to your sequel review
Reviews done by SkillUp are done so masterful and engaging that it's impossible for me to click away from the video when I start one.
Thanks for the Review SkillUp.
Okay. The "Baby girl" scene. Wow.
And that climax. Wow.
I will say that the Fireflies killing Ellie would've been so ... stupid. The risk would not be worth it
After watching the video I can’t help but feel a sense a relief that after 7 years of experiencing this masterpiece that I get to hear exactly what the game truly offers to the gaming community.
Your honesty with the gameplay and it’s downfalls is what makes this review much more meaningful considering that all you ever really hear is praise from the game. You weren’t afraid to state what almost everyone had in mind but you did it in a way that you presented the problem while offering a rebuttal in a respectful and insightful way.
The Last Of Us is a piece of art with its story telling and the moments you listed had its impact thoroughly analyzed ranging from the emotional aspects to the character decisions to the flow of the story as it progresses.
Such a wonderful video. Thank god I stayed up till 4 in the morning to enjoy it! Can’t wait to hear what you think about The Last Of Us II.
This is why love SkillUp, I may not be agree with all your reviews but the way he narrates a review, for me it's not just a review or impression but a complete story in itself. Being a part time blogger myself I love your channel. Keep doing it man.
really like your reviews
You echo my own thoughts completely. Mechanically, it's competent. Thematically, it's brilliant. Narratively, it's among the best ever.
Beat this game 4 times between PS3 and PS4 versions. Last time completing it on Grounded. Still one of my fav games. I actually enjoyed the combat a lot lol but to each their own.
But all this shit just makes me sad regarding the sequel because of how I won't be playing it.
Your loss
@@cdmanjak After watching the first 2.5hrs gameplay its no loss, its a financial saving!
Thanks for this. No other video i've seen on last of us has summed it up so perfectly. The emotion, the wonder, the flaws. You hit the tone very well my friend. I cried watching this video, and i cringed at the terrible gameplay aspects, and remembered the viceral impactful wonderful gameplay too. Very good job
Damn dude you basically summed up everything I felt about the game, and highlighted exactly the correct moments. Great video!
Video says "not the sequel" in all caps and I still clicked on it thinking he was gonna talk about the sequel.
If his Twitter is anything to go by I don't think he'll be criticizing the obvious poor choice in woke writing of the 2nd game
@@ajwtube "obvious poor choice in woke writing of the second game"
Literally what are you complaining about? That Ellie is gay? Which was already present in the first game?
I got the game spoiled for me unfortunately but when looking at the leaks I think the story seems tocbe fantastic
@@teehundeart it has absolutely nothing to do with Ellie being gay I actually liked that aspect it's all the other stuff and if you don't know what I'm talking about then I'm not going to spoil it or take the time to go into it but yes neil Druckman has come out and said he was influenced by Anita sarkeesian and her views. Meaning it's not about the story anymore it's about politics
Thanks for the video, it pretty much echoed what I felt. 50% excitement from great story and world-building, 50% total frustration from trying to play that game. It was the reason I thought I am just not able to play games with a controller and consoles are not for me, the PS3 version was especially bad.
What a well paced review !! Although I feel you missed the trick of playing on the hardest difficulty setting and experiencing the gritty tenseness of every encounter. That risk of, do I search for items that might save me if I get caught vs the, I'll take the simpler looking path and hope I really don't need anything I may have bypassed. The gameplay shines then.
Absolute masterpiece in my eyes, love these reviews
The multiplayer was actually so fun though. It was really unique and tactical, kinda disappointed you didn’t talk about it.
A lot of people's complaints about the single player AI and it's predictability ruining an otherwise good template for stealth gameplay (I'm one of the only persons who love the gameplay and prefer it to the story so I can't agree with that) are alleviated by the dynamic and unpredictable nature of multiplayer gameplay. TLOU multiplayer walks a strange line between the slow tactical pace of a SWAT game and Uncharted. It's unique and really fun, so I also wish he'd spoken about it a bit.
It sucked. Same thing every time: go around to boxes to get craftables, get nothing that crafts together because there's so few things to make, get killed by someone who did get good drops from the boxes.
Oh, and the loading screens constantly advertising pay to win weapons. Barf.
The intro really makes you FEEL like crying
Great review
Dude your reviews really good.
meanwhile Dead Space already did most of the excellence moments in this game with more horror elements. I think if people want a better horror game version & a more solid gameplay with similar feelings than the answer would be The Evil Within. But there is no denying that TLOU has well thought out story like a genuine dramatic soul crunching movie, with a bonus of a gameplay.
I don't know, I always thought the weird pieces you put together in Dead Space 2 and even the Jak and Daxter series was more impressive. The Last of Us was more an emotional rollercoaster but me as the cold heartless person I am just see it as a pretty weak stealth shooter. If I wanted the shooting, Uncharted is better, if I wanted the stealth, Metal Gear Solid or Tom Clancy is better. It was an interesting story but I never saw it as world shattering as many do.
Not evil within 1, that was a disaster.
The whole Problem of tlou is the predictible Story, aside from and and beginning
I couldn't tell you shit about the story in Dead Space or The Evil Within and I loved those games... shouldn't even be compared to TLOU
@@94tegLSatMSC space rock makes people turn into demons.
This perfectly summed up how i felt about the game.
Its amazing that even after all this time and several playthroughs watching these cutscenes again still make me a little emotional. Ive also recently went off my meds though so 🤷♂️
Amazing review!
You are setting up your LoU2 review and I predict a mixed review.
@Nico Mulack Aside from dodging the gameplay still looks as outdated.
Well, you were wrong. 🙃
@@mjc0961 yeah we got a negative review instead
but the mechanics were fine 2 me shooting etc stealth if anything it's better if you play on grounded or hard 2 feel more tense and a challenge story was good however lou2 as graphicly good it was the story was poopy and did not deserve goty I think nd forgot why a lot enjoyed lou the story of 2 how ironic
If I remember correctly, there is an audio log or a collectible that tells you how the fireflies found similar subjects like Ellie and failed to make a vaccine. This means, that it wasn't certain that Ellie's death would actually make a vaccine possible
really? i never notice.
edit:
i searched and found that:
1. fireflies had sacrificed many test subject and still no success. none have the same condition as ellie.
2. it's joel who said that there are few that have same condition with ellie and their research to find the vaccine has failed. (this was a lie he told to ellie)
They found potential subjects. But Ellie is literally described as "something they've never seen before" and that the cordyceps mutated, which is why she was immune. The other subjects were never stated to be immune.
I heard somewhere that that was actually cut content or left over from a different version of the story if I'm not mistaken. I think this is supported by how Marlene tells you the doctors found out how Ellie was immune, found out being the key phrase. Also it's probably better to not have the audio log as it keeps the impact of Joel's actions. Saying that the fireflies already found previous immune people and that they couldn't make a vaccine just paints them as stupid and Joel completely right and justified.
She was the only one that was "immune" but it was still heavily implied that she wouldn't survive the process and they didn't even know if it would give them a vaccine. Joel wasn't willing to sacrifice his "daughter" on a "maybe this will work."
The way the fireflies treat Joel also betrays them as being pretty fucking evil. They treat not just killing him as a gift, never even mention paying him for his trip, and are willing to jump straight to executing Ellie as their very first attempt at making a vaccine. I question their competence to make a cure, and I question the ethics of what they would do with it.
One of the best reviews Skill Up has ever done. Perfectly articulates all the pros and cons without feeling like it’s being read from a list.
Skill up is and should be taken more seriously than any other game reviewer or enterprise out there... Incredibly reliable and so entertaining and well balanced thought threads for reviews and news
Your videos really do owe a lot to the music composers behind the games haha, still love them tho, keep up the great job.
Uh goosebumps every cut scene!! after watching this you're right gameplay had it's flaws. Just shows how good the story is that this is still my favourite game of all time!
The story really is not that great. It is a simple zombie apocalypse plot that is not even consistent.
@@MrDrManPerson I suppose on the srface, still I've watched countless zombie/ post apocalyptic films, personally none of their storys have had an impact on me like this game.
@@jabbawokawolf Most zombie stories arent the best in general and i will give TLOU props for it's opening but that is it. Can i ask what in the "story" really hit you in the feels? I mean i can see some of the scenarios being emotional and some good scenes but the story as a whole? Idk man, if you plotted it out on a paper i bet you the story, without the graphics, without the voice acting, would be pretty drab.
@@MrDrManPerson Yeah Sarah at the begining is a given, Joel story is so tragic like Ralph says and I remember wanting him to save Ellie even though it was so selfish found it so gripping. Also when Sam and Henry just go in a matter of seconds, I just remember the shock I just remember the shock I felt, think I might have stopped playing for a bit after that I was so shocked. This is before I'd watched something like Game of thrones so the idea of a character sitting down and chatting and the next second they were lying dead (I'm mostly talking about Henry as we knew Sam had been bitten) was intense for me.
Place yourself back to 2013 (2014 remastered)...and you'll change your mind. You are judging with 2020 standards!
I seriously doubt the last of us part 2 will be this deep.
you have no idea how much I wish you weren't right
ketruB I am so ducking depressed with part 2. It’s just so unlike the first, the tone and characters have been ruined.
just watching these cutscens gives me goosebumps again
Damn that masterstroke moment you talked about. I was so awestruck at that moment where Ellie and Joel just stand against the bricks watching the Giraffes I took out my phone and took a picture to remember it because it was so amazing.
I think Joel did the right thing at the end, the fireflies weren't really capable and treated Joel like trash, plus humanity was to far gone, a vaccine wouldn't have done much if anything, just more fighting between humans
edit: i say “the right thing” but really it’s the better of the two options, there is no ‘right’ thing in this situation.
Yeah and how would they be able to mass produce? They were idiots, of course he made the right choice. No reason for ellie to be mad at him in the 2nd part
Thanks for the quality videos like always. This is the most level review of this game I've seen yet.
Cheers mate
@@SkillUp I never played this when it came out, and weirdly the culty praise for this game turned me off to it. Seeing the flaws presented makes it more interesting.
Thanks for that, you made me tear up again.
damn your TLOU videos are top notch!
5:10 to be fair, Dead Space 2 did the upside down shooting thing two years earlier
The combat can be clunky and frantic, but there are also times when you've got the controls mastered and you're chaining kills where Joel flows like a coreographed movie scene.
It’s a good thing you made this before your part 2 review. Saved me another click. 🥂
God this was one of the best, most thought-provoking commentary of The Last of Us that I've seen or heard. I watched the first few minutes of this video and decided I NEED to play through the game again one more time and then come back to finish the video because I want the game to be fresh in my mind. Pay off was well worth it.
damn what have they done to this masterpiece.
Simple answer. Sjws.
That sniper section is just so immersion breaking.
Every fight is immersion breaking. Ellie running around like a ghost in front of every enemy is so game-y it's rediculous.
As someone who has never played TLOU (I never had a ps3 or ps4), I appreciate the insight into this game and what made it special. Thanks for the retrospective!
Man... If you've ever got time for it, which I doubt you do.
I really wish you'd do some more reviews of older games. I'd die to hear to you talk about the Legacy of Kain franchise for 30 minutes.
As always, stellar video.
It's a great game. Great writing, great story, but GOSH the gameplay is terrible. Amen for SkillUp for being so honest. I thought i was missing something since i saw the reviews on Metacritic.
It's honestly personal opinion, people act like everyone is forgiving horrible gameplay because of the great story and other stuff. But I love the gameplay, I don't think its perfect but I liked a lot that I played the multi-player a lot.
In the end, it's just opinions man, it just turns out your opinion regarding the gameplay is in the minority.
I don’t think it’s terrible. I think it does what it was made to do. Nothing more nothing less.
No it's not "terrible", stop exaggerating. It's by no means the best gameplay ever, but it does what it needs to do. It complements the story segments well enough. For a "movie game", that's good enough.
i hated the stealth parts (enemies kept hearing and seeing me when they shouldnt have) and the wonky framerate and aiming with a controller also sucks.
Your messing up somewhere then. What part are you struggling with stealth?
@@heavyrain5949 i dont remember it that well, but it was mostly the clickers (i remember a scene in a store where you had to find a ladder) anyway i raged a lot at this game.
@@AncientCS not sure what happened, you can go as close as you want to a clicker if you only just move the stick and they won't hear you at all, as long as you don't touch them
@@oskocio if you are too close, they always find you with their echolocation (when the click louder)
Dude 18 mins went by in an instant ...great video ....where that sekiro at tho 🥺
I agree with every point you hit here mate. After only ever having one play through under my belt. After all these years I wanted to preserve the impact the single play through had on me. Now with the sequal looming I jumped back In. The reason being was to re acquaint my self with Ellie an Joel's relationship. And I'm glad I did. After all these years the story holds up where the game play falters. Still a great experience and still as impact-full as my first play through. Great Vid. Need more Aussie content creators of your calibre.
2013 is so long ago that Druckman forgot what it means to make IMPACTFUL characters.
Did he ever really know? After what messes Uncharted 4 and TLOU2 were, I fully believe that Amy Hennig and Bruce Straley were the true talent at Naughty Dog, whereas Neil Druckmann was just a leech whose ineptitude is on full display now that all the talent has left and he has to go it alone. First we have to sit through the bullshit of Nathan Drake turning his back on well established and loved characters for the benefit of some bullshit brother that never existed prior, and then TLOU2 is a golf game? RIP Naughty Dog.
@@mjc0961 If I remember correctly. I made that comment as a joke. I completely agree with you.
Video is so well done btw you explained the moment that Joel and Ellie became Joel and ellie so damn well
I love your honesty with your review instead of jumping in the bandwagon
A review with the level of elegance deserved by the game it reviews. I played TLOU Remaster and DLC recently (very late I know) and I felt this. Awesome. By the way, the DLC Left Behind is just as beautiful, but I'm sure you played it already.
The world stole everything from Joel, so Joel stole everything from the world.
So the world repaid him with woke writing and a hole in one
@@ajwtube i...
@@ajwtube Fucking Bruh Moment.
Aj W. I’m probably one of the two people that saw the leaks and wasn’t upset, but that comment still made me spit my drink.
Aj W. Joel: *fuck it, go back*
Hi Man I came from The Quartering. Keep up the good job.
Now is the moment Ralph, UNLEASH THE OUTER WILDS REVIEW!!!
Man I am almost tearing up, while watching this. It threw me back emotionally in time when I played it and it completely hit me back then. between then and now I have now a little daughter myself and just being reminded on what happened in the game still hits me like a truck. Especially the end and his decision is now even more relatable.. This is by far the best written Story in Videogame History.
Overall this game was great. I’m usually a one-and-done type of person with story games, and this was one of the only games that brought me back for a second play through, on grounded no less.
I’d confidently give this game a 9/10, multiplayer could’ve been better imo though.
Okay, so I left this comment on Timbo's review of The Last of Us, but I think it warrants posting here as well, because I had some very different thoughts on the game's ending and just want to offer my two cents:
I had a video game theory course during my English undergrad studies at my university, and The Last of Us was one of the core "texts" we covered. I wrote quite a lengthy paper explaining why, while what Joel does isn't exactly moral, it's absolutely the lesser of two evils presented to us. And with protecting those we love being such a naturally human behavior, his actions are the understandable and even forgivable course. I don't have the energy or time to go into every single point I covered in my argument, but I'll give my thoughts on some of the most important.
Ellie, being part of a new generation of people born into a world ruled by the Cordycepts infection, is immune. So, we see right off that she serves as sort of double-layered symbol for the future/hope of humanity. Being a part of a young generation which, despite all odds, can still exist in a world like this, she serves as the metaphorical hope for humanity--she, along with all other kids who survive in this world, shows that humanity continues to persevere and, despite how bleak things appear, does still have a future, albeit a grim and uncertain one at times. On the other hand, Ellie's immunity serves as the more literal hope for humanity's future--showing that humanity finally has the tools to biologically fight back against the infection.
First, let's look at this from a biological standpoint. The fact that Ellie is just sort of miraculously immune suggests that nature itself is taking steps to correct the dominance of the infection. Through that wonderful process we know as evolution, necessity has allowed humans, or at least *a* human to development an immunity. But, considering the way evolution works, it probably isn't just this *one* person who is immune. I think Joel's lie likely holds an unintentional grain of truth--there are probably many people around the world like Ellie, members of a younger generation that may very well have developed the necessary immunity that will allow humanity to thrive.
This leads to the Fireflies, a group that I will condemn 'til the day I die. While this group may have initially formed with the best of intentions, hoping to do nothing but guide humanity and give people hope, we see that desperation and misguided obsession has completely perverted what they used to be. From openly attacking military outposts without any consideration of the civilians living and working in dangerously close proximity, to threatening to kill Joel the moment he shows anger and concern on behalf of Ellie, the Fireflies are a far cry from the freedom fighter group that seeks to help humanity which they claim to be. They've essentially become a coalition of pseudo-religious zealots who are willing to do anything and kill anyone, in the hopes of producing a vaccine. They perpetuate the quintessential example of "the ends justify the means," which is a moralistic belief that almost never proves to *be* the moral option. Speaking of which, Ellie is the first immune they've ever encountered. Instead of studying her *alive* (performing blood work, studying her antibodies, taking samples of plasma, urine, feces, literally everything they can safely take without harming her), they believe that the answer is to perform a surgery that will not only kill her, but *may or may not* yield a vaccine which *may or may not* actually work. Letting her live, and testing her biological response to the infection over a period of months or years, to more fully understand how those biological interactions work, is clearly the logical option, but Marlene and her "scientific" cultists have completely abandoned logic. And their willingness to kill an actual child, who both metaphorically and literally symbolizes the hope for humanity's future, shows that the Fireflies have abandoned their own humanity as well, and by extension forfeited their claim to morality.
Joel ultimately hit the nail on the head when he tells Marlene that "It ain't your choice to make." He's right, it's not. Though it's not his choice either. In the end, this should have been Ellie's choice. Everyone speaks on her behalf, Marlene even claims that Ellie "would want this," but no one ever actually consults her. Yes, she may very well decide that it was all worth the risk and have chosen to go through with the procedure, or with the advice of others, she may have come to the more logical conclusions I suggested earlier. We'll never know.
But what we do know is that Ellie, growing up in this world, has been forced to mature unfairly quickly. So, she's not stupid, and she's far from the young and naïve girl we expect her to be. When she confronts Joel at the end, I think she has put it all together and knows exactly what he did and why. And when he makes that promise to her, it serves as the confirmation she needs: Joel truly does see her as a daughter. So she seems to accept the lie, understanding that our ability to fight so hard to protect what and who we love is what makes us human, and that's what is really worth preserving. If a man as broken as Joel can come back and show life again, because of his love for Ellie, then humanity is far from gone.
Additionally, Marlene's outlook for the possible fates that await Ellie in the outside world is clouded by her broken outlook on humanity and her inner battle with her own desperation and sense of loss. She's sees the world as being completely dark, with her group being the only source of light left. But she doesn't realize that people like Tommy have, against all odds, formed thriving communities and have quite literally taken the first steps toward rebuilding humanity. Her own grief and sense of hopelessness have caused her to lose sight of what "right" and "wrong" really mean.
crazy. just finished playing this for thew first time about 10 minutes ago and this pops up. the stars are aligned