The Last of Us Part I

About The Last of Us Part I

The Last of Us Part I is the remake of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, released on PlayStation 5 in September 2022 and on PC in March 2023, with Iron Galaxy Studios also credited on the PC version. It includes the full single-player story and the prequel chapter Left Behind, about Ellie and her best friend Riley.

Civilization has collapsed. Joel, a weary smuggler, is hired to get Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of the Boston quarantine zone. The small job turns into a long journey on foot across the United States, through flooded cities, overgrown suburbs and abandoned homes, where both the Infected and other survivors stand in the way.

The horror comes from the Infected, people taken over by the Cordyceps fungus. The most feared, the Clickers, have heads split open by the growth; they are functionally blind and hunt by a kind of echolocation, so in a dark building you move slowly and quietly, throw a bottle to pull one away, and hold your breath as it passes. Supplies are thin: you search every drawer, and crafting forces choices, such as whether a rag becomes a medkit or a molotov. You can also make a shiv to kill silently, or upgrade makeshift melee weapons for when it goes wrong.

The game uses 3D audio, so you hear glass crack and footsteps closing in, and it has a large set of accessibility options and adjustable difficulty. On PS5 it was rebuilt on Naughty Dog's PS5 engine, with Tempest 3D Audio and DualSense haptics that let you feel rain and the crunch of snow, and it is enhanced for PS5 Pro. It is also in the PlayStation Plus Extra catalogue, and on PC it is sold on Steam and the Epic Games Store. The main story takes about 15 to 16 hours.

It is very violent, with dismemberment and themes of suicide and torture. Critics praised the rebuilt visuals and sound and the accessibility options, while some found the price high and the play dated. It suits players who want a story-led game where stealth and scarcity make the encounters frightening.

How to play The Last of Us Part I

1. Follow the story as Joel, moving through each area with Ellie and other companions.
2. Search drawers, cabinets and rooms for supplies and parts.
3. Craft items such as medkits, molotovs and shivs, choosing what to make with what you have.
4. Sneak around the Infected and hostile survivors; throw bottles to distract them.
5. Fight with guns and melee weapons when you have to, and move on once the area is clear.

Tips

• Listen for the clicking: Clickers cannot see you, but they hear you.
• Keep a shiv for a silent kill when you need to slip past.
• Think before crafting; shared parts mean a medkit can cost you a molotov.
• Throw a bottle to send enemies the wrong way rather than spending ammunition.
• Use headphones; 3D audio helps you hear enemies trying to ambush you.

Questions