Board 8 > About three hours in, and I'm really not liking The Last of Us.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I got my PS4 for free back in 2015 (friend hooked me up) and have used it as a Bloodborne and RE machine this whole time. I pretty much forgot about The Last of Us, which came free with the system, until I brought it up in another topic today.

Finally gave it a try... and I'm sad to say there's almost nothing I like about this game so far. I dislike the cover mechanics, the stealth implementation (I'm usually cool with stealth gameplay, but this just ain't clickin), the combat, the level-up/crafting system, and even the exploration. I don't care about any of the characters and their dialogue, and really the only saving grace so far are the graphics.

It's five years after release, so I hope no one thinks I'm trying to troll here, but I honestly can't remember the last time I felt this disappointed with a GotY-caliber game.

I want to ask people who know the game well - should I just give it up? I currently just entered the woods after doing a short subway underwater section. This is only a few minutes after Tess was killed by the military police. It feels as though I'm well beyond any "tutorial" section, so yeah, if this is what the entire game is like, it just might not be for me.
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I would give it up. The best story sections are near the end, but the gameplay is basically the same throughout the entire game.
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yeah I still need to go back to it, but after 90 minutes I wasn't feeling it either. My friend is playing it currently and said the same thing although he's enjoying it now that he's deeper into it.

He's super mad though about there being so many online trophies
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Honestly, I didn't dig it at first either. I dropped it probably around the same point you did for a while before I came back to it. If you can make it to the end of summer and it still hasn't hooked you, then you can probably just go ahead and drop it because it's not for you.
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(that being said I don't think it's a super great game either, but it does get enjoyable after a while)
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this is my favorite game of all time

you should probably drop it if playing it isn't a compelling experience by now
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I got it for free too. interesting!

first time I tried to play it, well, I just thought the game was okay. I got decently far but I never felt very invested in what was going on. the gameplay is basically autopilot on normal difficulty and so I was not engaged at all.

I started a second run on the hardest difficulty level and I found that I liked the game a LOT more. adding a serious feel of challenge and survival is something this game needed in order to hold my attention better.
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I would also push through the end of summer at least.

And try to make the stealth click because it is awesome. There's 2 distinct ways to play though. You can do MGS style where you try to stealth everyone perfectly without being seen and resetting if you fail. But this is boring because all the enemies are on a preset cycle. Instead you should shoot a bullet or throw a bottle or something in a room immediately and then play through it, so the dynamic hide-and-seek AI system takes over which is really intense.
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You barely even know Ellie at that point too
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foolm0r0n posted...

Instead you should shoot a bullet or throw a bottle or something in a room immediately and then play through it, so the dynamic hide-and-seek AI system takes over which is really intense.

"Hey Joel, why do you keep throwing bottles around when they don't even know we're nearby?"

"Sometimes you get bored, Ellie."
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I couldn't get into it myself after 3-5 hours
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It came free with my PS3 and so it was the first game I beat on the PS3. Didn't like the game either, graphics and presentation were awesome at the time (not sure how good they are on the PS4). Didn't like the gameplay at all, didn't like Uncharted's gameplay either, so I guess ND's games just aren't for me. Story is pretty much the only reason I think you should finish the game.

Wasn't too into the gameplay, but the story was engaging enough to keep going.

Did like crafting weapon upgrades a lot though!
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I forced myself through it, and aside from a few moments I wasnt in love with it.

Overall its incredibly overrated.

The back...1/8th is really great, though.
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The game was good enough to keep me playing but I definitely don't think it belongs anywhere near a "best game ever" discussion. My enjoyment of the story kind of fluctuated. Winter is the peak of the game in all aspects IMO except for the ending.
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The game is fine but unspectacular. Mainly cause the gameplay never really evolves.
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I just played through this and beat it for the first time a few weeks ago. It didn't click with me at first either, but I definitely started getting much more into it toward the end.

The gameplay really doesn't evolve much, and I have some real complaints about some gameplay elements, but I'd say it does get better. Probably not enough to overcome any fundamental dislike you feel toward the game though.
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The first act of the game is by far the weakest. That being said, if you don't enjoy the gameplay, you probably won't find the game worth finishing because while it does get better, it does not fundamentally change until the finale.
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Power through just a little more and then ditch it. I didnt love it at first but its p good
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Its my #1 game, but I was hooked right away. I liked the characters, the exploration, the setting, the combat/stealth felt satisfying. I also turned off Joels sight ability though. I prefer to play games the hard way, feels more rewarding.

I dont think youll like it at this rate.
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It's a quick game, just beat it.

Winter is incredible.
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I say that you should finish the game regardless of whether or not we think you'll like the rest of it or not. I'm never a big fan of only playing the first quarter of a game or less and then dropping it because then you don't really have a good idea of what the whole game offers.

I will say that, while TLOU is my favorite game of all time, I can understand the gameplay not necessarily being your favorite. It's not my favorite either (not even close, but I still enjoyed it). I fell in love with this game for the story and the relationships between the characters, and you really can't accurately judge that aspect of it until you have reached the credits.

Don't take that as me wanting you to beat my favorite game though. I'd probably encourage you to finish any game except for ones that have no redeeming qualities or ones that are in bad taste (Ride to Hell falls into both of these categories)
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Also I can confirm winter is the best part of the game.
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Stick with it

I love the game, though structurally it's a little off. The first season seems like half the game and it's probably the worst of the 4.
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It's a good but overrated game. You should finish it just so you know what the fuzz is all about.
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I really really enjoyed it, hope it grows on you some more
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The story is the best part, gameplay is just whatever.
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XIII_rocks posted...

The first season seems like half the game

I think it actually is about half
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Give it up. That's what I did when I was you.
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Place where I REALLY got into the game

doing the whole railroad to bookstore section completely stealth. Took a lot of time and patience but made me feel real good.
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I'd almost want to compare Pittsburgh and the sewers to the part of MGS3 between Ocelot and (the fight with) The End. Fun part of a clearly amazing game but clearly its worst stretch.
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it's strength is story and graphics. It's one of those classic story vs gameplay debates that you don't see as much now as you did in the older eras. If you're a cutscene skipping, action thrill kind of person, Uncharted is probably a better series for you.
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I dunno I think the gameplay is a blast

I found looting places really, weirdly satisfying and it rewarded thorough exploration
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Nah, the gameplay isn't that fun. It's repetitive, slow-paced shooting. The extremely limited ammo and shivs are not a good thing when the game forces you into so many Clickers. The combat is boring and uninspired and the crafting system requires too much part tracking - not good when your ammo is already limited. The exploration isn't too rewarding for that reason, either. And of what I played (I got to somewhere in Pittsburgh before I quit myself, so farther than you did, Yo), it felt boring, dry, and repetitive. The story wasn't doing much for me, either, since I was expecting it to be brilliant but the early going was so slow.

This is why I am saying he should give it up... because I did so myself for many of the same reasons as he's talking about.

P.S. I love Uncharted and was expecting a game of a similar quality. I didn't get it.
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Last of Us had really good gameplay for the most part. Loved the stealth aspect.
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guffguy89 posted...

it's strength is story and graphics. It's one of those classic story vs gameplay debates that you don't see as much now as you did in the older eras. If you're a cutscene skipping, action thrill kind of person, Uncharted is probably a better series for you.

I can't imagine ever wanting to play an uncharted game for the gameplay...
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Extremely limited ammo and shivs? If you're playing on normal, you are overflowing with all that throughout the entire game.
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KamikazePotato posted...

Extremely limited ammo and shivs? If you're playing on normal, you are overflowing with all that throughout the entire game.

Not in my experience! I found myself needing bricks more regularly than I felt I should have.

It's a boring game, though, so perhaps my memory is fuzzy. It's been a year and a half.
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Waluigi1 posted...

guffguy89 posted...

it's strength is story and graphics. It's one of those classic story vs gameplay debates that you don't see as much now as you did in the older eras. If you're a cutscene skipping, action thrill kind of person, Uncharted is probably a better series for you.

I can't imagine ever wanting to play an uncharted game for the gameplay...

Uncharted has both

I think Uncharted has more "fun" gameplay overall than TLOU, but TLOU's has much more tension so it's good in a different way. "Fun" isn't the be-all and end-all - that isn't the word I'd use to describe the gameplay of Silent Hill 2 or something for instance. So more fun vs. more tense is tricky to figure out.

TLOU has a deeper, more "interesting" story but Uncharted story is more entertaining and doesn't try to be any more than that. So it's an interesting comparison, I go back and forth as to which is better - UC2 or TLOU. I'd marginally give the edge to UC2, which is probably peak Uncharted, with TLOU being better than all the other Uncharteds.
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I enjoy the gameplay of both the Uncharted series and TLOU \_()_/
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Uncharted is way better than TLOU in both categories.
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Uncharted is a totally different experience from TLOU, but at that same time worse in every way

Anyway, one of the issues with The Last Of Us on Normal is that you will have far too many resources unless you treat the game like a spray-and-pray FPS, which it is not. It's more stealth than FPS. There's nothing wrong with slow-paced gameplay either - Resident Evil 4 is considered one of the greatest games of all time and most of its gameplay is spent lining up headshots on slow-moving enemies. As XIII said, it's supposed to be tense, not fast-paced.
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The gameplay is really good and WAY better than UC. For the sole reason that you face in the camera's direction. More 3rd person console games need to do that.

That being said, online mulitplayer for both of those games is where their gameplay really shines. Like by an order of magnitude.
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BlueCrystalTear posted...

This is why I am saying he should give it up... because I did so myself for many of the same reasons as he's talking about.

Which means you can't give the best advice

Someone who felt the same as him but powered through to the end and STILL didn't enjoy it is who he should listen to. But there's none of that ITT, only people who say they didn't really enjoy it but powered through and were glad they did.

I do think even if you don't really enjoy it you should still finish it, since it's like 13-14 hours only, and there's a lot of good stuff in the remaining hours. It's a literary game, you should finish it so you can talk/think about it, even if you don't like it.
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Also CTR has the best story/gameplay combination of a Naughty Dog game so we can end that argument
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KamikazePotato posted...

Uncharted is a totally different experience from TLOU, but at that same time worse in every way

I mean if we're talking about Uncharted 1 maybe
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I love the Uncharted games. I started playing TLOU a month ago, probably at least a couple of hours in, and I just can't get myself to go back to it.
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foolm0r0n posted...

Also CTR has the best story/gameplay combination of a Naughty Dog game so we can end that argument

Seconded.
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Im the total opposite of B8. Uncharted 1 is one of my least favorite games ever. I loathed it.

I could barely get through the first quarter of Uncharted 2. It didnt feel any more brilliant. It was hammy, loose, blah.

And then TLOU is my favorite ever. Dunno how that happens.
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foolm0r0n posted...

You barely even know Ellie at that point too

that. you basically just started the game

there's still plenty of cool shit that needs to happen, and a few solid story beats
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