The Last of Us Part 1 is my first time experiencing this critically acclaimed and generally beloved game. I wasn’t doing a lot of gaming at the time it was first released which was in June 2013. About a year later, a remastered version for the PlayStation 4 was released. And at that point, I was still a few years away from really coming back to gaming. 

Before I talk about my experience playing The Last of Us Part 1, I think it’s crucial to share where I’m coming from as a gamer. I missed nearly all of the PS3 era and the early part of the PS4 era. At the time I was busy building my career as a media professional – covering more politics, sports, and tech over gaming. 

It wasn’t around 2016 to 2017 that I jumped back into gaming again. I inherited my brother’s PS4 as he transitioned to the PS4 Pro. My feelings towards gaming has been largely the same since. I really jumped back in at the perfect time – to a point where gaming has matured quite a bit.

I did most of my gaming on the original PlayStation and the PS2. But I had to pull back because I became too consumed by gaming and had neglected my school work. Going from that era to the PS4 was quite the leap. Especially for someone like myself who is used to the grind-heavy hours of JRPGs and who’s jaws dropped at 3D polygons I can control on the TV. 

And that’s how I feel about experiencing The Last of Us Part 1 in this fully remade form. It’s a leap, and I’m glad I’m soaking in the story in this presentation. 

Definitely a Remake

L: Remake. R: Remaster.

Naughty Dog, the game’s developer, and Sony PlayStation have really gone out of their way to market this as a Remake and not just another remaster. And really, it’s largely true. 

To be able to get a frame of reference, I played the early hours of the game both on the Remake and the Remastered version. The visual differences are very evident. 

First off, the environment, textures, and character models look and feel a lot more real on the Remake. It’s really hard to explain in detail. And not even this side-by-side video comparison by IGN can fully showcase the visual leap. 

After all, the console generations are a little closer to each other than the more massive Remake that Square Enix did with Final Fantasy VII. 

The improved visual cues and controls help with it too. The visual cues on the Remake are now in white – more in keeping with the tone and look of the game. In the Remaster, the on screen elements were more colorful and it felt more gamery. It’s a subtle change and one that may not matter to most people, but it is noticeable nevertheless. 

The controls, too, feel more fluid. There was something about the controls on the Remaster that felt heavier than the one on the Remake. Although, it really isn’t by much. But the combination of the better visuals and improvements in gameplay certainly signals a ground-up rebuild. Which stays true to how the game has been marketed so far. 

I’m not gonna go into detail since you can check all of that out on the PlayStation Blog, anyway. All I can say is that every little improvement – especially the accessibility ones –  they mentioned is no hyperbole. Everything does feel like an upgrade.

Is it just a cash grab?

Even after playing a good chunk of the game, I still haven’t made up my mind on whether The Last of Us Part 1 is even really necessary. 

If, like me, this will be your first time experiencing the story, then it’s an easy recommendation. And perhaps that is the main point of the Remake. To get players who missed out on the initial release to experience the game but by 2022 standards. 

For fans who have played the game before, it’s hard to have to shell out the price of a new game for a story you’ve already experienced before. If you fall in this category, perhaps it’s more prudent to wait for discounts and price drops, or for it to show up on the PS Plus subscriptions. 

As a first-time player, I’m having a grand time. Very similar to my experience with playing Uncharted 4 which I also missed when it first came out. Going through the game in the PS5 enhanced version included in the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection was an absolute joy. 

Certainly a marketing tool

But like Uncharted, I am firmly in the camp that The Last of Us Part 1 is a rather expensive marketing tool to accompany Sony’s foray into live action movies and series. 

The release timing of the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection happened right around the time the Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland (Spider-Man in the MCU) was released. And just as The Last of Us Part 1 is coming out on September 2, 2022, HBO dropped a trailer of the The Last of Us TV series starring Pedro Pascal. It doesn’t take a genius to put two-and-two together. 

That said, these Remakes aren’t phoned-in efforts. They are very much done with much love and care by the developers. And they’re definitely the best way to experience the games today.