The Last of Us Part 1 review: leave a beautiful corpse

Whether a game is worth the money it costs to play is always part of its assessment. The artistic merits and fun factor of each game are the most important, probably because they are generally the easiest to talk about. After all, every gamer and their wallet are different. But the question of whether a game is worth its price tag (and the price tags are getting bigger) sometimes demands more focus. Such a case? The last of us part 1.

Gamers have questioned the value of this game before it was officially revealed. After all, The Last of Us only debuted nine years ago, and it’s been re-released once before in “better” form. While it’s still one of the most acclaimed games ever made, a creeping sense of whether a new release was really needed has colored its launch, especially since it launched with a $70 sticker price.

So let’s tackle the Clicker in the room, shall we? While, again, every gamer’s needs and disposable income are different, I can break down what you get for the price. I can also identify which groups of gamers are most likely to benefit from this newly ripped-off The Last of Us.

Those who need accessibility

Let me be blunt: if you need accessibility features, then you absolutely must buy The Last of Us Part 1. The range of functions offered is extensive. If you wanted to play this game back when it launched in 2013, but couldn’t, Naughty Dog is here for you.

The accessibility features this time include (but are not limited to):

• Customizable and Alternate Control Schemes
• Full HUD Customization
• Navigation options for blind or partially sighted players
• Text-to-speech options and subtitles
• Fight tweaking to avoid certain scenarios
• Hints and Difficulty Levels

The accessibility features are worth the price of admission. I’m by no means an accessibility expert – and I’m sure the developers could do even more to improve the experience – but the original Last of Us didn’t have most of these options. For the users who need them, they will probably go a long way towards enjoying The Last of Us Part 1.

Whichever of these options gamers need, whether one or all, they’re worth it, for this game and as many others as possible. For those lucky enough not to need these options, the urgency with which I am making this recommendation is not for you.

The new players

The other category of players that may be best suited for Part 1 are those who haven’t played The Last of Us yet. Since the game will launch on PC at some point, there will probably be a few gamers yet to play it. Neil Druckmann said in an interview that part 1 is the “definite way to play the game”. He’s not wrong. The few improvements out there have made the game both easier to play and more fun to watch.

To start with the obvious first: The Last of Us Part 1 is beautiful. While the character models have been tweaked more than they’ve actually changed (with a few exceptions), the ambient lighting and presentation is a real upgrade from the remastered PS4 version. The Last of Us isn’t exactly a colorful game, but the upgrades certainly make it more aesthetically pleasing.

There are some minor gameplay improvements. For example, you can now read collection notes as soon as you find them, without having to take them out of Joel’s backpack, which is a feature of the sequel. Both enemy and friendly AI is better, or at least easier to read. All of these things will lower the barrier to entry for first-time players.

The devoted fans

I think this game really has a certain target audience, which is the group of fans who love The Last of Us. The original game is a favorite with a large number of gamers, and everything I mentioned above will all benefit those gamers.

I’m not judging: I’ve bought Bayonetta four times, on four different platforms, and I didn’t even get a graphics upgrade. I just loved the game so much and wanted to get as many versions of it as possible. So if you like The Last of Us, I think it will be worth your money and time to replay it in this embellished form.

If you’re not, then I think you already know you’re not going to buy this game. Aside from some technical and cosmetic benefits, you won’t get anything with this game that you don’t already have. That’s why I didn’t reference the story or the gameplay in this review. It hasn’t changed substantially. If you want to read all the great stuff, read Dean’s review from nine years ago.

There’s nothing wrong with paying a high price to gild the lily, but there’s also nothing wrong with not wanting to. I think The Last of Us Part 1 will be a great addition to the casual TLOU fan’s library when it inevitably goes on sale, and maybe PC players too when it launches on that platform.

The Last of Us Part 1 is currently available for PlayStation 5 for $70, with a PC launch planned for the future. Sony has given GamesBeat a code for this review.