‘The Last of Us: Remastered’ Review: One-of-a-Kind

For decades now, developer Naughty Dog has continually proven itself as one of the top-tiers in the gaming industry. “The Last of Us: Remastered,” the current-generation remake of 2013’s PlayStation 3 exclusive, is the most recent reminder of this. Skillfully blending high-quality, choice-based gameplay with exceptional storytelling, “The Last of Us” is a hallmark for the current state of video games.

After an infectious outbreak and series of unfortunate events leaves the game’s main character, Joel, to look after a young girl, Ellie, the two travel across a post-apocalyptic United States in search of a survivor group referred to as the Fireflies.

“The Last of Us” manages to tear through the recurring supposition that a AAA video game just can’t seem to tell a great story without sacrificing some of its quality.

There aren’t many differences between the PS3 and PS4 versions of the game. The latter runs at native 1080p, 60 frames per second, but the former’s visuals were already stunning, so the distinction probably won’t be instantly noticeable. Even side-by-side, it’s amazing to see how the PS3’s graphical power was stressed to its limits.

One neat feature introduced in “Remastered” is Photo Mode, where players can press the left thumbstick to pause the gameplay at any given time and snap a screenshot. Now not only is the game beautiful, but all its beauty can be captured, edited and shared to the world via the PS4’s Share button.

The “Left Behind” downloadable content that released last year is also included in this remake. “Left Behind” serves as a prequel to “The Last of Us,” following Ellie during her time with her best friend, Riley, before they were separated.

Although it’s nothing to brag about, “Remastered” brings back the surprisingly fun and robust online multiplayer that made an appearance in the original game. There’s even a small story element to the multiplayer that should compel players to occasionally come back to it.

It would have been nice to see Sony offer a discount to players who already own the PS3 version of the game, but even still, it’s totally worth it. “The Last of Us” is an experience no true gamer should miss.