Great vid. 31:12 and your discussion about only being able to tackle the sniper in one specific way got me thinking- the Resi 4 Remake is amazing in part because it would let you handle this how you wanted. Explosive traps persist through cutscenes and scripted events, so bosses can be taken out in a split second after they spawn. Enemies about to perform a scripted action that'll trap you, like pulling a lever, can be stopped if they're shot or blown up quickly enough... In a way, it is the antithesis of TLOU's gameplay, and so few games are brave enough to let the player muck around like that nowadays. Just thought I'd add that- am playing Re4 Remake for the 2nd time so it's on my mind at the mo... Shortly after this, I misheard and thought you said that Sam conceals an 'infected bike' rather than bite, which conjured some hilarious images. That's neither here nor there- keep this stuff up mate!
Clearly I still had RE4 on the brain when I was replaying The Last of Us for this video, since I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two, but of course they both have their own strengths and weaknesses. My previous video was about RE4 if you're interested in hearing my detailed thoughts on what makes that game so good. Anyway, I really appreciate the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Stay tuned for many more!
You say that Joel not having a knife is a nitpick, but for me is a huge issue, narratively speaking. He is constantly called and shown as a "survivor", someone that survived 20 years of apocalypse and can get through pretty much everything, but does not have the arguably most important survival tool, a knife. The characterization and actions of the protagonist completely contradict each other. When there are such contradictions in the writing, I just can't focus. The game lost me from the start.
It's a testament to the believability of The Last of Us that something like this 'knife problem' stands out so much - it really is true that it hits a higher standard of realism than most other games. In Resident Evil 4, for example, I would never complain about knife durability because I'm more than willing to just accept that that's how the game works. I think we will always have to accept a certain amount of contrivance in order for games to have consistent rules - that's why Joel can only pick up bricks and bottles, and not any of the other hundreds of items that litter each area. I suppose the trick is in hiding that contrivance as much as possible. Thanks for the interesting comment!
The whole "starting with nothing progression" trope doesn't align either in this case. Joel is so notorious of a smuggler/brute that his name is feared around the QZ. In their smuggling tunnels his gun is just sitting in there on a table, meaning nobody else uses the tunnel or they'd steal the gun. To assume he goes at least as far as bills town to trade/loot/collect for him to have 3 bullets in a 9mm gun, a flashlight and that's it is slightly immersion breaking too. First soldier pulls a AR out on them and he leaves it. He should have a knife, he should have serious weapons collected over 20years of successful scavenging. There should be some sort of gameplay explanation as to why he cannot have these things
Everyone writing off Molotovs viability, throw a bottle throw a molly kill 3-4 infected (including clickers) in one shot same the amount of bullets it would take to traverse the situation. In my experience healthpacks are fairly meaningless bc you either die or you live through the combat, rarely do you need to heal mid encounter to survive. Edit: the analysis was fantastic, I just love cooking 3 enemies with one throw able
Thanks for the comment, always appreciated! The fact that such different tactics are possible is a testament to the surprising amount of depth in this game's combat system - it's a lot better than it needed to be so I have to hand it to Naughty Dog there.
This is such a fantastic video! Seeing your thoughts on The Last of Us Part II once you get around to playing it would be so interesting, because I feel like it progresses the gameplay formula intelligently, but often regresses in the story department. It's a better videogame, but a worse 'movie game'.
That's very intriguing to hear - now I'm even more curious to find out why the sequel was so divisive. When Part II inevitably makes its way to PC you can bet I'll make a video about it. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I have to push back against "the gameplay may have been nothing new " cliche; for (one) example, the amount of environmental interaction and context-sensitive animations make the world feel more alive than almost any other videogame out there. That said, the way they are milking this franchise is shameful and worrying.
The model swap of Ellie, to bring her more "in line" with that androgenousized (I am pretty sure that's not a word) counterpart of Part 2, is a crime in- and of itself.
ive only watched a couple of your videos at the moment, but they are incredible. very underrated channel!
Amazing vid , this channel is so underrated
Needs 89.7K views
Great vid. 31:12 and your discussion about only being able to tackle the sniper in one specific way got me thinking- the Resi 4 Remake is amazing in part because it would let you handle this how you wanted. Explosive traps persist through cutscenes and scripted events, so bosses can be taken out in a split second after they spawn. Enemies about to perform a scripted action that'll trap you, like pulling a lever, can be stopped if they're shot or blown up quickly enough...
In a way, it is the antithesis of TLOU's gameplay, and so few games are brave enough to let the player muck around like that nowadays. Just thought I'd add that- am playing Re4 Remake for the 2nd time so it's on my mind at the mo...
Shortly after this, I misheard and thought you said that Sam conceals an 'infected bike' rather than bite, which conjured some hilarious images.
That's neither here nor there- keep this stuff up mate!
Clearly I still had RE4 on the brain when I was replaying The Last of Us for this video, since I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two, but of course they both have their own strengths and weaknesses. My previous video was about RE4 if you're interested in hearing my detailed thoughts on what makes that game so good. Anyway, I really appreciate the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Stay tuned for many more!
You say that Joel not having a knife is a nitpick, but for me is a huge issue, narratively speaking. He is constantly called and shown as a "survivor", someone that survived 20 years of apocalypse and can get through pretty much everything, but does not have the arguably most important survival tool, a knife.
The characterization and actions of the protagonist completely contradict each other. When there are such contradictions in the writing, I just can't focus. The game lost me from the start.
It's a testament to the believability of The Last of Us that something like this 'knife problem' stands out so much - it really is true that it hits a higher standard of realism than most other games. In Resident Evil 4, for example, I would never complain about knife durability because I'm more than willing to just accept that that's how the game works. I think we will always have to accept a certain amount of contrivance in order for games to have consistent rules - that's why Joel can only pick up bricks and bottles, and not any of the other hundreds of items that litter each area. I suppose the trick is in hiding that contrivance as much as possible.
Thanks for the interesting comment!
The whole "starting with nothing progression" trope doesn't align either in this case. Joel is so notorious of a smuggler/brute that his name is feared around the QZ. In their smuggling tunnels his gun is just sitting in there on a table, meaning nobody else uses the tunnel or they'd steal the gun. To assume he goes at least as far as bills town to trade/loot/collect for him to have 3 bullets in a 9mm gun, a flashlight and that's it is slightly immersion breaking too. First soldier pulls a AR out on them and he leaves it. He should have a knife, he should have serious weapons collected over 20years of successful scavenging. There should be some sort of gameplay explanation as to why he cannot have these things
I do wonder how many times i played this game. The multiplayer on PS3 was surprisingly fun too.
Look forward to seeing your take on TLOU2.
Everyone writing off Molotovs viability, throw a bottle throw a molly kill 3-4 infected (including clickers) in one shot same the amount of bullets it would take to traverse the situation. In my experience healthpacks are fairly meaningless bc you either die or you live through the combat, rarely do you need to heal mid encounter to survive.
Edit: the analysis was fantastic, I just love cooking 3 enemies with one throw able
Thanks for the comment, always appreciated! The fact that such different tactics are possible is a testament to the surprising amount of depth in this game's combat system - it's a lot better than it needed to be so I have to hand it to Naughty Dog there.
This is such a fantastic video! Seeing your thoughts on The Last of Us Part II once you get around to playing it would be so interesting, because I feel like it progresses the gameplay formula intelligently, but often regresses in the story department. It's a better videogame, but a worse 'movie game'.
That's very intriguing to hear - now I'm even more curious to find out why the sequel was so divisive. When Part II inevitably makes its way to PC you can bet I'll make a video about it.
Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video! Thanks for the content.
I have to push back against "the gameplay may have been nothing new " cliche; for (one) example, the amount of environmental interaction and context-sensitive animations make the world feel more alive than almost any other videogame out there. That said, the way they are milking this franchise is shameful and worrying.
The Last of Us Part 1: Part 27 😂
The model swap of Ellie, to bring her more "in line" with that androgenousized (I am pretty sure that's not a word) counterpart of Part 2, is a crime in- and of itself.
Wokenism simulator