The Last of Us: Part I (Remake)

[DODI3OG]

@Algonquin Assassin The PS3 and PS4 versions will never be close to the remake. Even if the remake doesn't play on par with TLOU Part 2, it's still miles ahead in terms of fidelity. The biggest reason why people thought the remake is not on par with Part 2 is partly due to the combat. There was a 7-minute video released yesterday and it showed how antiquated the combat is compared to Part 2 simply due to the absence of dodging.

 

When I had my playthrough of TLOU last year, the first thing I noticed in Part 2 (other than the fidelity) is the fluidity of combat. Immediately after I finished Part 2, I tried going for a Part 1 NG+, but everything was an eyesore even at 60fps. So, I just dumped the idea and moved on from Part 2's Post-gameplay trauma.

 

https://www.gameinformer.com/opinion/2022/08/31/i-thought-the-last-of-us-was-better-than-this

 

^That review says it all regarding the clunkiness of the remake. They half-assed the combat and didn't rework the button prompts. They also half-assed the animation work. It still plays like a PS3 game with PS4 graphics. I was hoping that the animations were at least improved appropriately for Joel, but as the reviewer said, he still felt sluggish to control and the combat didn't have the fluidity of Part 2.

Edited September 1 by DODI3OG

[Bigglo145]

I was wondering if they reworked the combat so that it was more like 2 but i guess not

[DODI3OG]

26 minutes ago, Bigglo145 said:

I was wondering if they reworked the combat so that it was more like 2 but i guess not

To be honest, I loved the exploration more than combat in Naughty Dog games. Their combat mechanics until Part 2 were very basic and often times tedious, due to the awful animations.

 

Good thing I thought twice on preordering. What I loved in Part 2 was that with enough skill, most hits were avoidable through dodge. In this remake, it's still inevitable given that Joel will always be more sluggish than the other two and they didn't even bother adding dodge or even a simple block animation. I know it goes against the original spirit of the game, but they're QOL improvements much like the accessibility settings.

[MiniMadrazo]

Here's their explanation about the lack of dodge mechanic lol

 

At least gunplay is on par with Part II and Joel's movement seems smoother 

 

[DarkDayz]

17 hours ago, Algonquin Assassin said:

On a side note. Hey R* this is how you should’ve handled GTA V and the Definitive Edition instead of being preoccupied counting figures from shark card sales.

 

GTA IV and RDRI*

 

Remaking the trilogy from the ground up is an incredibly stupid idea for so many reasons. They couldn't do it without practically changing everything that is expected from a modern game.

[Algonquin Assassin]

1 hour ago, MiniMadrazo said:

At least gunplay is on par with Part II and Joel's movement seems smoother 

Of all the facets of gameplay I think people overlooked the gunplay which is just as if not more important than the melee combat.

 

In the Digital Foundry video I posted they explain this in great detail. When it comes to movement I think this extremely important as while I wouldn’t expect Joel to move as fast and be as nimble as Ellie for obvious reasons in the original game he feels stiff and tank like so this will be immediately obvious when you’re controlling him yourself.

 

As nice as dodge and prone for that matter would’ve been the way some people make it seem nothing was done to the gameplay to enhance the experience despite evidence to the contrary shows a worrying level of ignorance.
 

 

[DODI3OG]

I don't know if I remember it correctly, but TLOU Remastered released at $40. It came along with Factions and Left Behind. I think it would have been better if the price was at this point, and I'd even buy it at $50.

[Emmi]

I really don't know why everyone complains about the pricing of this product. It is a remake made from the ground up for PS5 hardware. It appears like they worked on this for at least two years or even longer. As I see it the price is justified.

[MiniMadrazo]

Nah it came out at $60 iirc

[DODI3OG]

1 hour ago, Emmi said:

I really don't know why everyone complains about the pricing of this product. It is a remake made from the ground up for PS5 hardware. It appears like they worked on this for at least two years or even longer. As I see it the price is justified.

Probably buyer satisfaction. I know they're apples and oranges, but I was more satisfied spending my $80 on Forbidden West DD and I doubt I would be satisfied as much had I spent it on TLOU Part I(considering I've played the game at least 6 times). It's justified for people who haven't played the game. It's well worth the $70. Even if I came up with another $70, I'd probably be more satisfied spending it on GOW Ragnarok.

 

Also the fact that several AAA video games are coming out around its release window (such as GOW Ragnarok, MWII).

Edited September 2 by DODI3OG

[Algonquin Assassin]

So I’ve played the game for quite a while now (about 4 hours in) and if I had to describe what it feels like it feels like I’m no longer playing an upscaled PS3 game that has been ported to a more powerful system. It feels at home on the PS5.

 

Visuals aside as we know they’re gorgeous and they’re even more so in the flesh on a decent tv/monitor. I want to give my thoughts on the rest of the game.

 

First of all I love how pretty much all the HUD elements have been utilised from Part II. It makes scrolling through menus so much easier because I was just playing  Part II recently so the muscle memory was already there.

 

In regardless to accessibility options I think this is perhaps the most inclusive game I have ever played and other developers need to take note. Part II made strides in this area, but it’s been taken further again here. Not just for people with impairments, but general QOF.

 

For example you can completely customise specific parts of difficulty to your liking like if you want to be extremely  resilient to damage against enemies on grounded you can do that rather than put into a bounded difficulty setting across the board.

 

Anyway at first I was skeptical of this game’s existence like everyone else, but now I’ve had the chance to play it it’s a worthy addition to Sony’s stellar library from past and present. I’ve been playing around with photo mode so I might share of my shots with you guys in the coming days.

 

 

Edited September 3 by Algonquin Assassin

[Creed Bratton]

14 hours ago, Emmi said:

It is a remake made from the ground up for PS5 hardware.

That's what Naughty Dog said. But it doesn't mean that it's true. People are calling this a remaster for a reason. Fundamentally, it's the same game in a new or improved engine. It's the same story with the same characters, same dialogues and same levels. It is the same experience that people have already had. People usually don't like paying full price for the same experience.

Edited September 3 by Creed Bratton

[DODI3OG]

16 minutes ago, Creed Bratton said:

That's what Naughty Dog said. But it doesn't mean that it's true. People are calling this a remaster for a reason. Fundamentally, it's the same game in a new or improved engine. It's the same story with the same characters, same dialogues and same levels. It is the same experience that people have already had. People usually don't like paying full price for the same experience.

A lot of people who played the game (like us) don't want to pay full price for the remake. Newcomers wouldn't have a problem with that because of the awe factor.

 

The reason why I even though I love the game and I wanna play the remake so bad, but I held off is because I think $70 is not worth it even if the remade the game from the ground up, the story (which is basically its selling point) is still the same, the gameplay in its basic form is still the same. It's like paying $70 for graphics at this point.

 

Next is the amount of content. 13-15 hours (for the initial playthrough) of content is too short for a $70 game considering there are games with more content, more hours of play, and arguably better quality of experience at the same price point (Horizon, GOW Ragnarok, TLOU Part 2. The release window also pitted it with other AAA releases such as GOW Ragnarok and MWII.

 

TL;DR: $70 is just too much for a re-release of a re-release. Even if they remade the assets, animations, and graphics, in its backbone it's still The Last of Us on PS3. There's a huge chance I would have bought the game if GOW Ragnarok wasn't around the corner. And I would have certainly bought it if the retail price was lower.

[Mexicola9302]

Anybody knows the release date for PC? I googled a bit, but couldn't find anything.

[Algonquin Assassin]

6 hours ago, Creed Bratton said:

That's what Naughty Dog said. But it doesn't mean that it's true. People are calling this a remaster for a reason. 

People calling it a remaster doesn’t change anything and besides I think the people who you know actually worked on the game and know what was put into it might have just a little more authority than the guy moaning on Twitter about it being a “remaster”, but maybe I’m missing something.
 

6 hours ago, Creed Bratton said:

Fundamentally, it's the same game in a new or improved engine. 

PS5 Tempest engine.
 

6 hours ago, Creed Bratton said:

It's the same story with the same characters, same dialogues and same levels. 

And for good reason. The story, characters, dialogue etc are what people love about the game so why would they change any of that? 

A remake can still be a remake while retaining its original dialogue, story, characters, levels etc aka Demon’s Souls and Shadow Of The Colossus. 
 

 

6 hours ago, Creed Bratton said:

 It is the same experience that people have already had. People usually don't like paying full price for the same experience.

I mean realistically we’re not going to know that until sales figures are revealed, but if I had to guess this game most likely already had millions of preorders since there are a lot of people in the world and the few hundred people on social media who refuse to buy it at full price out of spite probably won’t make a scratch on the tiny dent of the end profit margins.

 

 

Edited September 3 by Algonquin Assassin

[DODI3OG]

42 minutes ago, Algonquin Assassin said:

A remake can still be a remake while retaining its original dialogue, story, characters, levels etc aka Demon’s Souls and Shadow Of The Colossus.

AFAIK, Demon's Souls released at $70. But, IDK about Shadow of the Colossus.

[Creed Bratton]

5 hours ago, Algonquin Assassin said:

people who you know actually worked on the game and know what was put into it might have just a little more authority

No, they don't. Remake vs remaster is mostly marketing terminology. There's no set definition of which is which. So everyone gets to call it how they see it. And since it's in Naughty Dog's best financial interest to call it a remake, that's what they chose. But to me, and to a lot of other people, a remake means is a lot more than a graphical upgrade. Mafia Definitive Edition is a great example of a remake.

[Algonquin Assassin]

4 hours ago, Creed Bratton said:

No, they don't. Remake vs remaster is mostly marketing terminology. There's no set definition of which is which. So everyone gets to call it how they see it. And since it's in Naughty Dog's best financial interest to call it a remake, that's what they chose. But to me, and to a lot of other people, a remake means is a lot more than a graphical upgrade. Mafia Definitive Edition is a great example of a remake.

That’s the thing though. Objectively there’s been far done to than just a graphics upgrade and since it seems like I’m the only one in this thread so far who’s has first hand experience playing it I can appreciate more than most who are judging purely on what they’ve on YouTube or press release statements made by Naughty Dog.

 

Audio, lighting, shadow effects, facial motion capture, real time cutscenes etc are not graphics and these have all been completely overhauled from the original and remaster. Whether this is enough for people to buy it at full price is a different matter and I obviously can’t recommend you and others should buy it nor is it my intention, but from where I sit when Naughty Dog said it was rebuilt for the PS5 they meant it in a technical sense and quite frankly it is and no amount of pitching forking is going to change that.

 

So yes you’re right. There’s more that goes into a remake than just its graphics, but that’s precisely what this version has and people burying their heads in the sand and pretending it’s not because THEY were expecting a dodge and prone button makes me laugh honestly.

 

But it is what it is I suppose. All I know is it’s the best and most definitive way of playing the game and I have no reason to ever go back to the original or the remaster.
 

I actually envy the people who will be playing this for the first time since they’ll be playing it without any preconceived notions with a version that’s superior on a technical front to the previous versions with the critical acclaimed story, characters etc to boot. So envious lol.

Edited September 4 by Algonquin Assassin

[Creed Bratton]

5 minutes ago, Algonquin Assassin said:

Audio, lighting, shadow effects, facial motion capture, real time cutscenes etc are not graphics and these have all been completely overhauled from the original and remaster.

Except for audio, all of the things that you mentioned are visual upgrades. That's what I meant.

 

  

5 minutes ago, Algonquin Assassin said:

All I know is it’s the best and most definitive way of playing the game

Until the PC version is released.

Edited September 3 by Creed Bratton

[Jason]

8 minutes ago, Creed Bratton said:

Until the PC version is released.

 

If the performance stuff I've seen of the PS5 version is anything to go by, I'd be weary of the PC version. Seems like this was developed in-house and not by Nixxes and it doesn't look particularly well optimised even on PS5.

[Algonquin Assassin]

59 minutes ago, Creed Bratton said:

Except for audio, all of the things that you mentioned are visual upgrades. That's what I meant.

There’s also A.I, expanded accessibility options, movement, gunplay and so on.
 

[Jason]

I have no horse in this race as I have zero interest in TLOU, but for me a remake is something remade from the ground up, from scratch. A remaster is something built on the original game. ME1 for example received significant visual and gameplay work in the ME rilogy remaster but it still wasn't a remake.

[DODI3OG]

I still love TLOU Part 1 and I'm not gonna hate on it. The price is too steep for me and that's mostly the problem. It was a well-deserved remake unlike what some influencers are saying nor it is entirely half-assed (although as I said the animations and combat were still lacking for my taste). If I had the money I would have bought it at $70.

[MiniMadrazo]

After all this controversy I decided to get the game myself, physical copy 10% off on retail store.

First off all I came with very low expectations on the gameplay department and with my current 5 hours so far I have to say it plays so f*cking good even without mechanics such as prone and dodge from Part II. Joel's movement is very responsive and gunplay is on par with Part II, prettiest looking game on PS5 so far.

[Algonquin Assassin]

9 minutes ago, MiniMadrazo said:

After all this controversy I decided to get the game myself, physical copy 10% off on retail store.

First off all I came with very low expectations on the gameplay department and with my current 5 hours so far I have to say it plays so f*cking good even without mechanics such as prone and dodge from Part II. Joel's movement is very responsive and gunplay is on par with Part II, prettiest looking game on PS5 so far.

Are you finding the more you play the more it starts to feel like Part II?

 

There have been times I’ve had to stop and remind myself that it’s not Part II lol. I also agree the movement and gunplay is far more responsive. The way punches and kicks land is more fluid and feels less “button mashy” if that makes sense. 
 

Joel still has a brute like move set, but it feels more graceful and effortless to land punches, kicks and environmental attacks.

Edited September 4 by Algonquin Assassin

[MiniMadrazo]

@Algonquin Assassin for sure! I think it has to do with how good and dynamic the camera work is now, the heavy breathing when running (another feature from Part II) make encounters so intense. Crazy how this subtle improvements make a much better experience.

[The Artist]

On 9/3/2022 at 12:50 PM, Creed Bratton said:

That's what Naughty Dog said. But it doesn't mean that it's true. People are calling this a remaster for a reason. Fundamentally, it's the same game in a new or improved engine. It's the same story with the same characters, same dialogues and same levels. It is the same experience that people have already had. People usually don't like paying full price for the same experience.

Agreed. Fanboys can twist it any way they like, but at the end of the day this is just a glorified remaster. And overpriced. They could have added new levels if they were going to charge 70 for this.

[Donald Lov]

I'd probably buy this immediately if I were one of the few for whom this would be the first playthrough of the game. This is perhaps the only reason I can see to justify spending the money requested.

 

We're talking about a game that didn't need the months/years of storyboard and writing meetings; there was no need for hiring actors, mocap to set up, locations to design from scratch. Something that even the lousiest of AAA projects have to go through in order to be made these days, they didn't have to do. So how can one justify the ultimate pricing, then?

[Algonquin Assassin]

8 hours ago, MiniMadrazo said:

@Algonquin Assassin for sure! I think it has to do with how good and dynamic the camera work is now, the heavy breathing when running (another feature from Part II) make encounters so intense. Crazy how this subtle improvements make a much better experience.

I’ve been using the slo mo button in gunfights. There’s something oddly satisfying about shooting someone in the leg with a shotgun, watching them stumble and blowing their head clean off.

 

Speaking of which gore/dismemberment is a lot more visceral. I don’t know how many times I’ve sadistically smirked under my breath. It’s a little disturbing.

[MrBreak16]

Yeah I am down to get this version of the game. When I was playing The Last of Us Part II, I thought to myself "Imagine the first game with graphics and gameplay life this" and looks like I got my wish. Plus let's be honest, the original PS3 and the remastered PS4 versions of the game are a bit outdated, the game play feels very cluncky and outside of cutscenes, the graphics often look pretty outdated, especially with the lighting.