Sending the player into an emotional rollercoaster, “The Last of Us” excites with an wonderful story. The events can be good but when the player least expects it, it suddenly crashes down and impacts the characters in many ways.

Joel (the protagonist) is a man that has lost a lot in a span of 20 years, and does everything he can to survive whether it involves killing or “smuggling” in an environment in which civilization has fallen apart. The “Cordyceps” fungus has affected human beings and turned them into these frightening and deadly creatures. For those that don’t know, Cordyceps is a fungus that actually exists but only affects insects. It is terrifying to see their transformation and once it is done it controls the insect to do as it wants. It is more or less like a parasite.

This game basically portrays what would happen if Cordyceps could really affect human beings. In hopes of finding the cure, “Fireflies” desperately search for anything that can lead them to such a cure and rebuild civilization as it was before. Joel is taken by Tess to kill Robert, a man who basically backstabbed them and tried to kill them. Robert also happens to owe them weapons. In the process, they bump into Marlene, “Queen” of the Fireflies, who is not happy to see what they have done to Robert. She assigns them a mission, to “smuggle” something to the other Fireflies that are affiliated with her.

After following her they find that what they have to smuggle is a girl. Joel refuses, but Tess convinces him, assuring him that they’ll be getting their weapons once the job is done. Unfortunately, things happen along the way, and Joel has nothing but Ellie to help him along this journey.

This is what the game is known so much for and is a huge reason that defines this game as a masterpiece. When Joel first meets Ellie, he is mean and careless about her. However, they have no choice but to stick together and get to know each other. As the story progresses, Joel starts to get attached to her and gets to the point in which he will do absolutely anything to keep Ellie safe.

The story is amazing it is jaw-dropping and might even cause the player to shed a tear or two. It is truly an amazing experience. The way the characters are will more than likely cause the player to become attached and get used to them, perhaps understand their actions. When the player witnesses something happening to the characters, he or she will truly feel some sort of emotional pain. When it ends, the players are not going to believe it, they’re going to want more, deny that it is over, and will most likely end up playing it all over again hoping that Naughty Dog releases a sequel.

As far as the gameplay goes, the environment is amazing, the graphics are very detailed and beautiful. It isn’t so hard to play, the controls are very easy to get used to. The crafting system works flawlessly when it comes to making smoke bombs, molotovs, or even a medic kit.

The combat system is quite interesting because there are different ways to harm your foes, there is close combat, and there is combat from a distance that includes guns or bow and arrows.

Be warned because ammo is very scarce in this game. The players are going to have to use it wisely, they might even find themselves restarting from a checkpoint after missing a single shot or full magazine of ammo. The blood and gore is quite gruesome. When the player hears or sees these “clickers”, the sound will undoubtedly terrify them. When they approach Joel, the player better make sure he has a gun, good aim, or a pipe because otherwise… he’s going to die. The player should keep in mind that clickers cause an instant death once they get a hold of Joel.

The boss fights aren’t really what the player would expect boss fights to be. They’re extremely easy to take down if weaknesses are figured out. Naughty Dog should’ve made the bosses a little more challenging for the player but who knows, perhaps we may see this in a future sequel.  When it comes to objects that can be used as weapons, they have a certain durability. As the game goes along, the player may or may not stumble across these survival magazine pieces that will help Joel enhance the durability of certain objects.

There is one flaw however, sometimes the partner AI may just wander off right in front of your foe’s face. It can become quite annoying, but the only good thing about it is that foes will only spot Joel and not the partner AI.

Aside from these very small flaws, this game is perfection. It is definitely a must buy. Gamers will not regret buying this game because it is perhaps the best game in the history of gaming. It is believed by many that this game should be in the home of any PS4 or PS3 gamer. This game gets a superb rating of a 10 out of 10.

By Robert Jacquez