The Last of Us Review Scores Venture into Uncharted Territory

We’ve played The Last of Us, and it’s absolutely incredible. Keeping a lid on this game – which we’ve been in possession of for a while – has been difficult, but now we can finally spill our guts on what’s shaping up to be one of the strongest titles of the generation. If you haven’t already read our review – and you really should – point your peepers through here to find out why we think that it represents a “watershed moment for the medium”.

But don’t just take our word for it. Praise has been raining in for Naughty Dog’s latest opus all over the Internet, and we’ve collated a handful of the summaries for your reading enjoyment below. Regardless of scores, we think that there’s one thing that reviewers can definitely agree on: that this is a very special game.

Push Square - 10/10

An assured, touching, and engrossing adventure, The Last of Us represents a watershed moment for the medium. The unlikely bond that blossoms between the title’s two lead characters is both heartrending and poignantly paced – but the release delivers much more than captivating cinematics. This is a meaty slice of survival action that masterfully depicts the horrors of life in a post-pandemic setting. The conclusion may feel a little hurried, and the multiplayer somewhat surplus to requirements, but this is still an essential tale of survival that will consume you quicker than a cloud of contaminated spores.

Eurogamer.net - 10/10

At a time when blockbuster action games are sinking into a mire of desperate overproduction, shallow gameplay and broken narrative logic, The Last of Us is a deeply impressive demonstration of how it can and should be done. It starts out safe but ends brave; it has heart and grit, and it hangs together beautifully. And it's a real video game, too. An elegy for a dying world, The Last of Us is also a beacon of hope for its genre.

EDGE - 10/10

The Last Of Us strips away the geek-centric fan service so commonplace in contemporary games. For every highbrow idea explored, developers seem compelled to throw in a lowbrow one to counterbalance it. The Last Of Us resists such compromises, and does so without disappearing up its own backside. Naughty Dog has delivered the most riveting, emotionally resonant story-driven epic of this console generation. At times it’s easy to feel like big-budget development has too much on the line to allow stubbornly artful ideas to flourish, but then a game like The Last Of Us emerges through the crumbled blacktop like a climbing vine, green as a burnished emerald.

IGN - 10/10

Its unrivaled presentation in particular sets the bar even higher than the Uncharted trilogy already did, and its writing, voice acting and layered gameplay combine to create what is very easily the game to beat for Game of the Year 2013.

GameSpot - 8/10

Thrust in a lawless world, you feel the ache of a society gone to seed. The Last of Us stretches on for hours, forcing you to endure the suffocating atmosphere and unrelenting despair that citizens of this world have become accustomed to. And that time spent navigating the desolate wasteland draws you deeper inside. You read letters from people who have long since disappeared, meet groups who have created a rickety social structure to help them survive life's many threats. Most important of all, you watch Ellie grow. From feisty warmth to beleaguered exhaustion, her many moods are always twinged with a grounded levity. Her uplifting nature stands in sharp contrast to the people and events surrounding her, compelling you to protect her, shepherd her, and cherish her. The Last of Us is a singular adventure that looks the downfall of humanity in the eyes and doesn't blink.

Are you planning to pick up The Last of Us now that you've seen these reviews? Was the game already on your radar anyway? Let us know in the comments section below.