Since last Friday, not without problems for downloading during the first hours, the The Last of Us demo accessible from God of War: Ascension.
In the header you have a video where you can the full demo, but if you don't want to gut so much, in MVJ we have played it thoroughly, giving it several laps and we will tell you what we found, free of any kind of spoilers.
The demo places us in the rainy phase in which we must enter a building in ruins and at risk of collapse. It could already be seen at PAX and it is true that it is not a section that enters through the eyes or stands out artistically, quite the opposite. That does not mean, on the other hand, that the title laps in the graphic; technically it is very solid and, although at this point it is no longer surprising, the work on it is impeccable.
In addition, the playable stretch is excessively short and does not allow us to exploit the benefits of crafting or improvement of weapons and / or the character himself. We could say that it is a demonstration that will hardly sell the game to an undecided person but that will reassure those who, like a server, are eagerly awaiting this new Naughty Dog title.
And it will reassure because in the playable the title is a delight. Fluid, solid and natural is how we could define Joel's control in any situation, both in hand-to-hand combat and in gunfights. The only downside that I find in this regard is that the new "contextual" way in which the character adapts to coverage may be behind what was seen in Tomb Raider in terms of comfort and agility.
Of course, as they have repeated from ND regularly, we must face this TLOU leaving well behind what was seen in the Uncharted saga since Joel won't have Nathan's feline agility and he will be a somewhat more "human" character in this aspect, limiting himself to acrobatic jumps, runaway sprints, having a heavier and "human" control, etc. In addition, something logical and that is breathed from the first trailer a much more mature and decadent environment That has little to do with the comic action of the saga of the charismatic explorer.
And this is where, despite the demo, a server continues with its doubts and reluctance. The work shown by Naughty Dog in technical matters, sound (the dubbing into Spanish is more than remarkable, with the exception that, perhaps, Joel would have needed a more shabby voice than Lorenzo Beteta's) and I think it's out of the box. of all doubt. Also, a greater playable depth compared to the too simple and linear Uncharted is more than welcome. But all this will be driven by a storyline in which, I hope, the Santa Monica company knows how to measure up.
Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter or Uncharted are titles of direct fun, with simple and very comic-oriented arguments, extremely similar to each other and that at no time attract attention or surprise for being something "new" or different from what is stereotyped in their genders. And that's when I think this TLOU could fit ND a bit big for being the first great foray into a genre, as I said, deeper, adult and supported by the story it is intended to tell.
The starting point, with the close relationship between Ellie and Joel, does not look bad in any way despite the fact that it falls into the hackneyed cliché. And that is where, I hope, do not get carried away and we end up seeing the umpteenth traced argument. Soy Leyenda, La Carretera, certain sections of The Walking Dead comic and many other works that have represented different post-apocalyptic environments and close relationships between a "protective" character and another protected and helpless character have ended up going the same way. I cross my fingers that I don't pull on the hackneyed cliché and the game doesn't end in the way I've thought since the game was announced almost two years ago.
In short, we are facing the great litmus test for Naughty Dog. Will they succeed in a project so different from what has been done to date? Will Joel and Ellie have a story that lives up to the rest of the sections? The Last of Us may be one of the games of the generation and the definitive consecration of the studio. Cross our fingers.
More information - TLOU in MVJ