SINGAPORE — The Last Of Us, the survival-action game by developers Naughty Dog, is a PlayStation-exclusive game that has won numerous accolades since it was released in June last year for the PlayStation 3 (PS3). A remastered version for Sony’s latest console, the PlayStation 4 (PS4), has been released, and The Last Of Us Remastered brings back the same award-winning story but with graphics fit for next-generation consoles.

If you haven’t had a go at the game and have (or are thinking of buying a) PS4, suffice to say that this game is a must buy. The game — which looked great on the PS3 — looks absolutely wonderful on the PS4, with a boosts in resolution and framerate to boot. It’s an all-round improvement, with the core story and gameplay from the PS3 version — that we loved — still intact.

The Last Of Us is a third-person shooter that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where pockets of humans survive after a mysterious fungal disease rapidly took over the Earth. You play as Joel twenty years after the world was infected, and now he’s tasked with delivering a teenager named Ellie — and she might be the key to save mankind.

The main bulk of the game will have you taking on the infected: Humans who have been converted into a zombie-like state. But those aren’t your only enemies, as hostile military forces and other humans fighting for their own survival also prove to be stumbling blocks to you completing your quest.

Combat thus requires to change up your tactics depending on your enemies, from humans that try to flank you to “Clicker” zombies that only attack you if they hear you. Ammo and other materials are scarce, meaning that you have to adapt to what you’re left with — and you are given the choice to go out guns blazing or eschew violence by sticking to the shadows. Rags and alcohol can be fashioned into healing kits or Molotov cocktails, so you will have to make the right choices when employing your resources. That said, combat can get a bit repetitive by the end of the game, but there are some amazing set pieces that are extremely creative, and more importantly — it’s the narrative that truly drives the game forward.

The Last of Us hooks you right from the start with one of the most gut wrenching opening sequences in a game. Joel’s huge personal tragedy in the introduction acts as a counterpoint to the rest of the game, and adds further significance to his interactions with Ellie. It is this relationship between the two main characters that elevates the game to a whole new level, as you watch them open up to each other in cut scenes and moments of dialogue that really allows you to sympathise with them. All this is amazingly voice acted, and whatever happens in the game has a true emotional resonance.

The Last of Us is truly a masterpiece and rates as one of the best games we’ve played. It is a painful story that can leave you in tears, but the emotional connection to the characters is something no gamer should miss. Naughty Dog have shown themselves as one of the finest game developers on the planet by giving us a truly marvellous title that will remain etched in our memory for decades to come.

If you’ve already experienced it on the PS3 it might be hard to justify paying the full price again for an “upgraded” game, even if the visuals are stellar — but that said I know more than a few friends who are playing the remastered version even though they’ve completed the PS3 version. And beyond the amazing new graphics there is a new difficulty level (Grounded), and the Left Behind DLC from the PS3 version is included right away. For fans there’s a new documentary about the making of the game, and there’s also a new camera mode that provides a great way to record shots and videos from any angle during a scene. Whether you should double dip depends on how much you loved the game — but for first-timers this shouldn’t be missed.

Game rating: M18

Price: S$59.90, or download it for S$53.90. A PlayStation 4 bundle with The Last Of Us Remastered retails at S$659.

Platform: PlayStation 4

Rating: 5/5