*Editors note: The following review contains spoilers as well as information that, while not correct, can be a spoiler.*

The Last of Us

Ah, zombies.

Zombies have been popular since the monster movies of the 1920s (if you’ve never seen Nosferatu or the original King Kong, I highly recommend you watch both. And then go on and watch all the other monster movies you can find, from before the Breen Code made horror movies go the way of The Blob.)

It’s always refreshing to see zombies treated in new and unusual ways. Yes, it can be argued that the “clickers” in The Last of Us aren’t real zombies. But they are formerly humans who have been infected with a virus and try to spread said virus by killing those humans that haven’t yet been infected. That’s pretty much the definition of zombie.

In all corners of pop culture, zombie viruses are pretty gruesome, but TLoU infection was especially horrifying. A coral-like creature growing out of your body? *Shudder*.

But the militia members were equally as scary. They can catch you more easily than the clickers can, and their methods of killing are just as grisly as the clickers’.

I didn’t see enough of the game play to follow the whole story. I understand the basic plot. Joel lost his family when the virus was in its early stages. Twenty years later, he is recruited (asked? I’m not sure) to escort Ellie to a lab in Salt Lake City. Ellie was infected with the virus, but didn’t become a clicker. The survivors assume that she can be used as a way to help cure the infection.

Their journey across the country reminded me of the show Revolution. They have to travel by foot, fighting not just the clickers but a militia. (For those of you who haven’t seen Revolution, technology no longer works, and the main group of people have to travel across the country by foot, and they have to fight a militia as well. But there are no zombies.)

Like I said, I didn’t see a lot of the game play. I know a lot of it was being stealthy, so the clickers and the militia don’t find you. You also have to be crafty, using things you find on the ground as weapons (like bricks and shivs). I liked how the POV switched from Joel to Ellie in parts. I’m a big fan of kick-ass ladies as the lead characters.

The ending was depressing. [spoiler] Joel and Ellie made their way to Salt Lake City only to find out that all efforts towards finding a cure had been stopped. The world had given up, had capitulated to the clickers.[/spoiler] The game was not what I expected, and I like being surprised.

Disclaimer
Girlfriend Review is not an official review. It is intended as an entertaining look into the perception of a game by an outsider.