The Last of Us: Left Behind Review
I think it is easy to say that The Last of Us was the best game of the year. After winning so many awards for the game, Naughty Dog is in a streak again. It must have been difficult to match what we come to expect for the first ever story DLC for Naughty Dog. Story has always been the bread and butter for Naughty Dog and this time they have proven why they are some of the best developers around. The Last of Us: Left Behind is the culmination of Naughty Dog’s work for The Last of Us. Left Behind is somber, thrilling, and a bit emotional journey that gives us more of an insight about who Ellie is. What we have seen in the trailers is just half of the story, which to ruin it now would ruin the surprise. I would just say that it does nothing to devalue what we have learned about Ellie in the original game, in fact Left Behind makes her an even better character than before. It is required to complete The Last of Us before jumping into Left Behind, with that in mind, I will not be spoiling both The Last of Us and Left Behind.
LEARN FROM THE PAST
It is stunning to see a DLC this polish. The game looks just as amazing as it does in the base game. There is weird hair movement and a disappearing object, but nothing to ruin the experience or break the game. The Last of Us has some of the best presentation the last console generation, and Left Behind is no different. While there are only two main characters in this DLC, Ashley Johnson, and newcomer to the series Yaani King, they both deliver excellent performances. It is just like playing a lost chapter of The Last of Us saga. In fact, you can easily play this DLC alongside The Last of Us and not miss a beat. There was one thing that irked me about this DLC is that, just like the base game, Ellie cannot take much a beating. In the original game, I understood the story beat, and what needed to happen. When it came to the story, it was a fantastic beat, playing that section however was not as much fun. It only takes a few shots to bring her down. Even on normal on the base game, the winter section felt there was a difficulty spike in the game. Left Behind does it again. It was my only gripe in the original base game, and it is my only gripe in Left Behind. It is a bit nitpicking, but it goes to show just how excellent this DLC is. Thankfully, in the 2 hours it takes to complete this, you are not in danger that often. Something does change the combat dynamic, but it happens in the final act. If Naughty Dog ever makes a Last of Us 2, this is something that has to be in the game. Story rules here, and the story is excellent. Not only do we learn more about Ellie, we learn more about her friend Riley. Much like Ellie in the base game if Riley were not a great strong character, this DLC would have fallen apart.
GRIM BRIGHT FUTURE
Without revealing too much of The Last of Us: Left Behind. Naughty Dog is a winning streak when it comes to the last generation of games. From Uncharted to Left Behind, Naughty Dog is showing to other developers what happens when you trust your fans, your developers, and your games. For being their first story DLC, it puts other story DLCs to shame. While others like to add epilogues to their games, Naughty Dog creates a prologue that does not damper the original release. If you have the Season Pass, you would be wise to download and play it. If not, the 14.99 maybe steep for some even when there is no upgrades whatsoever; it should not deter you away on playing a DLC masterpiece that Naughty Dog has created.
