“IT NEVER LOSES SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT IT’S A VIDEO GAME, NOT A FILM” Also notable is the use of sound. The magnificent score by Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla is sparse and delicate, but a lot of the time there’s no music at all - just the ambience of your surroundings. Birds sing, insects chirp, and neglected skyscrapers creak and groan as they struggle to stay upright. Environmental audio effects also impact gameplay, allowing you to gauge the distance of enemies by sound alone.
Ellie is genuinely helpful in combat, even when she doesn’t have a weapon. If an enemy is about to creep up on you, she’ll shout out their position, giving you time to react. “Joel, to your left!” When he reluctantly gives her a pistol, she’s a crack shot, and will help you break free if an infected grabs you. She’s a smarter, more useful AI companion than BioShock Infinite’s Elizabeth. She can’t swim, though. The game regularly throws simple environmental puzzles at you to break up the action, usually involving getting Ellie across bodies of water. Joel can climb some things, but he’s no Lara Croft. His movement is weighty and realistic, and you have to use planks as makeshift platforms to cross gaps. The game isn’t afraid to slow things down, and moments of calm are common. This gives you time to admire the gorgeous world, get to know Ellie, scavenge for supplies, and learn more about the outbreak. Your post-apocalyptic road trip takes you through crumbling cities, abandoned suburbs, flooded subway tunnels, and stunning countryside. There’s a huge variety of environments here, with the mood, weather, and scenery constantly changing around you. Environments are large, detailed, and littered with secrets and optional buildings to explore. It’s a linear game, but it masks it well. The level design also complements the dynamic combat, with multiple entry points and escape routes. The art design is outstanding as well, with a striking attention to detail. From sun-dappled forests to rain-soaked city ruins, every location feels lovingly hand-crafted and drenched in atmosphere.
12 GAMER OCTOBER 2013
Exploring rewards you with crafting materials that you use to create health packs and weapons. Supplies are scarce and ammo is rare, giving the game a compelling survival aspect. Mostly they do a good job of hiding the gamier elements, but there are a few concessions. Magical pills you find scattered around allow you to upgrade things like your max health and crafting speed, while training manuals grant passive bonuses, including increasing the radius of your Molotovs. This doesn’t sit entirely well with the game’s fiction, but it isn’t too intrusive. Occasionally the game spoils its exquisite atmosphere with slightly clumsy, illusionshattering moments, like when Joel is strung upside down in a trap and inexplicably has unlimited ammo to fight back waves of infected - even though up until that point we’d been carefully conserving bullets. The level design also slips up sometimes, and you’ll know enemies are about to appear because of the sudden appearance of convenient, waist-high cover and throwable objects.