As you can see, there is no video. SURPRISE! I figured that I would give the classic written stuff another go for this time.
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As many may know from my video review last year, The Last of Us was incredible for me. I loved everything from its exhilarating opening, to its bitter ending. Not only was it the best acting, story, environmental narrative driving story that I have ever seen since Bioshock, but I really dug its brutality and atmospheric simulation feel.
So did it really surprise me that Naughty Dog has once again made me its bitch? No—not really.
Many story based DLC packs had great ideas on paper, but the short creation time usually hinders its overall outcome. Now, Naught Dog as far as I know has never released story based DLC and that really did not worry me. Because Left Behind was obviously shown the same attention, love, and care that their main games get and it shows from the very beginning. Left Behind serves as a prologue to the main story with Ellie and her friend Riley going out for a good time in the Boston QZ. Now, if you already beat the game then you know what happens and why. If not, THEN DO NOT PLAY THIS DLC FIRST!!!!
The game time jumps from moment to moment to the past and present during the Winter time in the main game. What is going on in the Winter? I won’t spoil that for those of you who have not played, and yadda yadda. If you have played, then you know what happened in Colorado.
The DLC still showcases a beautiful game with Naughty Dogs ludicrous attention to detail and sound design, I got so sucked in that I started to shiver during the cold moments. Not kidding! The gameplay features a new dynamic, the infected are now mixed in with the Humans and you can use them to kill off the Humans, or vice versa if they have the numbers. While that new dynamic is a great addition, the overall feel of the combat is forced. You have no idea why the Human guys are there other than to serve the new idea. There is really no reason they are there at all other than cause reasons…
The infected would have been find by itself, but the Human guys are just there.
Anywho, when you back in the main attraction with the girls. You will get the feeling that they have a history, their dialogue is natural, very well acted and even humorous. Exploring every cranny together reveals many options for speaking, and you even get to take some pictures together.
We may know how it all ends, but it is the road to that moment that counts and it certainly is effective. Short it may be, as well as overpriced. But the quality is fantastic, and it serves as an essential plot point to the main game.
SCORE: 5 out of 5