The Last of Us

The player controls Joel from a third-person perspective. Ellie can also be controlled by herself for some extensive parts in the later chapters. Gameplay combines action elements, exploration, and puzzle-solving. Joel is however not as strong or acrobatic and he often needs to use ladders, planks, and other items to climb and get around.

More can be achieved through stealth. Joel is able to duck and sneak around at various speeds, and he can activate a hearing sense that allows him to vaguely see and hear silhouettes through walls based on sounds. By sneaking up on an enemy, it can be taken out through strangling, a quick kill with a shiv, or another type of takedown.

Progress through the story and the environment is entirely linear, but there is some focus on exploration along with small optional areas. The city is almost entirely destroyed and the characters move through the debris and abandoned houses, but there are also parts where nature has taken back the environment and lush scenery outside the city.

Multiplayer is called Factions with matches for up to eight players simultaneously. In the beginning, the player chooses between the Hunters of Fireflies factions with a custom character. The story consists of a light narrative that frames the various encounters, as the aim is to help a clan grow and survive.

Players are organized in clans, but these can also be populated with friends' names through a Facebook connection. While playing various status updates about the members are shown, as they are sent out to fight, locate supplies, etc. Multiplayer progresses by one day at a time by playing matches in one of the two game modes: Supply Raid and Survivors.

Progress through the single-player story and the environment is entirely linear, but there is some focus on exploration along with small optional areas. The city is almost entirely destroyed and the characters move through the debris and abandoned houses, but there are also parts where nature has taken back the environment and lush scenery outside the city.

Supply is limited, so the player has to choose between offensive and defensive means. At workbenches gears, bolts, and other metals are used to improve the characteristics of weapons such as firing rate, reloading speed, weapon sway, and ammo capacity. The full range of upgrades only becomes available when up to five levels of tool skills have been unlocked.

Abilities can also be upgraded by locating training manuals. Ellie and other AI companions are controlled automatically and can never be detected or hurt by opponents, except for a few specific sequences. There is a lot of focus on conversations along the way, as well as the relationship between the characters.