The Last Of Us isn’t for the feint-hearted and around every corner a gruesome death potentially awaits.
This is a game about survival, where those who are prepared get to live another day, and those who don’t get their throats ripped out.
To give you a helping hand, we’ve produced 20 tips to give you a helping hand. But…even with us guiding you, always be prepared for the unexpected.
Unless you’re feeling particularly brave, or suicidal, never, ever go running into an open space. Instead, use cover spots to survey an area thoroughly before proceeding.
Before you progress through an area full of enemies, cycle between your weapons and see what equipment and ammo you have available. Make a plan before you attack. For example, you might spot enemies high up on a balcony and three standing close together chatting. In this scenario, we’d chuck a nail bomb in the centre of the trio and then quickly switch to a rifle for long distance sniping. Planning will save your life.
Stay crouched often while moving as sound can be picked up by the Infected and other enemies.
Edge around corners slowly otherwise you could run smack bang into a group of infected.
Watch out for traps. There are wire traps hooked up to nail bombs scattered around alleyways and door entrances. You can shoot the bombs to clear the path. It’s often worth doing this because these areas often hide vital supplies.
Scavenge and search every nook and cranny as supplies can be hard to come by and you’ll need everything you can lay your hands on. Ammo and items to help you craft equipment such as med-kits are sparse. The best time to search an area is after you’ve cleared it, that way you won’t be disturbed. Listen out for audio clues that tell you when an area is clear.
You don’t always have to fight. Sometimes the odds seem overwhelming but bricks and bottle are littered around most areas. Chuck a bottle in the direction where you want an enemy to head and then sneak around them. Bricks are great for stunning Clickers giving you time to sneak past. Remember: as soon as you fire a gun, they’ll be onto you.
Watch behaviour patterns of enemies. Guards will patrol areas and follow a pattern allowing you to single them out and take them down silently. The Infected will do the same.
Frequently check your back-pack to see whether you can craft items. Always do this before you decide to take on the enemy as even one item can be your saviour.
Upgrade your weapons at benches. These are few and far between so always use the opportunity to upgrade. Scavenging will help you gain parts for upgrades. Our favourite upgrade is improving the reload speed of weapons, which is especially important against Runners.
When sneaking to stealth kill a human, strangling them may alert other guards nearby if you’re too close. Instead, craft Shivs from scavenged items to take out human enemies silently.
Nail Bombs and Molotov Cocktails are the perfect answer to taking out multiple enemies. Don’t waste these projectiles on single enemies. Look for enemies standing in groups and then take them out with a single throw.
As their name suggests, Runners will run at you at speed and won’t stop until they’ve torn you apart. The shotgun or upgraded melee weapon are the ideal weapons in this scenario. This is why it’s so important to have an idea of what weapons you may need and have a plan before you begin an assault or stealth manoeuvre.
There is no health regen in The Last Of Us. Once again, this is why scavenging is so important. Craft health kits whenever you can but remember it takes precious seconds to fill up your health metre again. During that time you’re vulnerable. You can always run away from enemies and find a place of solace behind cover to take your med-kit safely.
Smoke bombs are ideal for slipping past enemies but they’re not so effective against Clickers who respond to sound rather than visual stimuli.
You want to try and pick up as many items as you can, so if you discover some items won’t fit into your inventory, you should craft items with what you already have. You can then go back and pick up those items.
Early on in the game, you’ll be introduced to Joel’s swivel move where he can turn quickly at speed. You should practice this move as there’s often times where you’ll have run in the other direction. It also comes in very useful if an enemy sneaks up on you from behind.
Listen out for audio clues. You can hear the horrible clicking noise that some Infected make, or the groans echoing around an otherwise eerily silent neighbourhood. Joel and Ellie will also give you clues as to where you should head, or what’s potentially around the corner.
Switch on your torch in dark areas in order to find even more items to scavenge.
If you can’t work a way out of an area, look out for planks or ladders that will give you access to otherwise unreachable areas.