The Last of Us Part 1

Breakthrough is how I would describe The Last of Us, the 2013 semi-survival shooter from Naughty Dog that initially came out for the PlayStation 3. It’s a breakthrough not only because of its evident quality in the performances and the writing, but because these vast elements fit into the very narrow scope of the PS3’s technical ability. The game fought hard to barely maintain a stable 30 frames, and these limitations meant that the facial animations and character models were “good enough”, but never on the same level as the performances underneath. 

One of the most interesting aspects of The Last of Us Part I, the remake of the original PS3 game, is what the updated character models add to the already great performances given by the games mocap actors. Take Joel as an example. His PS3 model looks like Gerard Butler is trying to play Hugh Jackman in a movie. His appearance gives off the persona of an action hero, and only once the player begins to see the world through his eyes, does this persona melt away into a real man full of real pain that we the player share with him. His character model gives an expectation for what this character should act like, and the writing of his character goes against those preconceived notions. What this remake allows us to do is have our Spider-Man moment, where much like Peter Parker waking up to find out his eyesight has been fixed by a spider, our nostalgia glasses for the original now look blurry before the visual clarity that the remake provides. Joel now sports bags under his eyes, and an overall more gruff, hollowed out look not normally befitting the action hero comparison from earlier. This remake gives us an opportunity to view this story and this character as the page, rather than the technical limitations of the PS3, dictates.

Tess is a really great example of what happens when you put all these teraflops to good use. Her original character model looks quite normal, and so that tone setter of “normal” colors her performance in a similar light to Mariam from Raiders of the Lost Ark, someone that’s kind of a love interest, and also someone that can probably outdrink you in a Tibetan bar any day of the week. The remake totally tears down any semblance of that “normal” with Tess’s updated model. She looks worn, she looks her age, and more importantly, she looks like she’s been surviving in this nightmare for twenty years. Her calm and collected nature stands juxtaposed to her appearance, giving you some real insight into what she has had to do to survive, and what that in turn has done to her.

The real standout of this visual upgrade though has to be Bill. Bill in the original Last of Us looked greasy and insane, a lot like a fat ‘Psycho Sam’ from Hunt for the Wilderpeople. The remake completely changes all of this characterization just from a change in visuals. Take this moment from his section of the game where you need to collect a car battery. When Bill finds out there is no car battery, his greasy demeanor makes his performance and delivery come off as confused but mostly angry, but in remake, thanks to this new Bill that it feels like we are meeting for the first time, his delivery is bewildered and scared. It’s the exact same performance with the same vocal cadence, nothing has changed, but simply by updating the visuals lends him an entirely additional layer of endearment.

These characters all initially came across visually as more archetypal than their written characterization and depth portrayed: Joel as action man, Tess as a cool and collected partner in crime, and Bill as a greasy weirdo. But with these visuals, with this fresh coat of paint, gone is the first impression of somebody else, and front and center are these flawed, broken, and beautiful characters.