LOVE THE LAST OF US. Got it on release for PS3 and PS4. Still my favorite game.

Mine, too.

I'd love to know your thoughts on it afterwards. Kermit and I fanboy-ed about it together (before I shareplayed it with him and he destroyed my saves, of course), but it'd be nice to get some more opinions on it.

I got it for Christmas, started it recently and wasn't very impressed. Feels like a mix between splinter cell and half-life that doesn't let you actually play half as much as either of those two. I only just got out of the city (soon after the 'secret' about the little girl is revealed) and had to stop because I was so bored.

The presentation is nice - I'll give it that - but is the actual game here worth playing? Does it get better soon? Am I just too used to shooters to appreciate this game? Was it hyped too much?

Things are about to get real. You're just getting started. One of the best things about the game is the pacing. Don't expect an action movie, although there is a lot more action than you've seen so far. The game is really about a developing relationship, and it's one of the few games I've ever played that succeeds in portraying actual character development (in spades). The gameplay is not secondary--it's crucial for upping the tension, but the whole package, especially once you've finished the journey is extraordinary.

I got it for Christmas, started it recently and wasn't very impressed. Feels like a mix between splinter cell and half-life that doesn't let you actually play half as much as either of those two. I only just got out of the city (soon after the 'secret' about the little girl is revealed) and had to stop because I was so bored.

The presentation is nice - I'll give it that - but is the actual game here worth playing? Does it get better soon? Am I just too used to shooters to appreciate this game? Was it hyped too much?

That... sort of depends on what you're expecting out of the gameplay. It's almost always very slow and methodological.

It's possible that the upcoming gameplay with infected will pick up your interest. If it doesn't, you might wind up hating the next 5-10 hours, because the pacing is awful early on. It's like they had a lot of good ideas for the tail end of the first act, but wanted to do them all, resulting in the narrative having a tremendous worldbuilding flatline.

I got it for Christmas, started it recently and wasn't very impressed. Feels like a mix between splinter cell and half-life that doesn't let you actually play half as much as either of those two. I only just got out of the city (soon after the 'secret' about the little girl is revealed) and had to stop because I was so bored.

Every time I play the game (ninth playthrough now), the first part does feel annoyingly slow, but that's more because I know what comes after (something about rain scenes at night in games always drains me).

From where you are, the game definitely picks up in pace, but ultimately it's a slow, stealth-based tactical shooter, because you're not drowning in ammo all the time. But you really should play it more for the story than the desire to shoot stuff dead. Heck, I've gotten through a huge chunk of the game without ever firing a bullet, because I see rooms as puzzles rather than battlefields, and that's my favorite type of game (Played through every Metal Gear multiple times because of that).

If you want my advice, bump the difficulty up a notch or two. You really gain an appreciation for skill and situational awareness, because the game dumps the forgiving nature of Normal difficulty real quick.

The presentation is nice - I'll give it that - but is the actual game here worth playing? Does it get better soon? Am I just too used to shooters to appreciate this game? Was it hyped too much?

The problem with hyping this game is that people go in expecting Michael Bay spectacle, or Game of Thrones-tier drama... But it's more of a great book that gives you a moment of pause when you finish the last page, and you don't know what to do afterwards...

But it's definitely worth the ride, even if methodical gameplay isn't your thing.

PS. Multiplayer is really, really good too... but again, slow and methodical. Every encounter is terrifying, painful, and meaningful...

The presentation is nice - I'll give it that - but is the actual game here worth playing? Does it get better soon? Am I just too used to shooters to appreciate this game? Was it hyped too much?

Yes. It is totally worth it. You kind of picked up on the one thing I'd fault it for, and that's the slow introduction to the game. After a while, things open up, and it's fun, tense, and just all around great.

It's also not really a shooter. It's more of a survival type. Don't play it like Gears of War.

I got it for Christmas, started it recently and wasn't very impressed. Feels like a mix between splinter cell and half-life that doesn't let you actually play half as much as either of those two. I only just got out of the city (soon after the 'secret' about the little girl is revealed) and had to stop because I was so bored.

The presentation is nice - I'll give it that - but is the actual game here worth playing? Does it get better soon? Am I just too used to shooters to appreciate this game? Was it hyped too much?

My first time playing TLOU, I found the gameplay underwhelming. I was gripped by the story, so I stuck with it, but I struggled with the gameplay almost the whole way through.

Then I played it again on the highest difficulty level... WOW.

Here's the thing: TLoU is a STEALTH game. It has guns, and encourages you to use them, much to the game's detriment. The gun play is not particularly fun or satisfying. But as a stealth game, it is mechanically incredible.

The great thing about playing on the higher difficulty levels is that it forces you to approach it as a stealth game. You get almost no ammo and take so much damage that full-on combat just isn't an option. Plus they remove the "listen" mode which adds an insane amount of tension to the game.

I've now played through the game start to finish 5 times, and every single playthrough has been a powerful and moving experience. My favorite game of all time, by a long shot.