The Last Of Us: Part 1 | Fleeing Boston with stealth takedowns and stray bullets

Gameplay Part 1

In a ravaged civilization, where infected and hardened survivors run rampant, Joel, a weary protagonist, is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie out of a military quarantine zone. However, what starts as a small job soon transforms into a brutal cross-country journey.

In this playthrough we cover:

Chapter 1: Hometown:
Set in Austin, Texas in 2013, the prologue introduces Joel Miller, a single father, and his 12-year-old daughter, Sarah. The section opens with a quiet birthday evening before chaos erupts as a deadly cordyceps brain infection begins spreading rapidly across the U.S., turning people into aggressive, zombie-like creatures. Sarah wakes in the middle of the night to an unfolding crisis and is eventually picked up by Joel and his brother Tommy. As they attempt to flee the collapsing city, their truck is struck, leading to an intense on-foot escape through burning streets and panicked civilians. The prologue ends in tragedy when a soldier, following military orders, shoots at Joel and Sarah despite their pleas. Sarah dies in Joel’s arms — a traumatic loss that shapes his hardened, emotionally closed-off persona throughout the game.

Chapter 2: The Quarantine Zone:
Twenty years later, Joel is now living in a Boston Quarantine Zone run by a brutal military regime. Hardened and jaded, he works as a smuggler with his partner, Tess. The city is under martial law, patrolled by FEDRA soldiers who enforce curfews and punish dissent harshly. The chapter follows Joel and Tess as they track down Robert, a fellow smuggler who double-crossed them by selling off a weapons cache. After confronting and killing Robert, they are approached by Marlene, leader of the Fireflies — a rebel militia fighting against FEDRA’s oppression. Marlene offers to return the stolen weapons if Joel and Tess agree to smuggle a teenage girl named Ellie out of the city. Reluctantly, they accept. The section ends with the revelation that Ellie is infected, yet asymptomatic, making her potentially key to developing a cure — a discovery that sets the game’s central journey in motion.

Chapter 3: The Outskirts:
Joel, Tess, and Ellie begin their escape through the abandoned areas of Boston under cover of night. This chapter showcases the game’s stealth and combat systems, as the group moves through crumbling buildings, sewers, and overgrown streets infested with infected. Players encounter Runners and Clickers for the first time — the latter being blind enemies that track by sound, adding tension and strategic decision-making to the gameplay. Environmental storytelling is rich throughout: collapsed skyscrapers, mold-covered interiors, and remnants of civilian life reinforce the game’s post-apocalyptic setting. Along the way, Tess becomes more invested in Ellie’s importance, while Joel remains distant. The chapter concludes at the Capitol Building, the designated rendezvous point with the Fireflies — but instead, they find the Firefly team dead. In the fallout, Tess reveals she’s been bitten and chooses to sacrifice herself to hold off arriving FEDRA soldiers so Joel and Ellie can escape. Her death marks a turning point for Joel, who must now take responsibility for Ellie’s safety and begin the long journey ahead.

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