Can you play The Last of Us without any prior experience playing video games? Yes. Yes, you can.

So, you’ve just watched the first episode of The Last of Us and want to start playing the game; Excellent! I started playing TLOU about a year ago ready for the release of the TV series and I have found it a challenging experience. A lot of this was down to the fact I don’t have much experience when it comes to playing video games. I’m only used to games such as The Sims, Lego games and Mario Kart. So, buying a PS4 and a bunch of games was a bit of a risk; but it paid off.

I threw myself into the deep end and started playing TLOU as soon as my PS4 arrived, and I struggled tremendously. After playing the game for about an hour I was ready to give up. I immediately changed the difficulty from light to very light but still struggled. I didn’t want to give up as I’d wanted to play this game for years and was determined to push my way through and I knew it would get easier with time. After many hours of shouting and swearing at the TV and being on the verge of throwing my controller across the room, I’m only one chapter away from finishing the game (it’s something I’m actually quite proud of).

But I wouldn’t have gotten this far through the game without a few tips that I picked up myself, advice given to me by friends and just a teeny, little bit of cheating. Yes, I will admit I Googled elements of certain chapters as I really could not figure out how to get through them. I could never find the bloody wooden pallets for Ellie to get across the water!

So, here it is! My list of tips/advice that you may find useful or maybe you won’t, who knows! Just because it worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for you but it’s worth a shot!

• Stealth. This was the main piece of advice a friend gave to me that I used throughout every single part of the game. I had a habit of forgetting to use it and gave my position away on countless occasions. But using stealth means you can get past clickers undetected (most of the time you can) and sneak up on runners to attack them before they detect you. Sometimes (if you plan it right) you can go through a room (or rooms) full of clickers and not have to kill any of them! All of this comes with planning (point number 3). To use stealth, you need to crouch (circle button) and use the toggle to start moving wherever need to go

• Joel’s focused hearing. This is one the first things you’re taught in the game and it’s the one thing I always do every time I’m about to go into a new room and it’s a handy little trick. By holding down R2 (R1 in the remastered version), Joel crouches down and focuses his hearing to see if he can hear any clickers/runners/humans. The screen goes to black and white, and any figures present are outlined in white (you can usually tell what’s what by the shapes and sound. See image below). This makes it easier to move around and avoid whatever’s there or to take them out. Joel’s focused hearing and stealth work well together but it all works even better with planning!

• Plan. Planning has made it so much easier to get through an area. Sometimes I’ve gotten through on the first try (hooray!) but not without planning. I used to just dive straight into a room and take out whatever was charging straight towards me. Okay, a bit of a white lie. Basically, I would panic, freeze, and then die instantly. This was when I realised that the game wasn’t a race, and I could take my time and think things through. Using stealth and Joel’s focused hearing, I would analyse my surroundings, and try and figure out the movement of the clickers and runners [a clicker would make the same journey. They might leave a room, walk up a corridor and then head back] and go from there. Sometimes you’re lucky and you make it through without being caught. Or, if you’re like me, you get so engrossed in trying to make it out alive and not get caught that you actually end up getting caught and die. My advice for this is if you believe you are in a safe place, go through the process of using Stealth and Joel’s hearing to make it the rest of the way. It will literally save your life.

• Look round the rooms. This isn’t something you necessarily need to do but I would highly recommend doing this above all else. Now, some people take the view of just completing the game as quickly as possible which is fine, however, for the inexperienced, it is definitely worth looking around to find ammo, weapons, supplies to make health kits, gears [to upgrade weapons] and basically whatever else is available. The best way to look around is once you’ve cleared a room or the floor of a building. This makes it easier for you as you won’t be ambushed or attacked unexpectedly. Check everywhere. Drawers, cupboards, floors, shelves and even outside in the grass. You never know what’s hiding in the surroundings.

• Craft shivs and health kits. Shivs are one of the main and probably the easiest ways to take down a clicker. As for med kits, they are your best friends in this game. You will go through a lot of them. To craft both shivs and med kits, you will need to use the items that you have collected. A shiv can be created by using a binding and a blade. A health kit can be created by using a rag and alcohol. The max you can keep at a time is 3 of each. It’s best to keep stocked up on shivs and health kits as you never know when you’re going to need them. What I usually do is once I’ve used one of those items, I’ll then make a new one (if I have enough supplies). Shivs and health kits can also be found pre-made around the game, but I try not to rely on finding them as there’s no guarantee there’ll be one there when you need it. To craft a shiv or health kit press the touchpad which will take you to the contents of your backpack (see the image below).

• Cheat if you have to. I’ve never mentioned to anybody that I’ve cheated on this game as I’m not sure what they would make of it. When I say I’ve cheated, all I’ve really done is look online at a step-by-step play-through of the chapter I’m stuck on (especially if it’s one I’ve replayed about 10 times over). In the early days, I did this a lot, but I stopped relying on it eventually. But don’t be ashamed to look stuff up and cheat a bit if you’re really struggling. Being frustrated at not completing a chapter or part of one can put you off trying to finish the game, and this is a game you’re going to want to complete!

• Sprint. Even as I’m nearing the end of the game, I still forget to sprint and just casually run away when being chased. It’s not necessarily the first thing you would instantly think to do when being chased by a runner; you just want to get out of there. But sprinting can give you a much better chance of survival and not getting caught. It’s something you’re really going to want to remember when you come across a generator in the basement of the hotel. To sprint, hold L1 and use the toggle to move.

• Finally. How to take down a bloater. So I had to Google this as I must have died a thousand times (slight exaggeration) trying to kill the one in the school gym. It was a nightmare, and I kept forgetting to sprint out of its way. What did the internet advise me? Throw a Molotov cocktail at the bloater (this can be crafted with the same items as a health kit or they can be found already made). Aim and throw the Molotov at the bloater. This will slow them down and stun them. The next thing to do is use the shotgun to kill it. This is the most effective way to do so. Later on, you’ll come across a flamethrower which is also just as effective.

I really hope you find these tips helpful. When it comes to TLOU, take any advice you can get for a more stress-free experience. To be honest, with the number of clickers you’re going to come across, it’s not going to be stress-free at all. The noise alone is enough to put you on edge. Enjoy!

The Last of Us can be bought on PS4 and PS5