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After the devastating prologue,The Last of Us Part 1will jump ahead twenty years. Joel is a smuggler living in the Boston Quarantine Zone, currently controlled by FEDRA and the United States Military. In the opening cutscene,Joel will meet with his smuggling partner Tess, who will rope Joel into going after someone named Robert, beginning the adventure in Naughty Dog’s apocalyptic title.
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The Quarantine Zone chapter inThe Last of Us Part 1is largely a tutorial, teaching players how to craft, shoot, and kill, among other things. Though this section is mostly about teaching the player how to play the game, there are still plenty of large combat sections and environmental puzzles that could trip up new players.
20 Years Later
After meeting with Tess, she’ll lead Joel outside and into the Boston Quarantine Zone. Tess will lead Joel through the alley, so continue following her to the main road. Once on the road, there’ll be a small police barricade where, upon passing by, civilians will be led outside. The scene is optional to watch, but it does set up crucial plot information later on.
Before moving onto the checkpoint with Tess,there’s anoptional conversationJoel can havewith two civilians near a newspaper stand on the right side of the street.
Once ready, follow Tess through to the checkpoint. An explosion will prevent Tess and Joel from proceeding. At this point, the game teaches the player how to perform a quick turn: hold theleft thumbstick backandpress the X button. The game also teaches players how to run: holdL1. Follow Tess as she leads Joel inside one of the nearby buildings.
Once inside, Tess will give Joel some medical supplies, and the game will teach the player how to heal themselves: pressup on the DPADto equip the medkit, then hold downR2to heal.
Throughout the game,players will collect crafting supplies.Press the touchpadto enter crafting mode. Hover over the desired item, thenhold the X buttonto craft. The game doesn’t pause while crafting, so be wary of the current surroundings before entering the menu.
After healing, follow Tess through the building. Eventually, she and Joel will come to a small room where they’ll talk to another survivor about the whereabouts of Robert. After the conversation, Tess moves to the shelf on the left side of the room, where she’ll ask Joel to help her push. Go to the other side of the shelf and press thetriangle buttonand hold theleft thumbstick to the rightto help push the shelf.
Beyond the Wall
After the shelf, Joel will drop down to a tunnel below. Move forward and turn right to follow Tess through the tunnel.
The game will also teach the player how to vault: hold theleft thumbstick upandpress the X buttonto vault over an object. Continue following Tess until she reaches a small workbench. To the left will be Joel’s supplies: a backpack, a flashlight, and a gun. Walk to the workbench andpress the triangle buttonto grab Joel’s gear.
Immediately, the game will prompt the player to reload: pressR2 while not aimingto reload. Follow Tess around the corner and turn right. Joel will be prompted to boost Tess up the wall. Walk up to the wall andpress the triangle buttonto boost Tess up. Once Tess is up, she’ll reach down to get Joel;press the X buttonto grab Tess’s arm, and she’ll pull Joel up.
Once up,press the triangle buttonto lift the fallen door above and reach the next area. Exit the diner andpress the triangle buttonwhen prompted to trigger an optional conversation between Joel and Tess.
Turn right and continue following Tess. Once they reach behind the buildings, Tess will ask about a ladder. The ladder is hiding on the groundbehind a blue car.
Walk over to the ladder andpress the triangle buttonto pick it up. Then walk over to the red building nearby, and when prompted,press the triangle buttonagain to place the ladder down. Tess will climb the ladder first. Afterward,hold the left thumbstick upandpress the X buttonto climb the ladder.
Follow Tess into the room on the right. Before proceeding, this will be the player’s first chance to search around for supplies. In the kitchen, there will be somescrap on the counterthat the player can later use to upgrade their equipment.Press the triangle buttonto collect supplies. If it’s too dark to see, pressR3to turn on Joel’s flashlight.
Before following Tess, go into the next room. On the small table immediately to the left will be afirefly pendant,a collectible throughout the game.
Return to Tess and follow her down the stairs. Below, immediately turn left and continue following Tess. Eventually, the player’s first encounter with spores will appear, prompting Joel and Tess to put on their gas masks. Enter through the door and turn right. There will be a small opening near the floor;press the circle buttonto crouch down and crawl through the opening.
Eventually, Joel will come across a dead infected.Press the triangle buttonto have Joel comment on it to Tess.
Continue forward, and there will be enough room for Joel to stand up;press the circle buttonagain to stand. Up ahead, a wooden beam will be blocking the path.Press the triangle buttonto move the beam out of the way. Then move forward to shimmy through the opening.
On the other side, another survivor with a broken gas mask will be on the ground, calling attention to Joel and Tess. It’s here that the game teaches the player how to shoot; pressL2to aim andR2to shoot. Shoot the survivor, then grab some spare ammo lying nearby.
Turn around and crawl through the opening up ahead. Just as Joel crawls through, some infected will be heard ahead. Wait for Joel to press his ear against the wall, then the game will teach the player about the Listen Mode:hold R1to enter Listen Mode, allowing the player to see where enemies are.
Infected won’t react to Joel’s flashlight, so it’s helpful to keep it on when dealing with infected in darkened areas.
A single runner will be up ahead in the next room. Stay crouching and sneak up behind him. When prompted,press the triangle buttonto grab him, thenpress the square buttonto stealth kill him.
There’ll be two more runners up ahead eating a dead body. Players can either sneak past them or kill them. If players decide to kill them, it’s impossible to sneak up on them, meaning that players will either have to use ammo or melee combat.Press the square buttonto punch or use melee weapons.
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After dealing with the runners, proceed into the next room, where Joel will be able to find some supplies. Afterward, exit to the left of the room and proceed up the stairs.
Before leaving, there’s an open room just to the left of the planks. Go inside to find some more supplies and the firstcollectible artifactin the game, then return and head outside.
Once on the ground, turn left and head through the gate. Go toward the building up ahead; hidden in the wall will be a wooden plank. Walk up to the plank andpress the triangle buttonto move it, allowing Joel and Tess to move inside.
Follow Tess through the building and climb up to the next level. After reaching the upper level, there will be an uncrossable gap. Proceed left to drop down below, where Joel will find a plank he can use to cross.Press the triangle buttonto pick up the plank and carry it.
Return to the place Joel just dropped from, where Tess will be waiting.Press the triangle buttonagain to place the plank against the wall, allowing Tess to grab it.
Up ahead, there’ll be a gap in the wall where Joel can climb through, taking him back to the entrance. From there, climb back up and cross the plank to the other side.
Follow Tess down the stairs. From here, she’ll lead Joel through the buildings, so just continue following her for a while. Anotherfirefly pendantcan be found here, just after Tess and Joel crouch down to get by a fallen fire escape. The pendant will be directly in front of Joel, hanging from a tree. Shoot the tree to get the pendant down.
The Slums
Soon, Tess will lead Joel into a building, locking the door behind her. Walking into the second room, there’ll be some ammo on the table to the right that Tess will recommend picking up.
From here, Tess will check in with a kid to make sure everything is clear. Wait until the kid knocks on the glass, and Tess will open the door and continue forward. Continue through the street area, where Joel will pass by various stands and a street fight before walking through a bus.
After exiting the bus, move forward toward the fence up ahead. On the way will be acollectiblenote on the ground. Proceed to the fence, and on the wanted board next to it will be acollectiblewanted poster.
Turn around and return to Tess. After the short cutscene, continue forward and through the gate. Joel and Tess will have a short encounter with a few of Robert’s men before Tess shoots one of them, triggering the first combat section of the game.
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Fortunately, there are only two enemies to deal with here. Stay low and use the crates for cover. It’s easiest to use Joel’s gun here; since there aren’t too many of them, they shouldn’t use too much ammo. If you run out of ammo, run up to them and use melee attacks to take them out. In any case, defeating these two shouldn’t be too difficult.
Ammo is scarce inThe Last of Us, so gunfire should only be used as a last resort in most situations. While some combat encounters will start with a gun battle, most encounters begin with enemies unaware of Joel’s presence. Use this to your advantage and prioritize stealth whenever possible.
Once they’re dead, continue forward through the tunnel and turn left. Tess will try the gate, but it’ll be locked. Boost Tess over the wall directly left of the gate, then have her pull Joel up.
Turn right and continue forward. Go down the small set of stairs and to the next level. There’ll be a small hole in the fence directly ahead; crouch to drop into the next area.
Four of Robert’s men will show up as soon as Joel and Tess drop down here. Tess will immediately move left and take out one of them. One will continue left outside, while the other two will stay inside the warehouse up ahead.
Stay low and take out the one outside. Back to the warehouse, climb through one of the windows, and take out the enemy closest to the left. Tess will take out the enemy to the right simultaneously.
After grabbing an enemy, Joel can move them around for a short period of time. He can choose to either silently strangle them or, if he has them crafted, stab them with a shiv. Joel can also use the gun aim and shoot at other enemies or shoot and kill the grabbed enemy, though either will call attention to him.
The last enemy Joel kills will drop thewarehouse key. Pick it up and search the area for supplies. In a well-lit room just up ahead will be a locked door. Use the warehouse key to open it and proceed forward.
On the other side will be five more enemies. Crouch down and hide behind the crates. A couple of the enemies will have a short conversation; wait for them to finish so they’ll split up and search the area. Some of these enemies will stay here, while the others will enter the warehouse ahead. While waiting, pick up one of the bottles lying around.
Bricks and bottles can be used for stealth and combat.HoldL2to aim andpressR2to throw a brick or bottle. Throwing one will attract an enemy towards the area thrown. Alternatively, if the reticle on the screen automatically aims towards an enemy,pressR2to throw it directly onto the enemy; this will stun them for a short while. While holding a brick or bottle, Joel can also use it in melee attacks. Both bricks and bottles are one-time uses, and Joel can only carry one at a time.
Kill these enemies, then move up the stairs and into the warehouse. There may be an enemy in the room up ahead; use the small desk in the center for cover if needed. Use stealth or combat to kill the remaining enemies. The rooms on the upper level will also have supplies, so they’re worth searching through.
Once all the enemies are taken care of, head down the stairs and to the large metallic door. Walk up to the chain on the right andpress the triangle buttonto grab ahold of it.Hold the triangle buttonto pull on the chain, raising the door and leading Joel and Tess into the next area.
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At the docks, Tess will point out Robert, who will then leave the area. Joel and Tess will drop down, taking the player into the first large combat area. There’ll be six enemies roaming this area.
The best way to deal with these guys is to use the shipping containers to the left as cover, staying low to avoid attention and using stealth to take out any nearby enemies, then moving into the covered area for any remaining enemies. Players will also find powerful melee weapons for the first time here.
Powerful melee weapons, such as bats or pipes, can be highly effective in melee combat but have limited use.Certain melee weapons can also be upgradedin the crafting menu, giving them one or two one-hit kills.
There are also two moreartifactsthat can be found in this section. The first will be found right of the starting area; look below a “No Fishing” sign against a railing leading out to the ocean. The second will be up ahead in the interior area, next to a blue bin.
Once combat is over, head to the door at the far end of the interior.
Then open the door on the left. Robert will immediately shoot as Joel and Tess hide behind cover. He then takes off. Begin running after him; this section is fairly linear, with Robert being visible for a split-second, often whenever turning a corner or entering a new room. Continue chasing after him until the next cutscene begins.
The Cargo
After the cutscene, Joel and Tess will have to follow Marlene. Marlene will lead the way for a while, so just continue following her. Eventually, they’ll drop from the rooftops into an abandoned factory. Some resources are on the metal table, so be sure to pick those up before continuing.
Once ready, return to Marlene, who will be at the door on the right side of the room.Press the triangle buttonto help Marlene push the door open.
After a short cutscene, Joel will have to cross to the other side of a bridge that’s heavily guarded. Once the cutscene ends, stay crouched and climb the stairs to the left. Once on the upper level, immediately enter the building on the left. Go into the hallway, then silently grab and kill the guard in front of Joel. Marlene will kill the other guard simultaneously.
Continue forward, grabbing any supplies lying around along the way. At this point, there are four more guards to deal with. It is possible to sneak by without being noticed; use the large crates for cover when trying to cross.
There is anoptional conversationthat can only be unlocked if all the guards are dead, however. If all the guards are killed, walk over to the other end of the bridge where there’ll be a series of dead bodies on the ground.
When ready, head down the stairs andpress the triangle buttonto close the door. Marlene and Tess will block the doorway, then continue forward. Marlene will lead the way for a while again, so just follow her. Eventually, Malrene will come to a large door in a kitchen.Press the triangle buttonto help push, and the next cutscene will trigger.
After the cutscene, Joel will be in charge of keeping Ellie safe. Immediately outside, anotherfirefly pendantcan be found directly ahead, next to the body lying against the newspaper stand.
Move down the stairs and through the gate. In the lower area, immediately turn right. There will be stairs leading to a lower pathway that heads to the back of Joel’s apartment building.
Once behind the buildings, Joel will need to find something to climb the fire escape. Keep moving forward to find an open garage.
Inside the garage will be a dumpster Joel can push. Walk up to the side of the dumpster andpress the triangle buttonto grab ahold of it. Then push it outside and against the fire escape.Press the triangle buttonagain to let go, then climb up to the fire escape.
At this point, it’s a linear path to Joel’s apartment, concluding Joel’s journey in the Boston Quarantine Zone.
The Last of Us Part 1is available on PS5 and releases on PC on August 05, 2025.
