The Last of Us PS1 demake channels Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill

A PS1-era 'demake' of The Last of Us reimagines Naughty Dog's classic as a Metal Gear Solid-style top-down stealth game.

YouTuber Rustic Games BR (via Gamespot) recently uploaded their pared-down take on The Last of Us. Apparently based on the museum scene towards the beginning of the game, the demake sees heavily polygonal versions of Joel and Ellie trying to stay out of sight, using a vision-based minimap in the top corner to navigate around unfriendly NPCs.

As in the original game, Joel is able to sneak up behind opponents and choke them out while Ellie manages to stay out of sight. Once the crowd of enemies has been thinned out a little, the player is able to use a recently-acquired hunting rifle to dispatch the final guard, temporarily switching to a first-person perspective while aiming down sights.

That stealthy, top-down approach is reminiscent of the original Metal Gear Solid, right down to the Kojima-inspired Life health bar and mini-map, but some of the alternative perspective that Joel is offered as he moves around the environment also hark back to titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil 2's fixed camera approach for a very authentic interpretation.

This isn't the only PlayStation favorite that's been sent backward through time - this Bloodborne demake sees the entire game rebuilt in the style of the PS1 era. Its developer points out that it's not enough to just change the visuals, and this take on The Last of Us would seem to confirm that point of view.

For a taste of the future rather than the past, here's a look at some upcoming PS5 games.