Last time players left Joel and Ellie, they had just arrived at Joel’s apartment and are waiting for Tess to return. She returns and the three get on their way escorting Ellie to the capitol building just outside the Boston Quarantine Zone. Here players are given more complex encounters with human enemies, while also being introduced to new types of infected.
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While the previous chapter was primarily a tutorial, this chapter gives players a first real glimpse of what the rest of the game will be like. Environmental puzzles are a little more complex, human encounters are more deadly, and infected encounters are more terrifying. With more to do and set up, this chapter takes a little longer to complete, and is the first to really get the story going.
Outside
Immediately after the cutscene ends,there’ll be anartifacton the tabledirectly in front of Joel. Then walk into the next room, where Tess will be looking out the window. Walk up to her to have anoptional conversationwith her.
Tess will open a passageway behind Joel to the next area. There’s a small elevator that the three will use to get down. To power the elevator, walk up to red generator next to it andpress the triangle buttonwhen prompted. There’ll be a short mini-game here; whenever thewhite dotis at thebottom of the circle, press the triangle button. Do this three times to power the elevator, then get on andpress the triangle buttonto ride the elevator down.
After descending into the tunnel below, turn right to find anothercollectibleat the far end of the room. Turn Joel’s flashlight on if it’s too difficult to see.
Turn around and crouch down to crawl through the hole in the wall. It’s a fairly short and linear path to the end, so follow that until Joel gets to a ladder. Climb the ladder andpress the triangle buttonto climb outside. Once outside, continue forward toward the truck that the patrol climbed. Climb inside and walk up to the top to trigger the next cutscene.
After the cutscene, Joel, Tess, and Ellie will drop below. Stay crouched next to Tess and Ellie and wait for Tess’s signal to go. Once she says “run”, follow her to the left. Though she says “run”, Joel doesn’t actually have to run here. Just stay low with Tess and Ellie and it should be fine.
Keep following this path and drop down to the lower level. Stick close to the sides to avoid being spotted by soldiers. Follow the linear path, eventually leading to a small tunnel to a crawlspace. This leads out into another open area. From where Tess is, move left to avoid being spotted by the soldiers above.
This pathway should be clear of soldiers. Keep going straight until Joel drops into a lower level. From here, immediately turn left to climb back to the upper level of the city.
Keep climbing up. On the upper level, Joel will notice some soldiers up ahead. Stay low and move up the stairs directly in front of Joel. Joel will eventually drop down to a lower area, now clear of any soldiers. There will be an open window that Joel can climb through to look for supplies. Whenever ready, open the metal door to move on to the next area.
When Joel, Tess, and Ellie get to the other side, soldiers will be patrolling the street ahead. Move behind the police car to avoid being spotted, then go towards the abandoned buildings to the right.
Grab any supplies within the building if possible. One of the soldiers will immediately begin searching through the buildings. Use stealth and the various desks and shelves around the building to try to remain hidden from the guards. There will also be some bricks and bottles on the ground - use these to create distractions.
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Given the number of soldiers searching and the small area, it’s very likely that combat will break out in this section. Be careful of leaving the buildings, as one guard will be posted high up at the other end of the street, keeping a lookout.
Players can either fight the soldiers or try to sneak past them using stealth. Whenever ready, move down to the end of the street and drop into the hole up ahead, leading to an area where Joel and the player can catch their breath. Move forward to the other end, where there’ll be a small pipe Joel can crawl through against the brick wall.
This will eventually lead to a basement. Turn right to find a stairway and climb it. On the upper level, go through the crawlspace on the other end of the room.
There’ll be soldiers up above looking for Joel. Briefly wait for them to leave, then proceed forward. In the next room, move toward the set of double-doors before continuing forward, as the room will contain a plethora of supplies for Joel to collect.
When ready, leave the room and go through the opening straight ahead. This will lead to a large pipe. Enter and continue forward; eventually some soldiers will drive by a grating above Joel, but they won’t spot anyone. Go to the door at the end of the sewer,pressing the triangle buttonto open it and trigger the next cutscene.
Downtown
After the cutscene, Tess will lead the way for a while. Follow her up to the main road and walk toward the two skyscrapers, one leaning against the other. After the intersection, there will be anotherartifactto be found on the right side, next to a trash can and behind a car.
Keep moving forward. Eventually, there’ll be a large crater blocking the path. Joel will point out the capital building. At this point, turn left and walk towards the skyscraper.Anotherfirefly pendantcan be foundswaying in the tree on the pathway. Shoot at the tree to knock the pendant down.
At the center of the pathway will be an opening into the skyscraper. An open door will continue on into the hallway, but first open the door on the right to find some supplies.
When ready, go back and move ahead into the hallway. A dead body ripped to shreds will by lying on the ground.Press the triangle buttonto have Tess and Ellie comment on it. Keep moving forward and eventually Joel will come to a staircase. The door right next to it will lead to a room with some supplies; grab those and then ascend the staircase.
Halfway up the stairs, there will be another dead body. He’ll have some supplies and anartifactlying right next to him.
Keep climbing the stairs. The rest of the stairway will be blocked, but there will be some supplies for Joel to find. Return to the fifth floor and enter the hallway. A new type of infected - the clicker - will be lying dead against the door. Walk up to it andpress the triangle buttonto grab ahold of it, thenpress the triangle button repeatedlyto pull it off. Then,press the triangle buttonto grab the door handle andpress the square button repeatedlyto open the door.
Walk into the next room and grab supplies. On the shelf at the far end to the left will be a bottle of supplements, the first the player can find in the game. Right next to the shelf is a small space Joel can crawl through. Crawl, then scaffold over the window into the next room, where Joel can find a bunch of supplies.
Supplements can be used to enhance Joel’s abilities, such as increasing his maximum health, increasing his listening distance, or reducing weapon sway. Open the crafting menu using the touchpad, then switch tabs to the supplement menu. Scroll to the ability you want to enhance and hold the X button to enhance it. Note that it’s impossible to fully enhance every ability in just one playthrough.
When ready, go to the door at the top of the room and exit.Press the triangle buttonto begin pushing the door; Joel will ask Tess for help, thenpress the square button three timesto push the door open. Joel will then immediately get attacked by a clicker.Press the square button repeatedlyto hold the clicker off. Soon, Tess will come over and kill it. The clicker will have taken off some damage; in a moment, Tess will give Joel a healing kit.
Head into the next room where there will be some supplies for Joel to find. In the connected room straight ahead, there’ll be a closed metal door that can only be unlocked using a shiv. There are plenty of supplies to be found in this room, but it will cost a shiv to get inside. Regardless, when ready, proceed out of the main room.
Sometimes, there will be doors that can only be unlocked with a shiv. There are often valuable supplies to be found in these rooms, but it will cost Joel one shiv to enter. In stealth, shivs are the only weapon Joel can use to kill clickers. Shivs can be crafted, but crafting supplies are scarce and the number of shivs Joel can have is limited.
In the hallway, turn right to find a set of double-doors wide open. Here, Joel will see a dead body hanging from an upper level. Walk up to the wall here andpress the triangle buttonto boost Tess up. She’ll help Ellie and Joel up afterwards.Press the X buttonto have Tess pull Joel up. Before leaving the area, there’s also some supplies that can be found behind the desk right of where the body is hanging.
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As soon as everyone enters the upper level, they’ll hear a clicker and hide. Tess will throw a bottle lying nearby to distract the clicker. Make sure that Joel hasat least one shivcrafted. Sneak behind the clicker, then when prompted,press the triangle buttonto grab ahold of it and kill it. Alternatively, the player can sneak past the clicker into the next area. Regardless, move up inside the room and climb over the scaffolding to reach the next area.
Clickers are highly sensitive to noise. Sneaking around them and taking them out silently is usually the best option. Joel can only use shivs to kill clickers, and they break after a single use (two if they’re upgraded). Bricks and bottles can be thrown to create distractions. Clickers can also be killed by a couple of headshots.
On the other side, vault over the railing to drop onto the staircase. There’ll be some drawers on the stairway in front of Joel.Press the triangle buttonto grab ahold of it andmove backto pull it back, allowing Tess and Ellie to vault over. Climb over to move down one floor. Then turn left and follow Tess and Ellie out the window. Follow them along the side of the building until they get to the next open window, following them inside.
In the next area, follow Tess and Ellie down the stairs and into the hallway. In the next room, there should be a dead soldier lying on the ground with a new weapon,a revolver, lying right next to him. Walk over andpress the triangle buttonto collect and equip the gun.
At the beginning of the game, Joel can only have one small and one large gun equipped at any given time. To change weapons,press left/right on the D-Padand thenhold the square button while scrollingto select a new gun. Joel’s backpack can be upgraded to have two weapon slots instead of one later on in the game.
Continue forward following Tess and Ellie. In the room after them the floor is collapsed, so Joel will drop to the lower level, where both runners and clickers are abound. Joel will also have to deal with these enemies by himself. There will be a total of five infected here; four runners and one clicker. When Joel drops down he won’t be noticed, so it’s best to remain stealthy as long as possible while clearing the infected.
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Once combat is over, Joel will signal Tess and Ellie to come down. On the left side of the room, there will a fallen piece of flooring that will lead to the next level. Climb over it to get to the next area.
Directly in front of Joel will be a metal cart blocking the door. Walk up to it andpress the triangle button, thenmove backto pull it out of the way. Tess and Ellie will move into the next room. Wait for them to find something to prop the door open with. Once they do, Joel will let go and he can climb over into the next room. Collect some supplies that can be found here, then proceed forward.
In the hallway, turn left and drop down to the lower level; this section is fairly linear. Just follow the path through the debris, and eventually Joel will end up at the entrance to a subway. Move toward the tunnel directly ahead. At the entrance to the right will be a dead soldier. Next to him will be amolotov cocktail. On the stairway just beyond is another dead body with anartifactlying next to him.
The tunnel ahead will be collapsed. Instead, walk toward the right side of the room and under the debris.
In the next area, there will be several infected roaming around. One clicker will be directly ahead. To the left of him will be a runner eating a dead body with another walking nearby. A few more clickers will be roaming around the center of the area. It’s not necessary to kill the infected here, but there are some missable items if this area is skipped.
On the left side of the area, go to the medicine store. Behind the counter in a drawer will be anartifactwhich will give Joel the combination to a safe in the bookstore. The bookstore is on the right side of the area, so Joel will likely have to deal with the clickers in the center. The safe is behind the counter of the bookstore, and the combination is03-43-78.
Regardless of whether or not the player searches for these items, move to the furthest end of the area toward the “subway” sign. The area Joel will need to get to will be just above, but there’s a clicker standing nearby. Kill him first, then boost Tess up so she can pull the ladder down. Then climb out and head on outside.
The Museum
Follow Tess outside. After she gets her bearings, she’ll head down the street, though a truck will be blocking the path. On the left side of the street, there will be a red building with a large hole in the wall. Inside, there’ll be something Joel can use to climb the truck. Be careful as a few runners will be waiting inside, though they won’t notice Joel at first.
Afterward, grab the chest in the center of the room and move it over to the truck on the street. Climb over and onto the other side of the street. Immediately turn around and enter the truck to find anotherartifactinside.
There’ll be a metal door on the left side of the street up ahead. Next to it is a chain;press the triangle buttonto grab the chain, and thenhold the triangle buttonto pull on it. This will immediately get the attention of some infected nearby, triggering a short cutscene where Joel, Tess, and Ellie enter the building. Once inside, head to the far left corner of the roomwhere there will be the game’s firstworkbench. Walk up to it andpress the triangle buttonto enter the workbench menu.
Workbenches can be used to upgrade Joel’s weapons. Collect scavanged parts that can be found throughout the world to further upgrade Joel’s weapons. Note that it’s impossible to fully upgrade all of Joel’s weapons on a single playthrough.
Once ready, open the door immediately right to the workbench to move into the next room. Scavenge this room, then move forward into the door straight ahead to look for more supplies. In either room, the door on the left side will lead to the next area. Walk up the fallen wooden flooring to reach the second level of the museum. Climb onto the left side and shimmy along the flooring to reach the display case at the other end. Inside will be anotherfirefly pendant.
Then move to the left side of the room, heading through both sets of doors. In the last room, turn right to find a small space Joel can crawl through in the next room.
Crawl through until the pathway becomes blocked by a beam.Press the triangle buttonto lift the beam up, allowing Tess and Ellie to pass through. The pathway will then collapse, trapping Tess and Ellie on the other side. Clickers will chase them off, prompting Joel to find another way around. Immediately turn left to find another pathway that leads through to another hallway. Stay low, as there will be some clickers in the room on the right. Walk down the hallway and open the door at the very end.
Move up the stairs, then open the door. In the hallway, there’ll be a runner banging against the door. Kill him, then open the door to trigger the next short cutscene. Tess will kill the infected on her before Ellie calls for help in the next room. An infected will be trying to kill her; run up and kill him. A few more runners will come into the room; use melee attacks to kill them as well.
When someone has a plus sign over them when being attacked by an infected, that means that they’re being overwhelmed. The red circle above them will slowly drain; if it drains fully, then they will be killed and the player will be taken to a game over screen.
After combat is over, there aretwo optional conversationsJoel can have; one with Tess and one with Ellie. Move to the far end of the room, where on the right side there will be several open windows. Climb through, then climb up the fire escape to the top of the museum. At the top, walk over to the right side, where there will be a wooden plank lying on the ground. Walk up to it andpress the triangle buttonto pick it up. Carry it over to the fire escape, thenpress the triangle button againto place it, triggering the next cutscene.
The Capitol Building
After the cutscene, follow Tess and Ellie down the stairs. From there, turn left and walk to the very end, where there will be a dead body with anartifactnext to him.
Right next to the stairs, there’ll be a dumpster. Grab the dumpster and drag it to the blue gate with the wooden planks above it. Use the dumpster to climb over to the other side.
On the other side, turn left to find the capitol building right in front of Joel. It’s a straight shot from here to inside. Just ahead of the capitol building will be a small gazebo. Head here to find anotherfirefly pendant, then turn around and head inside the capitol building.
After the cutscene, stay quiet and go upstairs. Follow the linear pathway until Joel gets to a room with a large hole in the wall. Follow the wooden planks and jump over to the next room. In front of Joel will be a dead body with ariflelying next to him.Press the triangle buttonto pick up the rifle, then move into the next room.
Soldiers will be sweeping the floor. Stay low and hide behind the desks and furniture to stay out of sight.Take out as many as possible using stealth; if Joel gets caught, it’s best to use his guns here, since the soldiers will be heavily armed. The goal is to get through the doorway and the end of the hallway. Descend down the stairs and drop into the next area.
More soldiers will be sweeping this area. Take out as many as possible using stealth, pushing forward towards the exit. Once outside, turn left and head down into the subway on the opposite end of the street.
Follow Ellie as she runs through the subway. Eventually, Joel and Ellie will hide behind some chairs, and two soldiers will come searching through the subway. After they talk, they’ll split off, making it easier to pick them off with stealth. After combat is over, walk into the subway train, then move forward following each of the trains.
Eventually, the subway will be filled with water. Joel can swim fine, but Ellie can’t, so Joel will need to find a way to get Ellie across. Swim up to the large blockade ahead andhold the circle buttonto dive. A small opening should allow Joel to swim underneath through to the other side. Thenpress the X buttonto resurface. Joel will need to do this again shortly, as a subway train will be blocking the path the first time he resurfaces.
On the other side, Ellie will have followed along on a path to the left. Swim over and climb to where she is and climb up. Next to a dead body nearby will be anotherartifact- the last in this chapter.
Walk just beyond the body and go into the water. Dive and resurface on the other side. On the small platform there will be a few more supplies. Return to the water and dive again, swimming underneath the platform. On the shelf on the left will be a few supplies, including the chapter’s lastfirefly pendant.
Return to the main area with Ellie and jump into the water; Joel will need to find a way to get Ellie across. Once in the water, turn left and swim forward. Eventually, there’ll be a wooden pallette floating in the water.Press the triangle buttonto grab ahold of the plank. Drag it over to Ellie. In a moment, she’ll hop on the pallette. Swim to the other side to allow Ellie climb up. She’ll drop a ladder nearby, allowing Joel to climb to the platform as well.
On the platform, move forward and turn left. Then walk up the stairs, triggering the next cutscene and ending the chapter.
The Last of Us Part 1is available on PS5 and releases for PC on August 03, 2025.
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