Now that Joel and Ellie are officially on their own, it's time for their post-apocalyptic adventure in The Last of Us Part 1 to truly begin. Joel's first task will be taking Ellie to his brother Tommy, who knows where the Fireflies are. To get there Joel needs a working car, so he stops by his smuggling partner Bill, a recluse who lives in the booby-trapped and infested-filled town of Lincoln, where hopefully he'll be able to get Joel a car.
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While players previously have been introduced to both human and infected enemies, this chapter is the first in The Last of Us Part 1 where players will truly have to face down hordes of infected. Like in the previous chapter, there are a multitude of infected that players will have to deal with, including the new bloater type. Bill's Town also features a few explorable areas as well as plenty of secrets to uncover.
The Woods
After the cutscene, Joel and Ellie will drop into the woods. Joel can turn right to look for supplies, but mainly what players have to do is walk straight ahead from where they start and turn left at the end of the path. Then walk up the hill and toward the gate.
There's no way through the gate, so turn left and hop over the fallen tree. There'll be a small abandoned building directly in front of Joel. Before climbing it, go to the back of the building to find a wooden plank leaning against the wall. Press the triangle button to grab ahold of it, then walk up to the abandoned building and press the triangle button again to place it against the building.
Climb the building, then walk up to the plank and press the triangle button to pick it up. Turn to the right edge of the building, then press the triangle button to place it down. Before leaving, an upgraded melee weapon will be lying on the rooftop. Be sure to grab it before moving on.
On the other side, Joel will point out smoke in the distance that he assumes is Bill. Drop below the building, then turn left and walk down the hill toward the city.
A clicker can be heard just as Joel and Ellie enter the area. The first clicker will be behind the red building, down the stairs to the right, and in the shed. The second is further down the stairs behind a chain link fence. Killing them is optional, though it may make traversing through the area easier. There also may be supplies in the shed worth grabbing.
Be sure to check inside the red building for supplies. On the second floor, players will also be able to find an artifact.
When ready, go back outside and drop down below to the left side of the red building and toward the gate ahead. The building to the left can be unlocked using a shiv and will contain some supplies. When ready, go to the gate. The gate will be locked, so Joel will have to boost Ellie up over to the other side for her to unlock it.
Now that Joel and Ellie are in Lincoln, they can briefly explore some of the shops before moving on. First, turn left; on the left-hand side of the street up ahead there should be a small garden area. Go there to find some supplies.
Return to the street, turning right and continuing forward. On the left side, there'll be a Pizzeria. Go inside to find some supplies.
Also inside, Joel can have an optional conversation with Ellie while standing in front of an arcade video game.
Return back out to the street and turn left. Continue forward; eventually, on the left side, there will also be a music store Joel can enter and look for supplies in. An artifact can be found in the back room.
Head back outside. Go to the end of the street where the barricade is; here there'll be another artifact. The note will have the combination to a safe written on it. Turn around and go towards the small street on the left side just beyond the "Mandatory Evacuation Notice" sign. Here will be the safe. The combination is 05-17-21.
The last thing to find here is a firefly pendant. Climb the RV in the center of the road. On the top players will find the pendant.
When ready to move on, go to the small alley beside the music store. At the other end, a clicker will show up briefly before being blown up. Joel explains that Bill has set up traps all over town. Continue forward and around the corner; there's a door behind the music store that can be unlocked by a shiv as well.
From here until players meet Bill, players may fall into one of Bill's traps, usually tripwire rigged to explosives. When walking down alleyways, look for anything that seems to be glistening. Players can shoot at the explosive, but it's generally recommended to save ammo and crouch underneath the trap instead.
Move further down the alley. Eventually, Joel comes across a body with a couple of arrows sticking out of him. Walk over and collect the arrows; Joel will find a bow to use them within a few minutes. Further down the alley will be a ladder lying on the ground. Pick the ladder up and lean it against the white truck. Climb up, and Joel will find the bow leaning against a chair.
Cross over to the building on the right using the plank. Pick up the plank and place it next to the ladder, then climb up. Once up on the roof, grab the plank and carry it over to the other side. Place it down and walk across. On the other side of the building below will be a single clicker hanging around. This gives players a chance to try out the bow. Aim the arrow at the clicker and fire. It may take more than one hit to take it down.
Once it's dead, climb down and continue traversing the rooftops until there's a ladder Joel can use to climb back to the ground.
Arrows don't always break when hitting an enemy, so it's worth checking dead enemies to see if any arrows are retrievable.
On the ground, turn right. Immediately crouch down; one of Bill's traps will be directly in front of Joel. Crawl underneath to avoid blowing up. As players reach the other side, there'll be a loud noise coming from the left. Over in one of the buildings is an optional area to explore. There's a single runner inside, but also several supplies as well as an artifact.
Return to the area near the truck. Joel will have to pass through the gate, but Bill's explosives will be blocking the way. Either shoot or throw a brick or bottle at the explosives to make them go off, clearing the way for Joel and Ellie. Don't worry about wasting items or ammo; bricks and bottles will be lying about, and there will be some ammo on the other side. Be sure to be far enough away from the explosives to not get injured.
Walk down the alleyway. Another one of Bill's tripwires will be near the ground, so once again shoot or throw a brick or bottle at the explosives, which will be near the building.
Turn the corner and into the building. Be sure to collect any supplies in this room before continuing forward.
Opening the door, Joel will trigger one of Bill's traps. Hanging upside-down from the ceiling, Ellie will have to untie the counterweight, leaving Joel vulnerable to infected. It isn't long before infected start showing up, so be sure to shoot them before they get to Joel. If one of them does manage to grab ahold of Joel, press the square button repeatedly to push it off, then aim and shoot.
While ammo is normally scarce in The Last of Us Part 1, this section gives Joel unlimited ammo, so don't be afraid to shoot as much as you need to.
Eventually, the fridge will fall on its side, pulling Joel higher up from the ground. Joel is now safe, but Ellie is now in danger. Aim down and keep infected from getting to her while she works on tying Joel down. Soon Ellie will have cut the rope, dropping Joel to the ground. A runner immediately attacks Joel, press the square button repeatedly to hold him off. Shortly after, Bill will finally show up, killing the runner and helping Joel to his feet.
Follow Bill and Ellie out of the warehouse. Bill will begin shooting at infected. Instead of shooting with him, turn around and go towards the side of the warehouse. Bill will show up shortly after. Follow Bill down the alley and into the laundromat. Here, Joel and Bill will have to hold their ground for a little while. It's generally better to try to use ammo or molotov co*cktails to hold off the infected, as there'll be too many to take them on with melee attacks.
Once the last of the infected is taken care of, follow Bill out the front door. Head into the open truck straight ahead. On the other side will be a small building; head inside to trigger the next cutscene.
Safehouse
After the cutscene, look around the diner for supplies. There's an optional conversation Joel can have with Ellie at the chess set on one of the tables. Turn around and go into the back room to find an artifact; another artifact can be found on a table just outside the back room.
Be sure to check on the diner counter near Bill for a booklet that will upgrade Joel's shivs before leaving.
When ready, follow Bill through the door and up the stairs. Turn right and walk into the room at the end of the hallway to find some supplies and another artifact.
Bill will lead the way for a while. Follow him over the rooftops and through the building. Some of the rooms Joel passes by will have supplies in them, but the path is otherwise fairly linear. Eventually, they will find themselves outside in a slightly open area. After a short moment, several runners and clickers will show up and attack them.
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After combat is over, another firefly pendant can be found. It'll be on the other end of the street, hanging from a street lamp. Shoot at the street lamp to drop it down.
After combat, Bill will go to the other side of the parking lot to unlock the gate. Gather any supplies around the area, then follow Bill through the gate. There'll be some supplies in the shed immediately behind Bill. Then go back outside and walk up the stairs. At the edge of the church, there'll be a door to the cellar. Walk up and press the triangle button to open the doors, triggering the next cutscene.
Graveyard
After the cutscene, Bill will have given Joel a new weapon; a shotgun. Follow Bill so he can give Joel another new tool. In a moment, he'll craft a nail bomb. Once he's done, walk up to the table and press the triangle button to grab the nail bomb. Be sure to walk around the cellar for supplies before proceeding. Players will also find level 1 tools straight ahead of where Bill crafted the nail bomb. This will give players more options when upgrading weapons. Then go to the workshop at the end of the room to upgrade Joel's weapons.
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Players can use nail bombs similar to the molotov co*cktail by throwing them directly at enemies. Alternatively, players can press R1 to place the nail bomb on the ground instead of throwing it. Any enemy that walks near the nail bomb will cause it to go off.
When ready, go to the other end of the cellar to find Ellie and Bill waiting. There'll be some supplies near the stairs, but otherwise, follow Bill up the stairs and through the church. On the right side of the church, there'll be a small room where players can find another artifact inside.
When ready, follow Bill out the window, and the three will drop into the next area, where they'll have to navigate through the church graveyard. Follow Bill down the stairs, then turn left and proceed forward up the steps. Be sure to crouch down before entering this next area, as several clickers will be roaming the graveyard.
Use stealth to take out any clickers necessary. It is possible to proceed through the graveyard without killing any clickers. Since there aren't any runners in the graveyard, stealth should be pretty easy to pull off.
From the upper area of the graveyard, turn right and walk down the steps. Then turn right and proceed forward. There are some more steps to climb down, as well as a few more clickers. The goal is to get to the wooden gate on the left side of the area. Bill will have the key, so wait for him to open it then proceed forward.
Exit the gate and turn right. There'll be a couple runners straight ahead, but they haven't spotted Joel yet. Use stealth to kill one, and Bill will kill the other. Move back to the corner of the fence and turn down the other direction; another runner will be standing there. Take him out before he gets a chance to see Joel.
Proceed into the backyard of the house and stay low. The lower part will have a clicker roaming throughout, while two runners will be wandering around the upper area. Take out the clicker first, just in case the runners spot Joel. There are some supplies for Joel to find inside the house. On the floor of the bathroom, players can also find another firefly pendant.
Return outside. From the upper part of the backyard, go towards the neighboring house through a hole in the fence. Some more infected will be wandering the other side.
In the next backyard, turn left and head down into the garage. There are some supplies; grab them before moving forward. Then straight ahead, go through the fence to the neighbor's backyard. Moving straight, players should see a red garage. Move inside and turn right, crossing the street into a third garage.
In this garage, there'll be an orange door to the right. Press the triangle button to try to open the door, but Joel will find that it's locked on the other side. Ellie then suggests going through the doggy door. Lean down and press the triangle button to remove the doggy door and allow Ellie to pass through. In a moment, Ellie will unlock the door. More clickers will be within the next house, so use stealth to kill them.
Go through the house. At this point, Bill will lead the way for a while. Follow him up over the RV and through the treehouse. From there they'll drop down into the backyard of a house. Search through the backyard for supplies before going inside. Inside, go upstairs and enter the bedroom on the far right to find an artifact. Wait there for a moment to have an optional conversation with Ellie.
When ready, go to the garage with Bill. Press the triangle button to open the garage door and reach the next area. On the other side, Joel will have to make his way through the parking lot and into the school. The only problem is that the parking lot is filled with infected. The player will have to clear the area before proceeding forward.
There's quite a few runners here, so use the cars to hide and try to take as many out quietly. It's likely that combat will break out, so be prepared to punch or shoot a few infected if necessary. After combat is over, go to the school bus, where there'll be a ladder lying on top. Go to the back of the bus and press the triangle button to boost Ellie up on the bus. She'll lower the ladder, allowing Joel and Bill to climb up.
After climbing over, more infected will try to get through the fence. Run to the back and go to the window. Press the triangle button to open the window, allowing everyone to enter the school and triggering the next cutscene.
High School Escape
After the cutscene, Joel, Ellie, and Bill will have to fight through a school full of infected. Crouch down and walk down the hallway. Down the hall, several runners and clickers will show up. Take out as many as possible quietly. Enter the science classroom, which will be the first open door on the right. More infected will be waiting inside, so be prepared for more stealth kills.
Go through the door at the other end of the classroom and turn into the hallway. More runners will be waiting at the end, so go over there and take them out. Then go to the door to the gym on the right and press the triangle button to open it. Joel and Bill will need to push it open; press the square button three times to open the door.
As soon as they enter the gym, a new type of infected - the bloater - will enter at the far end. The bloater is the toughest type of infected players will encounter in the game. He's impossible to kill via stealth or melee, and he'll kill players immediately if they get too close. He'll also throw spore-infused projectiles at the player, knocking off some health. The best way to deal with bloaters is to use heavy weapons such as shotguns, as well as items such as nail bombs and molotov co*cktails.
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A couple of runners will also burst in during the boss fight with the bloater, so be on guard and don't accidentally get too close to the bloater.
Once the bloater and runners are dead, search through the gym for supplies. The closet that the bloater burst out of will usually have lots of supplies. When ready, return to Bill and boost him and Ellie up over the bleachers. After boosting Ellie, three runners will drop into the gym and go after Joel. Quickly kill them, then return to Bill and have him pull Joel up. Once up, exit through the window.
Follow Bill down to the ground and through the chain link fence. Some runners will go after everyone; there are too many to take on all of them. After the chain link fence, turn right to find a ladder leaning against the wooden fence. Run over and climb over it, triggering the next cutscene.
After the cutscene, turn around and go inside the house. At the room at the furthest end will be a bunch of supplies, as well as an artifact; Frank's letter to Bill. Return to Bill to have an optional conversation where Joel gives Bill Frank's letter.
Before going on, stop by Ellie in the truck to have an optional conversation with her. When ready, go to the back of the truck and press the triangle button to begin pushing. Bill will open the garage, then go back with Joel. Begin moving forward to help push the truck.
The truck will move for a little bit, then stop, Return to the back of the truck and keep pushing. In a moment, infected will come out and attack Joel and Bill from the left side of the street. Be careful, since both runners and clickers will be attacking during this segment. Kill them and then return to the truck. This will happen two more times while pushing; the second time the infected will come from the right, and on the third, they'll come from the left.
After this, the truck will be ready. Run up to the truck and jump in the back, ending the chapter in Bill's town.
The Last of Us Part 1 is available on PS5 and is set to release on PC on March 28, 2023.
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