Summary
The Last of Us Part 2is receiving a remaster in a couple of months and it is thankfully more tenable thanThe Last of Us’ remake, let alone that remake’s abysmal PC port. It’s great that this remaster will be launching so soon after its announcement and while it’d be easy to hop onto a bandwagon of critiquingabundant Naughty Dog remasters, there’s really no reason why thePart 2remaster should be condemned in the same way thatThe Last of Us’ past regurgitations rightfully were.
There will inevitably be comparisons between the original and the remaster when it releases in January, but this time around the remaster can genuinely stand behind its merits as a fully current-gen experience, at least as long as it is technically sound and its performance is comparable to other current-gen games. However, becauseThe Last of Us Part 2’s remaster won’t be able to hide behindan extreme fidelity makeover likeThe Last of Us Part 1, the remaster has a legitimate opportunity to showcase the additional content it brings with it.
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The Last of Us Part 2’s Remaster Needs to Let Performance, Gameplay Speak for Itself
The Last of Us’ Remake was Largely a New Coat of Paint
The Last of Us Part 1received a massive visual overhaul to have it look likeThe Last of Us Part 2and that was a huge boon in bringing it to the modern console generation. That said, becauseThe Last of Us’ IPwill now have had more remasters/remakes than actual installments when the remaster ofPart 2comes out, it is understandable why such regurgitation has been received with such fatigue.
Interestingly, there’s almost an identical time span between the originalLast of Us’ PS3 launch and the launch of the PS4 as there is betweenThe Last of Us Part 2’s release on PS4 and the launch of the PS5.
It’s true thatThe Last of Us’ first remaster made sense due to its release in the summer following the PS4’s launch, meaning that such a remaster forPart 2would’ve likely been appreciated more as a summer 2020 title for the PS5. But no matter how late this remaster may seem it is fortunately not arriving empty-handed. Instead, there will benew gameplay content to peruse inThe Last of Us Part 2as well as obligatory cosmetic goodies.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Remaster Deserved a Director’s Cut Title
Naughty Dog and PlayStation must’ve known that putting out a vanilla remaster ofPart 2without any goodies would’ve landed them in boiling water, and what it includes does not disappoint, especially for anyone who would already be willing to purchase the remaster without it. The best decision made with the remaster was to give ita discounted price tag of $10for anyone who already owns the original, which would’ve been an exceptional price even if it was a simple PS5 remaster without any of the supplementary content it features.
Indeed, being able to experience three ‘Lost Levels’ and a survival roguelike mode titled No Return are cherries on top that make the remaster more than worthwhile, going as far as to seem more like a director’s cut edition than a basic remaster ordinarily would. It’ll also be interesting to see how much time is shaved off of the sequel with less loading times inherent on the PS5 since that could have a tremendous effect onThe Last of Us Part 2’s speedrunning community, let alone casual play.
The Last of Us Part 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Play the winner of over 300 Game of the Year awards, remastered for the PlayStation®5 console. Relive or play for the first time Ellie and Abby’s story, now with graphical enhancements, new gameplay modes like the roguelike survival experience No Return, full DualSense® wireless controller integration, and more. Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closur
