The Last of Us Part II was released in 2020 at the peak of the real-world pandemic. It was a strange time, and playing a dark game set in the aftermath of a fictional pandemic during an actual real-life pandemic was undeniably eerie.
But it’s an experience I’ll never forget.
I remember getting my hands on Part II several weeks early. Every evening after work, I’d spend hours playing through Ellie and Abby’s harrowing journey. I’d walk downstairs to tell my partner what I’d played, and she’d often describe me as looking like “I just went to war.”
Exploring Seattle in a space suit doesn’t really feel right.
The Last of Us Part II is an often devastating game that aims to make the player feel things — and often, those emotions aren’t positive. This is what makes it unique and critically acclaimed in the gaming space.
Fast forward to 2024 and the release of The Last of Us Part II Remastered, a marginally improved, DVD special features-like re-release of one of the best video games ever made.
“I’d even go so far as to say that The Last of Us Part II Remastered is one of the best-looking games I’ve ever played on any console or PC.”
Let’s get one thing clear first; if you already own The Last of Us Part II for the PS4, this remaster should have been entirely free and not cost $15, though given Sony’s previous PS4 to PS5 re-releases, I’m not surprised this is the route the gaming giant took. Part II Remastered also isn’t a full-fledged remake like Part 1‘s PS5 release, which makes sense, given it only dropped a few years ago. On the other hand, Remastered is the best way to experience Part II if you’ve never played the game before, and with the mainstream popularity of The Last of Us TV show in mind, I imagine there are a lot of new fans who haven’t played Part II yet.
Draw distance detail has been improved in Part II Remastered. Image credit: Sony
Is Part II a cash grab? Sort of. That comes down to whether you’ve played the game before and how into the series you are. Despite already playing through Part II on the PS4, I’ve had a great time revisiting Part II Remastered and seeing the upgrades/new features it offers, though I know wandering around alpha build areas cut from the game’s release won’t be for everyone. This kind of content is added to this remaster specifically for someone like me.
Let’s outline what’s new in Part II Remastered. There’s a new ‘Fidelity Mode’ that outputs in native 4K at 30fps and a ‘Performance Mode’ that displays visuals at 1440p upscaled to 4K at 60fps with support for variable refresh rate (VRR). Both visual modes look very similar, but I typically opted for ‘Performance Mode’ during my roughly 20 hours playing Part II Remastered so far because the game’s excellent combat feels more fluid when running at 60fps. Additional graphical improvements include better shadow quality, higher-resolution textures and other minor tweaks.
The Last of Us Part II is one of the best-looking games I’ve ever seen. Image credit: Sony
The Last of Us Part II Remastered looks undeniably better than its PS4 counterpart, but the improvement isn’t that substantial. What I’ve taken most note of is just how clean the game looks. The rare aliasing problems or frame rate issues I ran into with the PS4 version are gone, thanks to the ample power of the PS5. Given how great The Last of Us Part II looked when it was released and still looks now three years after its release, it’s unsurprising that Naughty Dog’s epic remains a stunner — but part of me didn’t expect it to still look this good.
I’d even go so far as to say that it’s one of the best-looking games I’ve ever played on any console or PC.
Apart from the visual upgrades, Part II Remastered includes a few other new features. The roguelike permadeath ‘No Return’ mode, which tasks players with fighting waves of enemies across small arenas pulled from the story mode, is a worthwhile diversion that’s deeper than I expected. Without giving a few fun surprises away, there are several unlockables to work towards, like more playable characters, level modifiers and additional stages, as well as varying goals, like outright surviving, sneaking and reaching a specific cache, or taking out successive waves of enemies.
No Return can get pretty intense, especially in later stages. Image credit: Sony
Characters have unique traits that add variety to the experience. For example, Abby receives a health boost when killing an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, while Ellie’s ability to craft Molotov Cocktails is useful in desperate situations. There’s a lot of strategy behind deciding what upgrades you should give your character at the Safe House between stages. Do you kill enemies silently more often? Then you’ll want to learn to craft shivs. Maybe you’re more like me and blast away with the Hunting Rifle? Then, you’ll want to upgrade that powerful gun as much as possible. And always make sure you restore your health in between stages.
The real draw is how well No Return showcases The Last of Us Part II’s stellar combat, which remains as fluid as ever. Each encounter can be approached in different ways and sometimes feels desperate — especially when one wrong move means you’ll need to start all over again. The stakes are much higher when you’ve invested 45 minutes into a run and one mistake forces you to start again.
How cute. Grotesque Cordyceps-infected creatures look even more terrifying in The Last of Us Part II Remastered. Image credit: Sony
Other extra features include developer commentary and three deleted ‘Lost Levels’ areas. It makes sense why each section was removed during Part II’s development process, but as someone who cares deeply about this series, it’s fascinating to hear from the development team exactly why these portions of the title were left on the cutting room floor. For example, while the sewer sequence is great and nearly complete, I can see how it would make the latter half of Part II feel like even more of a drag, and the section with the wild bore is just unnecessary (the “cycle of violence” narrative point is already very apparent at that point in the game).
Other less notable upgrades include a ‘Guitar Freeplay Mode,’ the ability to change Ellie’s clothes in story mode (yes, you can put her in a space suit for the entire game), concept art, a ‘Speedrun Mode,’ and a few other behind-the-scenes surprises. Like No Return, these director’s cut-like features are included for someone like me who cares deeply about The Last of Us’ universe (my cat is named Ellie for a reason), but there’ll be a lot of players who won’t care about these extras.
Yes, you can make Ellie wear a space suit during emotional cut scenes.
The Last of Us Part II remains one of the best video games ever three years after its release, and Remastered only solidifies this fact. Few games take the creative chances of Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic epic, and despite the latter half of Part II dragging a bit and getting a little over-complicated with its storylines, it’s still one of the most ambitious video games ever released.
For more on The Last of Us Part II, check out my review of the game’s original release. The Last of Us Part II Remastered will release on January 19th, 2024 for the PlayStation 5 for $
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Header image credit: Sony