The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredis a strange blend . On one helping hand , it ’s a good exculpation to revisitDigital Trends ’ 2020 Game of the Year option . On the other , it ’s a flakey package filled with musical note - deaf fillip modes that water down the base game ’s own substance on cyclical violence . Considering that it ’s not as much of a “ remaster ” as its title imply , I would n’t blame most players for skip it .
There is , however , one honest reason to check the package out . The new release contains an extensive comment track featuring the game ’s cast of characters , creative theater director Neil Druckmann , and others . It ’s several hours deserving of penetration that bring over nearly every individual cinematic in the adventure , and it often gives some illuminating selective information on the project . It ’ll help you better understand the refinement of specific scenes and how actor approached their role .
What ’s most entrancing , though , is how much the commentary let on about Naughty Dog ’s original thought for the undertaking . The Last of Us Part 2was almost a very different game , from its cast to its heavily reworked conclusion . If you ’re not looking to expend money on an inessential rerelease , here are some of the juicy tidbits we found in the entire commentary track .
This article contains mollycoddler forThe Last of Us Part 2 .
Seattle was built thanks to Infamous: Second Son
While there are a passel of news report details to unpack , the most surprising fact is a bit of behind - the - scene small beer . Commentary disclose that the version of Seattle that Naughty Dog created for the game was really base onInfamous : Second Son , another Sony game set in the city . The crew confirms that developer Sucker Punch gave Naughty Dog access to its Seattle map when it started growth . From there , Naughty Dog begin crop out section that it could turn into focussed levels . evidently , the postapocalyptic version of the city inThe Last of Us Part 2is very different from what ’s inInfamous , but the off-white of the latter build the former .
Abby almost had a different voice
part actress Laura Bailey has a choice role inThe Last of Us Part 2 , bringing Abby to aliveness . It ’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role today , but there was almost a realism where she was n’t in the plot . Druckmann corroborate during one snippet that the team did n’t require to cast Laura Bailey for the character to begin with . by nature , that decisiveness changed and she was chosen for the role in the final stage , but there ’s an alternative timeline where someone else has the honors of voicing Abby .
The golf club scene almost looked very different
The entire comment track through the scene where Joel meet his wrong demise at the occupation end of a golf game club is deserving listening to for a few reasons . Not only does it provide some raw reactions from the plaster bandage , but the squad bring out two ways it was almost very unlike . One ’s just an editing decision . The interlingual rendition in the concluding game happens over the trend of one uninterrupted jibe . It ’s an effective trick that we almost missed out on , as an former version had multiple swing . Also notable is that Druckmann and company tweak when Ellie arrives during the vista . An original draft had her enter the room after Joel was already all in , but it was changed to verify Ellie catch there in fourth dimension to see the vicious killing and be more the right way motivated by it .
It was almost five days instead of three
The Last of Us Part 2features a memorable structure , as we spend three daytime in Seattle playing as Ellie and then rewind and play those same three days from Abby ’s linear perspective . Commentary uncover that the game was almost much longer , chronicling five days instead . The extra prison term would include a day where Ellie travels to Scar Island and digs into the culture of its inhabitants . That section was at last cut because Naughty Dog felt it did n’t careen Ellie ’s journey . Considering how long the final game already is , cutting back a couple of day seems like the right call in the end .
We almost had Ghost Joel
The crew talk about a lot of thought that never made the cut over the hour of commentary , but there ’s one that ’ll make you say , “ give thanks God that was cut . ” The squad substantiate that the original idea was to have a trace adaptation of Joel that popped up at times to talk to Ellie . presumptively , that was built as a way to keep the popular character in the game after his destruction . gratefully , Druckmann recognized that the estimation was “ too campy ” and left it on the cutting room flooring .
The original ending was radically different
The big divine revelation in the comment racetrack concerns the biz ’s finish , which was almost solely dissimilar . For one , an original draft would see Lev go bad in accession to Yarra . That particular was changed after the squad saw the other chemical science behind Lev and Abby ’s actors . Even more lurid , though , is that Abby was also supposed to give out originally . Ellie would nail her revenge pursuance in the original script , successfully drowning Abby instead of stop at the last second . Those two modification will belike change the course of action ofThe Last of Us Part 3 , so it ’s a passably major swerving .
Ellie ’s ending was almost very different , too — especially when it derive to the lot of her manus . In the final reading , Abby chomp some of Ellie ’s fingers off in their final brush . While Ellie was always going to terminate the biz maim , the method by which that happened was almost unlike . One gulp simply had a parent of a random NPC that Ellie kill attack her in a townsfolk near the goal . It would have been an unexpected act of violence that demonstrate how deep the violence cycle had disperse .
Other changes were more subtle . The current biz ends with Ellie returning home after her engagement with Abby to regain Dina has moved out . An original version of the end had Ellie return to a all empty home base , but Naughty Dog worry that players would assume something dreaded happened to Dina in the cognitive process . Then there ’s the very final flashback , where Ellie and Joel tentatively reconcile . The original vision for the scene had the two smooching , but the squad finally felt like the character were n’t quite there yet . The lack of a strong-arm rapprochement would rob Ellie of just a bit more closure , further fueling her trauma over Joel ’s death . All of this would have made the ending experience all dissimilar , but Naughty Dog ’s justifications for the changes make gumption when look at the final product . We can at least pillow comfortable knowing that we did n’t have to meet ghostwriter Joel .
The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredis available now on PlayStation 5 .
