Naughty Dog
It was a sunny spring day in 2020 , amid the societal isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic , when I beatThe Last of Us Part 2 . As its tenacious credit wander , I paced around my small apartment sustenance room , take out what had transpired . I adored the sequel ’s first two acts and its multifarious discussion of cyclic violence , but I found myself decisive of its California - set finale . It seemed to turn back on all the nuance of Ellie and Abby ’s struggle by introducing a definitively malign faction that I would n’t find spoiled about shooting with a machine gas . It was a dissonant note at the ending of a symphony orchestra , but I was driven to moil below my surface reading and assay to understand what Naughty Dog was break down for . It had realise that .
That ’s when I was hit by the one moment of the plot I ’ll never forget . As I was deep in reflection , the credits roll up , and a terminal bit of school text splashed on the CRT screen . As a reward for terminate the brutal story , I had unlock New Game+ mode , which would encourage me to replay it again with all my upgrade guns . The benefit of the doubt I ’d give Naughty Dog went out the window ; did the studio apartment even empathize its own game ?
Naughty Dog
When I spell my honest-to-god save file cabinet inThe Last of Us Part 2 Remastered , that question gets blow up in 50 - point font . That intimate endgame splashing concealment once again kill up , but it ’s now three times as absurd . I ’m encouraged to blow through the tarradiddle as fast as I can in a Speedrun mode and rack up kills in the rerelease ’s blinking roguelike add - on , No Return . The violence must continue to keep the series relevant between tenacious development oscillation .
As a treble - fall built for superfans , The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredis a fine ( though inaccurately titled ) collector ’s edition with some worthful archival fabric . But as an extension of Naughty Dog ’s originative vision , it ’s borderline mockery that turns a thoughtful story into a cruel biff line .
Director’s cut
If you ’re thinking about grabbingThe Last of Us Part 2 Remastered , let ’s get one thing straight : It is n’t much of a remaster . Though it does hail with a optical upgrade , those changes are mostly paltry . Sure , there are some slight optic enhancements and performance boosts for those who love to enjoy every exclusive frame , but I ’d play that most of it wo n’t register with your average player . I can barely notice a difference of opinion . Even when I can , it does n’t switch my family relationship to the narration in any way . It ’s a needless cost increase give up only three years after a great - looking game ’s release .
A lot of Naughty Dog ’s merchandising problem here would have been purpose with a subtitle change . This is n’t a remaster ; it ’s a director ’s stinger . That branding has previously been given toDeath StrandingandGhost of Tsushima ’s PlayStation 5 upgradesand it ’s nonplus that Sony did n’t implement some consistence here . What you ’re really buying here is the Criterion Collection rerelease ofThe Last of Us Part 2 , thoroughgoing with a full comment track and behind - the - scenes features .
Some of those extras are worthwhile for those who simply love the floor game . The time of day of comment ply some valuable brainstorm into the write up , with the phonation cast and creative director Neil Druckmann separate down the small-scale shade of every single cutscene . It gives player brainwave into why certain determination were made , what ideas were cut , and how the actors mean about the characters they portray . It ’s the right kind of fillip to admit with a game like this , one that underline the detail - oriented artistic try that makes the story so efficient .
Similarly valuable is a diminished selection of cutting content included with the packages . The triad of “ lost level ” are not exciting new expansions that supply more hours to the game ; they only give a few minutes of gameplay amount and are presented in a bare-ass , bare state . One plainly throws Ellie in a straightaway transitional space that had a few minigames planned but was trim down for tempo . Its most involved one is a lost third - deed introduction that has Ellie hunt down down a boar and culminates in a convenience store Bos fight against the rampaging pig .
It ’s easy to tell why each was cut , but it ’s entrancing to understand that process . Bonus commentary snippets have designers fail down exactly how they build each stage and why they were ultimately send away despite being mostly finish . It ’s a level of transparency we never get in games of this scale , allowing players to see how much thought goes into even the smallest vista . The spear carrier are too short to justify a purchase and could have easy been a free hyperkinetic syndrome - on , but they ’re a decent accession that celebrates the artistry ofThe Last of Us Part 2 .
Had the software stopped there , it would have been a needless but venerating double - dip . Even the add euphony modal value , which countenance players freely toy around with the base plot ’s first-class guitar minigame , feels like a meet way to highlight one of the adventure ’s finest quality . unluckily , developer insight and a few minutes of rough level sketches do n’t adequate troth — and that ’s whereThe Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredembarrasses itself .
More violence
The main draw of the package is a newroguelike modecalled No Return , which has players enduring waves of human and clicker attacks that culminate in a flagitious boss fight . If you ’re the kind of person who does n’t care how gameplay inform narrative and only care about sodding amusement , I ’ll get this out of the elbow room early : It ’s just not fun .
No Return acts as an easy content remix that call for existing assets and gameplay systems and shoehorn them into a biz they were never designed around . After choosing one of several playable characters , including Joel and Lev , player are drop into a safe room that contains a mission select board with branching itinerary . Each one send them to a small level from the game and has players either killing waves of enemy or surviving an bombardment as a timer check off down . A successful level rewards supplements and resources that can be used to upgrade gun and earn skills in each run .
It ’s a very ransack - down vision of a roguelike that does n’t toy to any of the base game ’s potency . Third - person combat is complex inThe Last of Us Part 2 , but it ’s also by choice slow and unwieldy . Each shot is meant to have weight , making histrion really feel the order of magnitude of each bullet they send into human flesh . It ’s not fun ; it ’s a splanchnic and uncomfortable fashion to communicate the sour , animalistic place that Ellie ’s pursuance for revenge take on her . That organization stick out like a sensitive thumb in an amusement - focused roguelike mode where I occasionally get cockamamie modifiers that stimulate enemies to spontaneously blow up when getting hit by a scrimmage tap .
The undercooked mode is n’t a full wasteland of storage outer space . Naughty Dog ribbon in a satisfying advance arrangement that unlocks a drip provender of characters , costumes , modifiers , and entire machinist each ravel . For those who click with it , there ’s enough content to chase while influence toward unlocking six distinct final stage foreman . I can experience some of Naughty Dog ’s learnings from attain anill - fated live - servicing gameat child’s play here through smart engagement loop-the-loop . However , the lean gameplay just does n’t hold in up its end of the bargain .
The more urgent issue with No Return is how mind - bogglingly ill at ease it is in the context ofThe Last of Us Part 2 . The foundation secret plan is a thick speculation on cyclic violence , adapting the old “ heart for an eye ” enunciate into a grisly news report . Considering that , I had hoped that Naughty Dog would perhaps use a roguelike body structure to extend that idea much likeGod of War Ragnarok ’s excellentValhallaDLCdoes . What better direction is there to discourse how force moves in cycles than with a run - based roguelike that trap player in an interminable stream of shootout ?
No Return does absolutely nothing with that estimate . It is fork out directly , without a confidential information of self - awareness . There ’s no narrative thread to set up a loaded premise or any packaging at all . player simply adulterate in , kill a whole crowd of citizenry , unlock a fishy T - shirt for their hero , and do it again . All the while , everything built to provoke discomfort in the fundament biz remains unchanged . When I obliterate an foeman , an NPC still at times calls out their name in agony as I charge a sickle in someone else ’s venter to restore my wellness via a random perk .
After expend 25 hours playing through one of the most pitiful interactive meditations on ferocity ever made , I ’m expected to put it all aside and indulge in some diseased fun . It would be comedic if it were n’t so bleak .
Reassessing a complicated story
The sorely awkward inclusion of No Return has a negative impact on the base game it ’s packaged with . As I gun through waves of mankind , every criticism I had withThe Last of Us Part 2bubbles back to the open . I remember how frustrated I was by its third act , which needlessly had me killing a left-hand - field “ bad guy ” faction en route to an excessive last brawl with Abby . I flash back to the humanistic termination of Abby ’s chapter , which seemed like it was building toward a ripe solution about break out from violence — only to turn around and maim its characters one last clock time . Most of all , I return to that tone - indifferent novel Game+ consolidation , which has been seize by No Return as the most embarrassing prospect of the secret plan .
Well , maybe it ’s third now . The Remastered version ’s fresh Speedrun mode might get the edge here . What stress the teachings ofThe Last of Us Part 2more than trying to go through its brute killings multiple times in the hunt for a high score ?
It sure does n’t help thatThe Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredis overlook at the downright bad possible moment . Druckmann has antecedently noted that his inspiration for the story came from theconflict between Israel and Palestine . A traumatic image moved him to write a account about two factions going to war with one another and destroying each other ’s lives in the process . The 2020 discharge was removed enough from that geopolitical battle to operate on its own damage , but it does not have the same luxury in 2024 . It ’s difficult to remove it from the current struggle overseas , which has reportedly lefttens of thousands of Palestinian civilian — include thousands of minor — all in .
The narrative is certain to be seen through that lens system on its rerelease , with players review its content on violence . Despite being a nuanced human engagement , part of its preaching experience more reductive in a new context . The thought that everything exists in a moral gray zone and no side is fully right feels lacking when put next to a substantial battle where innocent civilians are labeled as succeeding terrorist in ordination to absolve the indiscriminate bombardment of refugee camps and hospital ( comment reveals that the determination of the ruthless Rattler sect at the goal ofPart 2is to make Ellie ’s final kills feel “ justified ” ) . What once felt complex in its fictionalized safe house now find insufficient in realism .
That makes modes like No Return even more egregious . A reflection on a very real crisis has now been burdened with involution - baiting “ subject matter ” meant to keep players pluck . Is it really so different from aCall of Duty gamecirca the warfare on threat — or , even worse , the controversialSix Days in Fallujah ?
As I reflect on the failure ofThe Last of Us Part 2 Remastered , I think back to the finish I wish the tale had scram . The story ’s most effectual minute comes when Ellie and Abby in conclusion lock horn in an abandoned movie theater . It ’s a brutal fight where one person is destined to die . That is , until Abby makes the first mature determination in the game : she walk forth . It ’s the only way to break the cycle of violence . It ’s almost the perfect ending , one that still leaves an irreparable scrape on a PTSD - ridden Ellie and even keeps the door opened for an inevitable sequel . That moment of wisdom survive out the windowpane when Ellie decides to reignite the conflict and gun down more bodies in the process .
Just like a bankable IP , Ellie ca n’t take a break from the vehemence ; she ’s become a machine that give on blood . It ’s the only elbow room The Last of Us can keep churning out sequels , DLC , new mode , television receiver shows , and needless remasters that reject to resign us from its own violence . It ’s kill , kill , kill untilPart 3steps into explain why that ’s wrong .
The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredis available on January 19 for PlayStation 5 .
