You know those Blu-Ray Special/Ultimate/Collectors Editions of your favorite movies? There have been about a dozen releases of "Elf," for example, and I think I own about a dozen copies of the first three "Evil Dead" movies. Criterion has made an industry of making people buy films they already own by including sharper video and audio, alongside great supplemental material that doesn't just feel tacked on but enhances the appreciation of the work. That's the best way to look at Sony's "The Last of Us, Part II Remastered," a release that has earned some criticism for following too quickly on the heels of the original but feels to me like something that plays more for collectors and diehard fans than casuals. If you were critical of the original 2020 PS4 release, this version is not going to change your mind. However, if you were a fan, or have been brought onboard by the success of HBO's Emmy-winning adaptation, it's a notable early-year title. Recent buzz around the second season of the show (including the casting of Kaitlyn Dever, Young Mazino, and Isabela Merced) has thrust "The Last of Us" back into the spotlight. "The Last of Us, Part II Remastered" reminds gamers why it deserves to be there.
One of the best games of the 2020s so far has been given a technical polish, including native 4K performance, framerate improvements, and Variable Refresh Rate. There have been noticeable graphical upgrades, particularly in depth of field and background detail. From the beginning of the game, as Joel and Tommy ride their horses over a ridge, I had the striking sense that the world around me was richer (and I just replayed the original version of the game last summer). It's not SO drastic that it feels as much like a different game as last year's "The Last of Us, Part 1," which was a total rebuild, but it's also not nothing. I wouldn't suggest picking this up just for the graphical upgrade, but you will notice it if you do.
The new version of "The Last of Us" also boasts new DualSense wireless controller support, making some of the weapons feel different—chunkier for heavier trigger pulls, for example—which adds a new level of realism to the combat. It's not listed as an upgrade, but it also feels like the sound design has been tweaked, making it a bit richer as a sensory experience, but that could just be in my head.
As for the aforementioned supplemental material, it really falls into three categories—four if you count the ability to add new skins to Ellie, Abby, and their weapons in the game itself after you complete it. (You can now fight zombies with an Ellie dressed like an astronaut!) The big draw will probably be the Lost Levels, three levels from the game that were cut from the final version. Sort of deleted scenes, they're all incomplete, to varying degrees, and they come with commentary about how they would have fit into the game along with introductions from Neil Druckmann himself. Before you get all excited about missing "TLOU" action, slow down. There's not much to these levels, but they are fascinating in terms of the storytelling process that goes into a game like this one.
The first lost level unfolds in Jackson at a party that would lead up to the memory of the first time that Ellie and Dina kissed. It would have come late in the game, as a flashback, and Druckmann is correct when he says it would have killed the building momentum of the end game of "Part II." However, it's fun to see how the developers envisioned life in Jackson, complete with carnival games around the dance and local flavor. The second scene takes place in the sewers after Ellie goes out the window and into the rushing river. Puzzle-heavy, it has one great potential beat when Ellie has crawl past a clicker, but I can see why this one was cut too. Finally, there's a Boar hunt that also would have been a late-game flashback—while it enhances a sense of Ellie's violent trauma, the game already has plenty of that.
As for the really fun stuff, that's in a new mode called "No Return," an entirely new mode filled with challenges and a roguelike structure (varying levels and villains in each playthrough). The gamer starts a run—first with just Ellie or Abby, but characters like Dina, Jesse, Joel, and more are unlockable—with a limited loadout in a random location. As the run continues, the player can upgrade weapons and skills before choosing the next step in the run, culminating in a boss battle. New kinds of challenges unlock after different runs. For example, in one, the player just has to survive long enough for a timer to run out. In another, enemies guard a safe, and the player can go with combat or stealth to get the job done. The runs use locations and enemies from the game. It's a neat mini-game that's also surprisingly difficult. And that's from someone who's played through this whole thing more than twice.
Finally, there's a free play mode in which you can play guitar and a speedrun mode wherein you can post your best times. Again, neither of those things will be enough to sway anyone's opinion of the game but provide something neat for the hardcore ones. They'll love this collector's edition of a phenomenal game, while we all wait for what we really want announced: "The Last of Us, Part III."
The publisher provided a review copy of this title. It will be available on January 19th, 2024.
