The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered Changes and Differences: Is It Worth It?
Are the upgrades worth a purchase?
The Last of Us Part 2 debuted in 2020 for PlayStation and garnered critical acclaim through its complex story, in-depth gameplay, and stunningly realistic visuals. Now, Naughty Dog has released a PlayStation 5 port of the game with new features and enhancements. But are the upgrades worth a purchase? Here’s what we know.
What are The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered’s New Features?
The most substantial addition to the PS5 port is the new roguelike mode, “No Return.” You can play as Ellie, Abby, and a variety of other characters from the game’s cast to fight off waves of enemies. Rooms are randomly generated and players have to go through several of them before facing off against the boss at the end.
It’s an engaging mode that highlights the game’s in-depth combat by utilizing every aspect to your advantage, whether it’s stealthily taking down enemies one by one or going in guns blazing in a firefight. Players can also unlock new characters, room mods, and skins to switch up the moment-to-moment gameplay.
Ellie and Dinah in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.
There’s a behind-the-scenes look at the game’s development called Lost Levels. These are explorable areas that didn’t make the cut in the final game and feature commentary from the developers about the ideas behind them and why they ultimately got scrapped.
In the PS4 game, there’s a guitar mini-game that you can play and the PS5 remaster expands on that with Free Play mode. Here, you can select different kinds of guitars and play different chords using the DualSense controller’s touchpad.
Guitar free play.
As for the PS5-specific enhancements, the remaster leverages the DualSense controller with its haptic feedback features. The recoil from a shotgun and bowstring pullback feel as realistic and immersive as ever. You can also choose between fidelity mode and prioritize 4K output or performance mode to get improved framerates.
Lastly, Speedrun Mode returns from The Last of Us Part 1 remaster back in 2022 so players can challenge each other on how long it takes to finish the game. It also has unlockable skins for Ellie, Abby, and their weapons too.
Should You Buy The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered?
Should you buy?
While No Return is a cool new game mode to try out, it doesn’t take full advantage of the PlayStation 5’s hardware. Lost Levels and Free Play mode are nice additions as well, but they end up just being superfluous curiosities that only last a short while. This remaster feels unnecessary as all of the new features could’ve just been extra DLC or expansions for the original PS4 version. The visual enhancements don’t seem to make a huge impact either.
The game also costs $50, which can be a big ask for something that was first released almost four years ago. However, those who already own the PS4 version can upgrade to the remaster for only $10. Whether you’re a newcomer or a veteran, the remaster is a great way to experience it for the first time or revisit it, as it’s now the definitive version. But if you can hold off, it might be better to wait for a sale.
