ℹ️ - The Last of Us Part II Remastered
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PS5
Initial Release: 19th January March 2024
After weeks of rumours that this sort of announcement was coming, it is now official and Naughty Dog will be releasing a remastered version of The Last of Us Part II for PS5 on 19th January 2024.
This may feel a little like a remaster that nobody was asking for given that the studio's divisive sequel already looked great on PS4 Pro and is only 3 years old itself, but remember that the original game was actually remastered after just 13 months! Perhaps someone at Sony really needs to see both games on the same system with comparable quality to find a bit of inner peace, though to be fair, there is actually more to this one than a simple visual upgrade.
- TLOU PART II // REMASTERED -
Where virtual photographers are concerned, those visual upgrades are always welcome anyway, and you can expect increased texture resolution, greater level of detail distance, and improved shadow quality, all at native 4K resolution in Fidelity mode.
There is also promise of an upgraded photo mode and all of the additional features found in Part I should be present this time around. That means some extremely useful tools like Frame Forward to tweak the game animation, character Gaze Direction for the first time on the console version, and of course the advanced 3-point lighting setup than can transform shots in the game's many dimply lit environments.
I wouldn't be putting any bets on the orbit camera being replaced with a proper free cam though.
- TLOU PART II // REMASTERED -
I did say that this has more than just visual upgrades though, and there are other additions that add value beyond a mere resolution upgrade. "No Return" is a brand-new roguelike challenge mode where you will face randomised encounters. This also lets you play as more characters including Lev, Jesse, and Dina, all of whom come with more skins and outfits for varied looks.
The ever-popular guitar mechanic is expanded with a dedicated Guitar Free Play mode, and the whole game should give more of a behind-the-scenes look with developer commentaries and a rare chance to play through some unfinished levels like deleted scenes on a Blu-Ray movie.
- TLOU PART II // NEW CONTENT -
If all of that leaves you thinking "yeah great, but I'm not paying full price for the game again", the good news is that owners of The Last of Us Part II on PS4 can upgrade to the remaster for $10 – and presumably £10 / €10 etc. because exchange rates are so terribly unfashionable these days.
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