‘The Last of Us Part 2’ Remastered Review: Double Down On The Violence
Editor’s note: This review contains major spoilers for The Last Of Us Part 2.
The Last of Us 2, when released in 2020, came out to a bunch of contention because of the drastic steps it took and the scenarios it put some of the series’ most lovable characters in. Now, four years removed, it remains one of the most emotional stories I’ve ever experienced in games. Along with the visual enhancements and the fact that they added a whole new mode to make the game inherently more replayable, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered more than makes sense.
The story of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is one fought with misery, pain, love, and hope. It manages to nail down the most inherent part of every relationship: that sometimes, things can get messy. It’s what you manage to learn and how you grow from these experiences that define who you are as a person.
Let’s Start At The Beginning
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered follows Ellie after the death of Joel and how she struggles to maintain any sense of normality in her life as she tracks down those responsible for his death. She drags her now close-knit group of friends with her, all willing to help her. But, Ellie does not see the toll her actions are taking on her friends.
There is a second part to this story, and it’s from the viewpoint of the person who murdered Joel: Abby. She was a big reason why every incel was hoping to burn the internet down because they couldn’t accept that a ripped woman was responsible for the death of a beloved character. But guess what? Joel was just as shitty as everyone else. He made horrible decisions that not only cost him his life but cost the world the cure they needed. It’s for this selfish reason—and a few other butterfly effect reasons—that the two had a conflict, and why Abby and her group ultimately took him out.
Two Sides To The Story
Abby’s journey is what really pushes the narrative in an exciting way. The game sets Abby up for instant hatred and then manages to play with your emotions while she goes through her journey. You end up championing Abby in a way that when Ellie and Abby meet, it creates a valid point of contention for the player.
Naughty Dog has always excelled at its voice acting and emotional storytelling, and it’s clear here they are still hitting those highs in stride. Not only that but in this release of The Last of Us 2 Remastered, they give us a peek behind the curtain in a very interesting way with the inclusion of the “Lost Levels.” These are a myriad of levels that weren’t fully developed, but players can still experience them. In these levels, there are developer commentary bubbles you can interact with, which give a deeper look into levels that were eventually cut from the game.
No Return Shines A Light On Combat
The most significant inclusion in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is the addition of the “No Return.” This is essentially a roguelike mode centered around the combat, mixing in interesting caveats to each encounter. As you progress through encounters, you will be met not only with deadlier challenges but also with varied effects on the encounter itself. These can range anywhere from the enemies having less health to far more impactful ones, like applying a weird filter on the screen, enemies dropping bombs on death, all the way to having certain weapon types locked out.
But, you can plan out your runs in such a way to avoid all these ill effects if you want, with the downside being your payout for each success would more than likely be less. These payouts include the mode currency, in which you can buy items like more scrap for upgrades, Molotov cocktails, and new weapons. The store itself is randomized from a pool of items that you can shuffle once per encounter. Then there is scrap for upgrading your weapons, which is pretty self-explanatory. Lastly, there are pills for character upgrades because, in this mode, we aren’t playing as just Ellie or Abby. We have a pool of characters to choose from, all unlocked by just playing the mode. This ranges from Dina to Tommy on Team Ellie and Lev to Manny on Team Abby.
Player Choice Plays A Big Part In “No Return”
The interesting part is each of these characters plays vastly differently, which helps shake up the gameplay. They also each come with their own set of skills and strengths. For example, Lev is a stealth-focused character, so she sports a bow, while Tommy is known for his custom sniper rifle, so he’s better at long ranges. Not only do they have different skill sets, but they also start with different load-outs, so I found myself resonating with one character and sticking to them.
Runs end when one of two things happens. Either you meet a gruesome and deadly end, or you make it past the last encounter. This final encounter focuses on specific encounters that will not change if you die and get back to them again. You’ll face off against the giant bloater, infection infestations, the Rat King, and more. Naughty Dog really went all out when it comes to new additions to this remaster.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is the complete package. Even as someone like myself who played the hell out of the original release four years ago, there is so much packed in here that I ran through the entire game twice. Not only that, I easily put an extra 20 hours into No Return and even messed around in the Guitar Freeplay mode, which isn’t for me, but hey, it is for someone. Everything about the game reminds me that whatever Naughty Dog has cooking next for The Last of Us, I am on board.
Summary
The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered adds more than enough new content for its small upgrade price. While storytelling isn’t the focus in the Remaster, the combat in its No Return mode highlights how well the combat is polished. Tack on that you get the incredible story of The Last Of Us Part 2 as well, and purchasing this remaster is a no brainer.
Categorized:Horror Gaming Reviews
