Naughty Dog’s 2020 masterpiece has received a re-release in the form of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. It won’t turn heads on a technical level, but it does pack some new content that makes it worth considering even if you’ve experienced the epic tale already.
Some of the features have been advertised by the studio, but there are a few minor additions that you may not be aware of. If you’re still on the fence regarding whether you should try out the game, consider whether these features are enough to lure you back in.
All new The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered features
Let’s start with the cosmetic changes in TLOU 2‘s remaster. The remaster introduces the chance to play with different character skins. Some are unlocked through playing the base game while others are obtained by playing the No Return mode. This is the full list of skins available for Ellie:
- Seattle
- Patrol
- B-Day
- Santa Barbara
- Aquarium
- Astronaut
- Astronaut No Helmet
- Pride Tank Top
- Arc the Lad
- Death Stranding
- Destiny
- Mortal Kombat
- Killzone
- Fantasvision
- Siren
- Hotline Miami
- Wipeout Fusion
- Savage Starlight
- Rain Jacket
- Plaid
You also get the following gun skins:
- Astronaut
- Giraffe
- Moth
When it comes to Abby, the following skins are available:
- Seattle
- Jackson
- Salt Lake City
- Santa Barbara
- Coast
- Aquarium
- Eighties
- Genji
- The Getaway
- Syphon Filter
- Jak and Daxter
- The Mask of Kri
- Twisted Metal
- War of the Monsters
- Hotline Miami
- Vintage Naughty Dog
- Bomber Abby
- Badlands
Abby also gets the following weapons skins:
- Zebra
- Eighties
- Wolf Weapon Skin
Technical improvements
The tech improvements in the remaster aren’t significant. This includes 4K performance in Fidelity Mode, framerate improvements, and support for Variable Refresh Rate. Other minor additions include improved texture resolution, Level of Detail distances, sun shadow and texture resolution, improved animation sampling rate, and more.
There’s also full DualSense support which adds adaptive triggers to weapons, making the overall action experience more immersive. If you’re an experienced player, you can enable speedrun mode and track your records.
No Return in The Last of Us Part 2
Perhaps the biggest addition is the No Return mode. It’s a roguelike mode that features randomized levels, enemies, and characters from the base game. Consequently, it’s best to not touch it until you’ve completed the main game.
It’s a survival mode that culminates in a boss fight if you can live through all the encounters. You’re also presented with various challenges, some of which involve taking on certain bosses, and others that involve playing with specific characters.
As you progress and survive runs, you unlock weapon upgrades as well as skins that can be used for characters and weapons in the main game.
Guitar Free Play
In the base game, you’ll have the opportunity to play the guitar as a minigame several times. In the re-release, you can now access this feature at any time with the guitar free play mode. You can play as Ellie, Joel, or Gustavo and switch between the following instruments:
- Guitar
- Banjo
- Nylon
- Jazz
- Rock
- Steel Resonator
You’re not stuck in one location and can switch between the music store, the theatre, the farm, and Jackson.
Lost Levels
As Naughty Dog has previously discussed, you can explore three “lost levels” which are essentially game segments that never made the final cut. They begin with an introduction from Druckmann to give the levels a little context, and you can turn commentary on if you want. When it’s on, there are points you can activate to hear developers discuss a bit about game design and how it fits in with the overall narrative.
The lost levels are rough but not unplayable. There’s audio missing in some parts, and the visuals are unpolished, but it looks good enough for you to understand what the developers were aiming for. The three levels are:
- Jackson Party – You play as Ellie during the Jackson dance. You get an exploration of Jackson and have a chance to spend peaceful time with the inhabitants.
- Seattle Sewer – This is mostly an environmental puzzle section that has you battling against rushing water. Some parts of this section can be found in the final game.
- The Hunt – The brief section has Ellie hunting for a boar which turns into a traumatic event when she is suddenly haunted by memories of Joel.
Behind the Scenes
The remaster also gives you some behind-the-scenes looks into TLOU 2‘s development. It features episodes from the official The Last of Us podcast. The following episodes are available:
- “Take on me” – Behind Part 2
- “They should be terrified of you” – Ellie
- “You’re my people” – Abby
- “I would do it all over again” – Beyond Part 2
In addition to the original reveal trailer for the game, you also get a trailer for a documentary titled Grounded 2: Making of The Last of Us. According to the trailer, the documentary was originally abandoned, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been revived. It also appears to touch on topics that surrounded the sequel, including the leaks and accusations of crunch.
Whether this will be enough to draw you back in is a matter of personal preference. If you’ve never touched the sequel before, this is the best way to experience it.
