Update 11/17/2023 7:55 p.m. ET: Naughty Dogās officially confirmed the existence of The Last of Us Part II Remastered, releasing a barrage of information about the upcoming re-release of its 2020 PlayStation 4 game in a post on its website, complete with an announcement trailer.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the remaster will be the new roguelike āNo Returnā mode, which sounds very involved. You choose a character and then try to survive in ārandomized encountersāāitās not clear if actual maps are randomizedāand surviving lets you win meta-progression to enhance your characterās abilities, unlock cosmetics, and compete on global daily challenge leaderboards.
āRemasteredā implies improved A/V aspects. The new release will indeed take advantage of the PlayStation 5’s enhanced capabilities, giving you the usual choice of a 4K āFidelityā mode or a 1440p-upscaled-to-4K āPerformanceā mode that runs at 60fps. Whichever mode you choose, the game will look better in general thanks to variable refresh rate support, improved LoD settings, sharper textures, smoother animation rates, and so on. DualSense controller features like adaptive triggers will be leveraged, too.
As is its tendency, Naughty Dog is also going big on behind-the-scenes features, with a wild-sounding amount of commentary from various creatives, including voice actors, and several new ālost levelsā that will let you play through areas that were cut from the original Part II release.
You can also expect an array of smaller additions, including a speedrun challenge mode, improved photo-taking functionality, bonus skins for various characters, and expanded guitar playing that will expand the sound possibilities and let you stage impromptu little concerts in different venues.
Pre-orders open December 5. If youād like to spend more money, a pricier The Last of Us Part II Remastered W.L.F. Edition will come in a SteelBook case and include four enamel pins, a clothing patch, and physical versions of 47 trading cards from inside the game. And in nice news for existing PS4 Part II owners, you can upgrade to the digital version of Remastered for $10.
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The existence of The Last of Us Part II Remastered has leaked via a PlayStation Store listing that was spotted by fans online. A trailer has also leaked, which includes a release date of January 19, 2024.
On November 17, a reputed listing for the yet-to-be-confirmed remaster was leaked online. The new remastered The Last of Us sequel will seemingly feature ānative PS5 enhancements,ā including a āa host of graphical improvementsā and faster loading times.
BREAKING: The first look at the new The Last of Us: Part II Remastered trailer provided by @InsiderGamingIG https://t.co/wOT2Kcc9DE pic.twitter.com/9ss9sLn5GO
— Naughty Dog Central (@NaughtyNDC) November 17, 2023
The store listing also mentions āNo Returnā which is described as a āroguelike survival mode experience.ā Hereās the full description of that apparent new mode:
Survive as long as you can in each run, as you choose your path through a series of randomized encounters. Play as a host of different unlockable characters, some never-before playable in The Last of Us franchise, each with unique gameplay traits. The variety of challenges feature different foes and memorable locations from throughout Part II, all culminating in tense boss battles.
This remastered edition of The Last of Us Part II will also feature āLost Levelsā that will let players explore āearly-development versionsā of levels not seen in the main game. Some other interesting tidbits from the store listing include:
Hours of new developer commentary.
A new mode that lets you play the famous guitar minigame freely.
A speedrun-focused mode
New unlockable weapon and character skins for Abby and Ellie.
This new remaster will seemingly be exclusive to PS5 and launches on January 19, 2024. The leaked trailer and store listing didnāt make mention of a PC port.
This leak seemingly confirms rumors and reports from earlier this year about a The Last of Us Part II remaster or PS5 upgrade. Back in July 2023, Last of Us composer Gustavo Santaolalla suggested during an interview that an upgraded port of some kind was in the works.
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