Almost 3 years later, it returns to PS5. However, sleuths will know that a PS5 patch is already available for The Last of Us 2. Yes, but no. There, we’re talking to you about a complete remastered version, a REAL native PS5 version and all the promises that go with it in addition to some bonuses. Is The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered essential? Difficult question, since many people had already criticized the remake of the first opus, which goes much further in the redesign work than this re-release of TLOU 2 does. So let’s see what this remastered has in store.
Note : This test generally focuses on the new features that this remastered version brings. As the new features do not disrupt the experience in any way, we invite you to read our review of The Last of Us 2 on PS4 in detail to learn more about the original game.
Why change a winning team?
We take the same and start again. As specified, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is only a huge update of the original version and not a remake like TLOU Part 1. This imposing revisit will only cost you around ten euros if you have the PS4 version. Note also that saves, progress and trophies will also be transferable. Excellent points but which also reveal one thing: there will be no big new features in this update, other than a very big polish. The game looks better than ever, but nothing else changes.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is still a pure masterpiece. It’s a lesson in storytelling and directing. Ellie’s quest, her dramatic rise in power and her violence are as successful as ever, without forgetting Abby, the other inseparable facet of this same play. A work that can be experienced from start to finish, which can be (re)discovered with the guts. Naughty Dog is a studio that has made its reputation on its ability to create universes that are not only striking but also credible. TLOU 2 is teeming with details, everywhere, all the time and on all levels. From simple interactions between characters, to reactions with what surrounds our heroes in the heat of the action, the game surprises us at every moment and the recipe always works.
On the other hand, he’s not very old. It was released on a PS4 at the end of its life which would give way to its big sister a few months later. At the time, TLOU 2 was already a graphic and technical masterclass and it was not three years that made it show wrinkles, quite the contrary. And if it’s great, it’s also a problem when you want to charge for a remastered version, or rather, optimized for current machines.
The Last of us 2 looks better than ever on PS5
A remaster, we see the work when the games have aged, when a graphical overhaul or gameplay update is necessary to revitalize a dated title. But what about a game that was already two to three years ahead of what was being done at the time? This is the question that we will ask ourselves when launching the story mode of this TLOU 2 Remastered to the extent that nothing changes one iota. No new features or anything, the masterpiece is immaculate.
On the graphic part, we obviously note an evolution, or rather, an optimization. We’re switching to native 4K which will delight the eye of the discerning player, a better framerate for those who want it and compatibility with VRR, the variable refresh rate, a very good compromise for a game of this ilk. The result is nothing transcendent, let it be said. It’s not a failure, absolutely not, but the game was already very beautiful in reality. There, it is even more so. Sublime ++ then, but that’s about it. We are told that the animations have been adjusted a bit, that various graphic effects have been improved…
We believe them, we see it in the image, the game is superb. And still superb is sometimes a very small word since it is enough for the staging or the compositions of the level design to vibrate our artistic sensitivity for us to widen our eyes amazed by the spectacle. It’s like that. But once again, this feeling, the original game already caused it. Impossible for the average gamer to find every pixel changed by this remaster. Details, always details, that’s how Naughty Dog refined its baby one last time. An optimization that does it good, if not totally transcending the experience.
Bonuses and new features galore
PS5 obliges, the game is now completely in symbiosis with its support. Every feature of the machine and its DualSense is used. Haptic feedback, adaptive trigger, 3D audio and everything you want. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered plays the good role and we are not going to complain about it. But the real novelties are found elsewhere. They are nestled in the main menu. Note for example the possibility of adding developer comments during certain cutscenes in order to learn more behind the scenes. Something that fans of the franchise will certainly appreciate. There are also the famous Lost Levels.
Parts of the game, three to be exact, that were canceled along the way. A different intro, a passage through the sewers or even a chase that turns sour… unfinished sequences which are playable here and dotted with audio notes to discover to learn more about the development once again. It’s pretty awesome to go behind the scenes in this way, to understand the development process and the secrets that led to certain decisions being made. But how short it is! The sequences in question only last a handful of minutes, a little more if you take the time to listen to all the audio notes, but that’s it. We would clearly have liked to see them in the final version, perhaps in a Director’s Cut? Here it’s a bonus, nothing more, unfortunately.
We will also note a Free Guitar game mode which allows you to play as Joel, Ellie or the musician Gustavo Santaolalla, the composer of the original soundtrack. Very nice on paper, but… but that’s it since there’s nothing to get your teeth into. No rhythm game-style score or anything to unlock, other than a few additional instruments besides the acoustic guitar. There was certainly something to be done here, but we will never see it unfortunately. Same thing for the few game modifiers to discover once the main plot is finished, sorts of cheat codes we’re not going to lie, or the speedrun mode which will amuse scoring fans.
Sans Retour, the ultra-effective roguelike mode
We’re not going to be choosy though, since there are plenty of bonuses here, The Last of Us Part 2 is full of them, notably thanks to its new No Return game mode. A roguelike experience that will allow you to unlock an astronomical amount of cosmetics for the main game or this same secondary mode. No multiplayer, even if it lends itself well to cooperation, but a solo mode which offers us the opportunity to play otherwise unplayable characters. Tommy, Lev, Jesse and even Dina can be unlocked to replace the iconic duo of Ellie and Abby on the field.
The principle is simple, we launch a run (a game) which will be randomly generated. A multi-branched campaign then takes shape made up of several random missions with a boss to defeat at the end. The objective is simple: complete the campaign to unlock a whole bunch of bonuses and start again. Each game will allow you to unlock new missions, new challenges to accomplish during them, but also new bosses to defeat.
No narrative plot here, unlike the roguelike mode of God of War Ragnarok for example, which is also free. On TLOU 2 Remastered the campaigns are random and the environments have no coherence between them. All the missions will take us into narrow locations directly taken from the story mode and somewhat reworked to adapt to the roguelike. We will then have several objectives to complete which will only last a few minutes.
Survive a hunt, eliminate waves of enemies, loot resources, etc. The objectives are varied and we will unlock them as we progress, as well as some mission modifiers that can offer bonuses or penalties. It also sometimes happens that they are of no use other than adding a photo filter for example. THE roguelike mode is based on efficient and well-executed operation, if not really original.
There is nothing very transcendent, especially when we know that in the end, there is no big carrot at stake. However, the experience remains very interesting since it fits perfectly well with the universe and above all because it is well designed. Between each mission, we develop our skills, each character has strengths and weaknesses often linked to the handling of weapons or survival skills and we can even craft new equipment to take from one mission to another.
While knowing that death is final and discovering some new game mechanics (we’ll leave you the surprise), No Return mode is particularly intense. The action is still visceral, the infiltration distressing, and yes, it’s still monstrously sublime. What I ultimately regret is above all not being able to share this experience in cooperation like the Expedition mode of Rise of the Tomb Raider, For example. Game which also offered a super well-designed and quickly time-consuming secondary mode, but playable in multiplayer.
Here it’s the same thing with this No Return mode from The Last of Us 2 Remastered. You quickly get lost, you will need many successful runs to unlock everything that can be unlocked, but you will only be able to do it alone whereas an additional hero would clearly not have killed, especially since it was totally suitable for it. But we understand, TLOU in multi is not for tomorrow, it’s even very bad.
