The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered Review

It feels just like the time between unique releases and remasters grows thinner by the day. Nonetheless, not all remasters are created equal, and new content material, improve paths, and smaller value tags could make shopping for the identical recreation once more really feel extra acceptable. Fortunately, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is on the higher finish of the remaster spectrum with substantial new additions and simply sufficient polish to make the leap to next-gen really feel worthwhile.

The Final of Us Half 2 Remastered coats the already lovely PS4 recreation with some next-gen polish, even when it didn’t actually need it. The Final of Us Half 2 appeared nice on last-gen {hardware} and already ran at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5 because of a patch that enhanced its backward compatibility, so a full remaster for the PS5 might sound pointless on the floor. Nonetheless, there are sufficient next-gen particular options that make the (fortunately not $70) price ticket really feel warranted.

The principle graphical additions are the brand new Constancy and Efficiency modes. The previous supplies a full native 4K presentation at 30 FPS, which can assist you to spot the minor visible enhancements added to the remastered model like elevated texture decision and higher degree of element distances. The latter ups the framerate to 60 FPS at the price of decision, outputting at 1440p upscaled to 4K. As is the case with most efficiency modes on PlayStation 5, the upscaled decision nonetheless appears to be like distinctive in comparison with the native 4K image supplied by the 30 FPS mode.

The most important recreation changer right here is help for Variable Refresh Fee, which helps you to uncap the framerate in both mode so long as your TV or monitor helps VRR. With VRR, the Constancy mode’s framerate will grasp within the excessive 40s and low 50s, whereas the Efficiency mode sees framerates that common round 90-100 FPS, particularly in smaller fight encounters. I’ve by no means heard my PS5’s followers ramp up earlier than, however operating The Final of Us Half 2 Remastered at 100+ FPS within the new No Return roguelike mode made it audibly clear that this remaster was pushing the system laborious.

The Final of Us Half 2 Remastered additionally comes with some little novelties which can be enjoyable to fiddle with for some time, like a free play mode for the guitar that even enables you to swap to totally different devices and a speedrun mode that diehard followers will certainly admire. After all, DualSense performance can be a minor promoting level for this next-gen improve. The adaptive triggers make the sport’s weapons really feel extra impactful than ever, and haptic suggestions provides greater than you’d suppose to the immersion.

The most important addition included in The Final of Us Half 2 Remastered is No Return, a roguelike survival mode that pits you towards a moshpit of human and contaminated enemies as you’re employed by means of a string of encounters with randomized rewards. You’ll begin with only a pistol (or particular weaponry relying in your chosen character) and also you’re in a position to scavenge provides throughout encounters and buy new weapons and objects in between rounds.

No Return is an ideal match for The Final of Us Half 2’s gameplay. The sport forces you to get inventive together with your sources to outlive, however the primary marketing campaign can really feel fairly restrictive. It’s laborious to sacrifice a Molotov or dissipate your shotgun shells figuring out you possibly can scrape by with melee takedowns, even when these are essentially the most enjoyable choices. In No Return, you don’t have to fret about saving for encounters which can be hours down the road since a run usually solely lasts 20-Half-hour.

It additionally helps that The Final of Us Half 2 simply has stellar encounter design usually, so No Return reusing areas from the primary marketing campaign doesn’t really feel like slicing corners. Plus, the modifiers for every stage and the totally different playstyles for every character assist preserve issues recent. Modifiers vary from fundamental to bananas, they usually can actually pressure you to alter up your methods. There’s nothing scarier than an contaminated stage the place they all the time know your location so you could have Clickers continuously homing in on you, however these Clickers are additionally invisible. There’s a shocking quantity of effort put into No Return, and it’s definitely worth the value of admission alone.

With the ability to play as characters aside from Ellie and Abby is a blast, too. Whereas not each character is thrilling, most gamers will love enjoying as Tommy, Joel, and Lev. Every of their playstyles enables you to slim down your method, too, letting you discover fight programs that you just may not have been in a position to in the primary marketing campaign. Tommy begins with a novel sniper rifle, for instance, letting you mirror his rampage by means of Seattle as you pop headshots and relocate to remain hidden. Joel’s playstyle is Unstoppable, giving him big melee buffs and his signature revolver as a beginning weapon.

Exterior of No Return, The Final of Us Half 2 Remastered additionally encompasses a trio of Misplaced Ranges that have been lower from the sport throughout improvement. Attending to peek behind the scenes of recreation improvement, even with extremely curated slices like these, is a deal with that the majority video games wouldn’t dare provide. It’s one factor to point out lower content material in behind-the-scenes documentaries, however having them in a playable state is one thing that extra video games ought to do. These, plus the cutscene commentary from Neil Druckmann, Haley Gross, and among the recreation’s fundamental forged members, are an enormous deal with for followers of the collection.

Total, The Final of Us Half 2 Remastered provides some further visible aptitude to a recreation that didn’t actually need any, however its new gameplay additions make it nicely definitely worth the improve. The Misplaced Ranges are a enjoyable novelty, however No Return is the true star of the present. It’s a considerably extra substantial roguelike than the advertising and marketing would have you ever imagine, and it’s definitely worth the asking value by itself. For a funds value (and only a small improve price for PS4 homeowners), The Final of Us Half 2 Remastered is a good excuse to revisit Ellie and Abby’s story as soon as once more.

About The Creator

At present serving as an Affiliate Editor at Assault of the Fanboy, Diego Perez has been writing about video video games since 2018, specializing in reside service video games like Future and Remaining Fantasy XIV. His work is featured at publications like Sport Rant and The Outerhaven, however Assault of the Fanboy is residence to his finest work. When he is not modifying or writing guides, he is yelling about Ape Escape or grinding Misplaced Sectors in Future. Plus, he has a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication Media Research for Texas A&M College.