The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered review: More than meets the eye

The Last of Us Part 2 is arguably the most polarising game of the last decade since Death Stranding, Final Fantasy XV, or perhaps even the vanilla Dark Souls 2. Despite that, I can confidently say that at its core, the sequel to one of Naughty Dog's most beloved IPs is an excellent video game, one that now has a dedicated PS5 remastered version.

Like many others, I was skeptical going into The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, simply because I remembered the original PS4 release already looking incredible for its time, which was roughly three years ago. However, believe me when I say this, the remaster is more than just your average graphical glow-up.

While I enjoyed replaying The Last of Us Part 2 with all the new PS5 exclusive bells and whistles, as well as the newly added roguelike mode, No Return, which probably is my favorite aspect of the package, at its core, this is still that sequel which left a sour taste in my mouth, in terms of its narrative, back when I first played it in 2020.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered: Revisiting one of the most divisive PlayStation exclusives

Breathtaking visuals, enhanced by immaculate attention to detail

Say what you will, but when it comes to raw graphical prowess, very few studios can match what Naughty Dog has to offer. The Last of Us Part 2, even on the PlayStation 4, looked leagues ahead of anything you would've seen on PlayStation or even PC, for that matter. And with the remaster, the studio is again pushing the envelope for real-time graphics.

What makes the game's visuals even more breathtaking in the PS5 remaster is the increased texture resolution, which is very much evident in the photo mode, as well as during gameplay, especially in the Seattle section, with the detail on buildings and other environmental props being the highlight. The texture resolution bump is especially evident in the "Quality Mode."

Additionally, I also found certain animations of the original The Last of Us Part 2, such as the one used for rifle upgrades or the stealth takedown from a corner, have been tweaked slightly, making them much more grounded. The Last of Us Part 2 is already known for its subtle attention to detail within every single frame.

The remaster simply takes that to a whole new level, leveraging every ounce of power the PlayStation 5 has to offer. Yes, at its core, it's still a PS4 game with a few last-gen-looking assets and character models. However, the remaster does bring the game closer to what you'd consider a true next-gen experience, not only in terms of its presentation but also gameplay.

Excellent stealth-action gameplay, further enhanced by the PS5's capabilities

One of the shortcomings that always irked me when I first played The Last of Us Part 2 on my dusty-old PS4 was its fluidity in gameplay or lack thereof. I'm perfectly fine with 30fps, as long as the game is properly frame-paced — steady 30fps, with minimal frametime deviation — and, most importantly, isn't a shooter, be it first-person or third-person.

The breathtaking visuals (Image via PlayStation, Naughty Dog)

As such, the 30fps cap in a third-person stealth-action game like The Last of Us Part 2 never felt right to me. The same goes for Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy. This is something I praised about the PS4 remaster of the original The Last of Us, which featured a 60fps toggle for that crisp and smooth gameplay experience at the cost of minor visual clarity.

As someone who primarily plays on PC, the 30fps lock, especially on a high refresh rate monitor, made the game feel incredibly choppy. This is part of the reason why I don't usually gravitate toward console games unless they give a 60fps option. However, with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, this one major complaint of mine has been addressed.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered gives you three graphics modes: a Quality Mode targeting 30fps at 4K (native), a Performance Mode targeting 60fps at 1440 (upscaled to 4K), and a VRR Mode (for supported displays), allowing you to essentially unlock the game's framerate on either Quality or Performance Modes.

Guitar free-play is one of the new added features in the remaster (Image via PlayStation, Naughty Dog)

While most of my playthrough was on Performance Mode, I did try out Quality Mode and also VRR, to test them out. I highly recommend sticking with the Performance Mode, the steady 60fps makes the stealth-action segments of the game significantly more fun than on the PlayStation 4 version. The 60fps mode is also necessary in the newly added roguelike mode.

Some sections of the game did feel a bit rough in terms of performance, with the opening Seattle section being one of the major culprits in this regard. However, the framerate never fell below anything I'd consider unplayable and usually recovered within a few seconds. The framerate fluctuation is especially noticeable in the VRR mode.

The No Return roguelike mode is the star of the show

I had few expectations from the highly marketed No Return mode of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. However, after spending over a couple dozen hours playing the recently released roguelike mode for God of War Ragnarok and loving every second of it, I was somewhat excited to see Naughty Dog's take on the roguelike genre.

No Return lets you play as any of the key characters from the base game, including Lev (Image via PlayStation, Naughty Dog)

Lo and behold, No Return ended up being the highlight of my time with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. No Return essentially takes a similar approach as God of War Ragnarok Valhalla, with a fairly simplistic roguelike progression system layered on top of the already stellar and addictive third-person gameplay of The Last of Us Part 2.

You're given a choice between a set of playable characters from the story, including but not limited to Ellie, Abbey, Dana, Lev, Tommy, and Joel, each having their own specific loadout, as well as combat skills. Once you set out on a run, you're basically tasked with completing multiple combat encounters with increasing difficulty.

At the end of every level, there's a boss fight, ranging from the undead enemy types like the Stalker, Bloater, and even the Rat King to humanoid adversaries like Abbey, Tommy, and other such boss encounters from the base game. The longer you survive, the better your chances are at unlocking special weapon upgrades and perks.

The Abbey sections of the game still stick out as a sore thumb (Image via PlayStation, Naughty Dog)

The gameplay loop is simplistic and easy to pick up, especially if you've played games like Hades, Returnal, or even the Valhalla DLC for God of War Ragnarok. My first run on Hard Difficulty lasted around 12 hours, but I still regularly go back to The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered just to play another fresh run of No Return.

This new game mode alone added hours of replayability to the game, which is already ripe with replayability thanks to New Game+, custom difficulty presets, and trophies that incentivize multiple playthroughs. Also, I should note that No Return is independent of the base game, meaning you can play it regardless of your progress in the main story.

The Lost Levels are also an excellent addition to the game, something I did not expect to impress me as much as it did. These are a set of levels that are essentially cut content from the original The Last of Us Part 2. These levels and concepts are repurposed into a set of three, each delivering brief but riveting setpieces that you won't see in the base game.

Few gripes that I have with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

From everything said so far, I might've painted a picture of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered being virtually flawless. However, let me assure you, despite all the graphical bells and whistles, I'm still not won over by Naughty Dog's attempt at creating a sequel to a game, which, in my honest opinion, never needed one in the first place.

Despite my gripes with the story, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered still reigns as one of the most visually impressive games on the PS5 (Image via PlayStation, Naughty Dog)

As much as I liked how Ellie's story shaped up in the sequel, I wasn't a big fan of Abbey's narrative and how it connected with the former and Joel. The biggest issue Abbey's and, as an extension, The Last of Us Part 2's story suffers from is the abrupt and inconsistent pacing, which genuinely hampered my enjoyment of the game.

That being said, if you're new to The Last of Us series or are looking for a fun, single-player action-adventure game with a story that's entertaining enough, at least on the surface, then The Last of Us Part 2 more than serves that purpose, especially with the new PlayStation 5 remaster.

In conclusion

To address the elephant in the room, is The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered worth its asking price? Well, yes, it very much is. Not only do you have the base game with all the modern PS5-enhanced bells and whistles, but you also get the excellent new roguelike mode and the Lost Levels within the same bundle.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered surprised me in ways that I did not expect from something that is essentially a $10 upgrade. While the core experience is still the same as you might've experienced in 2020 on your PS4, the remaster features plenty that more than justify its asking price, both for newcomers and returning players.