The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered has received a lot of criticism, with skepticism forming before it was even officially announced. If you’re inclined to be critical of the triple-A video game industry’s tendency to sell players repackaged versions of games they’ve already played, this remaster seems like the perfect target for scorn. After all, it’s the fifth release in The Last of Us series, but only the second new game.
And that’s not even mentioning that it’s a bad time for The Last Of Us Part 2 to be back in the news. With series co-creator Neil Druckmann receiving criticism for his public support for Israel in its war with Palestine, views that influenced The Last Of Us Part 2 itself, you might expect Naughty Dog to keep the game’s upcoming remaster out of the spotlight for a while. Druckmann has previously said he was inspired by his experiences growing up in a West Bank settlement, and our discussions about this game should absolutely come with the context of the real-world conflict that, in part, informed its creation.
Other criticisms are less fair. If you look purely at the numbers, the The Last of Us’ new game to remaster ratio (The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2 vs. The Last of Us Remastered, The Last of Us Part 1 PS5 remake, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered) does seem to paint a negative picture of an industry and studio that can’t move beyond its greatest hits. But the upcoming TLOU2 remaster strikes me as the least deserving target (at least of the three remasters) for that critique. When The Last of Us Part 1 was announced, it did seem strange that a game that already had a readily available remaster was getting a remake — and a remake that, apart from graphical upgrades and additional accessibility settings, added very little. I still played and enjoyed it, but it didn’t feel like a new experience in any real way.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, though, is adding plenty, and you can get all of its new additions for $10 if you already own the game. I love Part 2’s brand of stealth-action combat, so the roguelike mode, No Return, is a big draw. But The Lost Levels that Naughty Dog is adding seem like a much more significant addition and a great argument in favor of why this sort of remaster should exist.
Part of the problem is Naughty Dog’s language used to describe and market the game, which is an industry-wide issue. A remaster can be a light graphical update like the original TLOU Remastered, but it can also be something like Spyro Reignited Trilogy which completely overhauls the original games. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is using the same terminology, despite the fact that the updated graphics aren’t the primary draw for returning fans who can already play a PS5-enhanced version for free. This isn’t all that different from a movie’s Director’s Cut, and film fans don’t have trouble understanding why they would want to buy a Blu-Ray if it includes a new cut of a movie they love. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered adding three new levels that were cut from the original game — Boar Hunt, Sewers, and Jackson Dance — seems like a great reason to shell out ten bucks if you’re a big fan of the series.
With remaster, remake, and rerelease all frequently used in discussion around games, it can be difficult to figure out what exactly a new release of an old game is adding.
When rumors first broke about The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, I expected much less. And if the new package had been as barebones as Part 1 was, I would share in the cynicism around this. Now though, I’m hoping Naughty Dog’s approach encourages other studios to take a similar tack. I would be happy to see Santa Monica Studios put out a God of War 2018 remaster that added extra realms, or a Super Mario Bros. Wonder director’s cut with additional levels that didn’t make the original game. I hope as much as anyone that Naughty Dog puts something entirely new out sometime soon, but this remaster is offering more than most — even if it is hitting just three years after the original release.
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