The Last Of Us Part 1 was not the most popular game when it was announced earlier in the summer, largely because people wondered just how necessary it was and whether or not it was both a “cash grab” and a plug for the upcoming HBO series based on the game starring Pedro Pascal. It’s important to note that last part. However, Naughty Dog and others have stepped in to defend the game for various reasons, not the least of which is that the team put in a ton of work to try and make sure that this was as full a remake in terms of visuals, sound, and more. A new video from the team helps cement that fact and provides a bit more detail.
The team admits almost right off the bat that this remake was made to intrigue the senses more than the original version did. Some of the team noted that when they made the original version they “hit a limit.” They did all that they could do with the PS3, and while it was stunning at the time, it wasn’t the “true vision” of the game. So now, having two versions up on it in terms of consoles and with the true power of the PS5 at their fingertips, they were able to do more, bring out more intricate detail, and shine a light on just how great the game was always envisioned to be.
Easily one of the best examples of this for them was in the environments and the facial animations. For the environments, on the PS3 they did what they could, but they always had a limit on just how much they included. Furthermore, with the shading, they’re able to make it seem more lifelike at times, especially during the cutscenes where the lighting can be so important to help out the emotion of the scene itself.
As for the facial animations, the entire character model was reworked for every character so that the facial animations could be better fleshed out and more realistic. You’ll see many nuances in how characters act, how they look at one another, how they react to certain things, and so on.
If nothing else, you can definitely hear the passion from the team about the title and why this remake was important to them. They truly feel that this game was meant to be something special on the PS3 and it was, but it wasn’t the “final version.” Now, they’re able to show it off and they want people to appreciate how much work and effort they put into making this game shine.
The Last of Us Part 1 is available right now on the PS5.
Source: YouTube