Fans of Sony’s The Last of Us franchise were pleasantly surprised to see The Last of Us Part 1 announced at this year’s Summer Games Fest. Well, mostly surprised. The original game won more awards than can reasonably be counted. The second game was similarly successful, and it has all led to a new HBO TV show based on the games. So it’s undoubtedly one of Sony’s most important franchises. However, what is definitely surprising to many people is that this remake exists instead of, say, The Last of Us 3 or something else new in the universe. After all, The Last of Us was already remastered for the PlayStation 4 after originally being released on the PlayStation 3. So the fact that the game is now coming to the PlayStation 5 (and PC for the first time) is bound to confuse some people. So naturally, many people have questions. Questions like, what is The Last of Us Part 1 anyway?
What is The Last of Us Part 1?
The Last of Us Part 1 is a ground up remake of the original game. It isn’t to be confused with the PS4 remaster of the PS3 game. While that was certainly impressive, remaster means it got a frame rate boost, improved resolution, and bumps in other behind-the-scenes areas. Yet, underneath, it was still essentially the PS3 game.
This remake is different. Naughty Dog has rebuilt the entire game from scratch in its latest PS5 engine. That means Part 1 will have vastly improved lighting and graphics, new DualSense features, modern gameplay, and improved controls.
However, the game won’t be straying from what people loved about the original. It is a faithful remake of the game and even includes the original motion capture performances from the actors. Those performances will just look significantly better than they did before.