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, is The Last of Us Part 1 a remake?
Is The Last of Us Part 1 a remake?
Yes. The Last of Us Part 1 is a ground up remake of the original PS3 game and not to be confused with the PS4 remaster. The Last of Us Part 1 has been made from scratch using Naughty Dog’s latest engine for PS5 games. That means much better graphics and lighting, improved controls, DualSense features, and other behind-the-scenes improvements.
The technological enhancements of the PS5 engine allow Naughty Dog to go all out with The Last of Us Part 1. That’s also what allows the game to be released on PC for the first time. The PS5 architecture is similar to a gaming PC, whereas the PS3 was custom built. This means PS3 games typically stay on the PS3 because of the massive amount of work involved in porting them.
