One thing that video games have been very open and honest about since the beginning is the concept of seeing something they like in one game, applying it to their system or franchise, and trying to make it unique. Heck, one of the most popular games in the world right now is only that way because of outright stealing the battle royale formula another person created for their hit title. That’s called irony, ladies and gentlemen. But when The Last Of Us 2 Remastered announced that it would have a new mode that was wholly different from other things within the franchise, gamers were curious.
The mode is called “No Return,” and it will play exactly as it sounds. In an interview with GamesRadar, the director of the remaster, Matthew Gallant, said that Naughty Dog looked at the whole genre of Roguelikes and saw the potential to do something special:
“When we were looking at what to include in a The Last of Us Part 2 remaster, we drew a lot of inspiration from what I think has been a renaissance of roguelikes. It seemed like a really fertile ground for different exploration. So we wanted to take our own take on the genre, we felt that it resonated very well with our combat mechanics and our systems. And we just felt very inspired by it.”
But there’s a catch. While it may be reminiscent of the genre, it’s not directly tied to one game or another. Gallant was adamant that it was about paying tribute to the genre while also doing their own thing with it:
“From my perspective, it’s the combination of the permadeath, that gives every playthrough stakes […] and then also the randomization aspect is very interesting. Because if you can throw the player into situations where maybe they haven’t seen this particular combination before, that’s where you get the brunt of thinking on your feet.”
The irony is that this idea for “No Return” feels like something that would fit in The Last Of Us 2 Remastered perfectly. Why? The whole point of the world is that an infection ravaged everything, and people have to adapt and survive in any way they can. In the first game, Joel and Ellie had to go from one terrible situation to another terrible situation just to at least attempt to get to their destination, and the second game was much harder.
So, with this new mode? Gamers will have their hands full when it arrives in January.
