The Last of Us Part II Remastered Developer Talks About Next-Gen “Upgrade”

Naughty Dog have been around for a while, and have been making incredible titles throughout their history. However, when it comes to their most groundbreaking series, fans have become concerned about their “focus” on it. The first game with Joel and Ellie is widely hailed as one of the greatest video games ever, and it sold incredibly well. Then, Naughty Dog decided to port it, remaster it for the PS4, and then completely remake it for the PS5 and PC. It was worthy, if not superfluous. And then, they announced The Last of Us Part II Remastered, which was basically getting the same treatment.

Given that this remaster came out on the PS4 and is now getting the same next-gen upgrade, fans wonder whether it’s “worth it” to have the game at all. In an interview with VGC, Naughty Dog’s Matthew Gallant was ready to answer that question. For example, since Gallant worked on all the titles, he knew what worked and what could be improved. Plus, he knows that not everyone played the game on PS4 when it first came out:

“I think the reason we went into this project, both The Last of Us Part 1 and now The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered was because we love these games. We know players love these games, and we want someone who’s picking up The Last of Us Part 2 for the first time to have the best version of it. A version that’s native to the PS5, a version that has all the haptic features, had different performance and fidelity modes.”

Before you ask, even Gallant admits that this isn’t the same level of “upgrade” that the PS5/PC remake of the first game got. He equated more to the original PS4 remaster instead, noting that timing-wise, it was right to look at what they did and then upgrade it with the next-gen tech of the PS5 versus trying to make everything from scratch like they did with the original game.

But even with that, Gallant likes the new additions to the game, including the accessibility features, the new roguelike mode called “No Return,” and the “Lost Levels” you’ll get to enjoy. For the roguelike mode, they really wanted to “remove the restraint” that players had:

“What are some ways we can make the combat shine, and what can we do with these environments you’re used to to surprise and shock you?”

You’ll find out all that and more when the game arrives on the 19th.