THE LAST OF US PART II REMASTERED

It's been five years since the initial release of the second instalment of The Last of Us on PS4, one of Sony and the PlayStation ecosystem's strongest cards. A game that divided audiences like few others, not because of its quality, which is undeniable, but for its controversial plot and, more importantly, the path/endings of some of the game's heroes.

Unless you haven't had any access to the internet in the last five years, I think it's very hard for your eye/ear to have missed what we're talking about, especially in terms of how Naughty Dog handled Joel's destiny, Ellie's personality development, and the very existence of Abby's character. Clearly, tempers have calmed since that time and the gaming public has now settled down, but there are just as many gamers, especially those who play exclusively on PC, who have not experienced Last of Us Part I. Consequently, if you have played the original or are about to do so (I highly recommend it) and then attempt to play the sequel we review here, you will inevitably form your own conclusions about its plot, which we would in no way wish to influence, positively or negatively, with any further commentary.

However, it's worth pointing out that this is one of the most emotionally intense gaming experiences we've ever seen, with breathtaking scenes, impeccable direction and thoughtful cinematography, while its characters feel truly "human", whatever that implies in terms of how much good and evil they are capable of doing. Consequently, we have nothing more to accuse Naughty Dog of, except to highlight the fact that this port, which comes from the "upgraded" version of the PS5 (hence the subtitle "Remastered") was jointly undertaken by Nixxes Software and Iron Galaxy, and is one of the most polished that has hit our screens to date.

Visually excellent, with a high frame rate and at high resolutions, but also with plenty of settings and tools (such as DLSS and FSR) to make it adaptable to weaker systems. However, we wouldn't call it perfect, as during our engagement, we encountered a couple of desktop crashes and freezes when switching areas (although for this, the cause was probably some software we were using), however it's nothing like the mess that Last of Us Part I was or that of the recent Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 had. In other words, there's no serious reason to worry about it running well on your system - as long as you meet its stated requirements, of course.

As for the main game, Last of Us Part II maintains the successful pattern of the original, setting up impressive action and/or horror set-pieces, while at the same time applying the familiar "exploration-combat" diptych, enriched to a satisfying degree. On the one hand, exploration is a bit freer, as there exist some less linear, open-world-like areas (although they are mostly found at the beginning of the game, in Seattle) that reward the player who thoroughly explores with richer loot (ammunition, crafting items, character upgrades, and so on); on the other hand, battles "flow" more smoothly and can be particularly enjoyable, whether we prefer the "silent" method or the "noisy" one. In both cases, there are more available "arrows" in our quiver respectively, either with the new prone movement, ideal for grass cover, or with the increased variety of traps, guns and improvised weapons.

Of course, our great enemies continue to be the "sweet" infected that have flooded the planet, of various sizes and mutations, which often do not miss the opportunity to sneak into the most unlikely places in order to raise our blood pressure with a beautiful scare or to gather in hordes and charge us, however the most dangerous ones are the... non-infected, being real monsters, both on the battlefield and in their behaviour. Coinciding with the fact that the improved AI can be a major trouble at elevated difficulty levels, they recommend Last of Us Part II as a complete action experience, perhaps the best we've been through in the genre in many years. And even though it's practically a previous-generation game.

Besides that, the game has extra replay value with the addition of "No Return", a roguelike survival mode, which is recommended to be tackled after you finish the main campaign of the game (which can take up to 20 hours), but has its value for those who like this kind of challenges. We emphasize the word "challenges" because No Return can prove to be a real tough nut to crack, with its four game types (Assault, Capture, Hunted and Holdout) and permadeath subdued, a combination that results in many hours of engagement being required to master them.

The remastered version of The Last of Us Part II is fulfilled by a guitar mini-game (don't expect a Guitar Hero type of course, it's a simplistic mode) and the Lost Levels. These levels are some bonuses that were discarded and didn't make it onto the LP... er, sorry, into the game, but their existence is nothing noteworthy beyond an encyclopedic information.

The overall assessment of Last of Us Part II is that it is an excellent game. Everything is at a very high level: graphics, characters, performances, soundtrack (Gustavo Santaolalla's ideas are masterful, once again), even the Greek subtitles are at least accurate (I wouldn't agree about the dubbing). In general, technically the game is not lacking anywhere, on the contrary, we would say that it is a barometer for the story-driven action game genre. However, compared to the story and the (shocking for the majority of players) finale of the original game, there will be more "objections" here, and it is probably the only reason not to love Part II to the same extent. Even so, if you have the slightest interest in the action game genre, Last of Us Part II Remastered is a title you owe it to yourself to play at some point.

We would like to thank PlayStation Greece for providing the review code.

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