It may not have been a complete surprise, thanks to the leak over a year ago, but sadly, on the morning of its release, a remake of the 2013 masterpiece The Last of Us officially PCed to PS5 in September this year. Will appear in the release Follow. Naughty Dog’s epic PS3 action horror game remake is a visually significant step from the remastered version released in 2014 for PlayStation 4. This is because this remake is not a slightly improved port with a simple upress performed on the PlayStation 5. Of Us Part 1, as officially called, has completely reworked the character model and environment, significantly improved textures, improved animations, 60 FPS performance, new accessibility features, and new combat options. Then, based on the work done at The Last, the enemy’s AI was renewed. Our part 2. Great! Not only does this look much better than previous versions of the game, but it also means that the gameplay is slightly different. Or, as the marketing department likes to say, it’s dynamic. But the big question is, is the remake of The Last of Us really worth $ 70?
Confusing price points
The new textures and animations are great, but the remake of The Last of Us will be released on September 2nd with another new overhaul feature that has been hit by fan blowbacks. The price is $ 70 for the basic version and $ 80 for the digital deluxe version. $ 100 for, and Firefly Edition. If you’re looking at this generation of PlayStation, it’s no shock to see this game launch at this price. This is very much in line with the launch price of almost every first-party PlayStation game on the PS5. Demon’s Souls remake will be $ 70, Returnal will be $ 70, PS5 version of Horizon: Forbidden West will be $ 70, and God of War Ragnarok will be $ 70 at launch. $ 70 is here to stay with most PlayStation games, whether you like it or not.
But The Last of Us, which launches for $ 70, feels a bit steep. Now, before giving my personal opinion on this, I would like to make it clear that I absolutely love The Last of Us. The remake looks gorgeous and doesn’t teach you how to spend money. Or save your money! You can handle it! You are good at this! or not. Do you know. We all buy ridiculous things. The other day, I spent $ 13 on beer at the zoo, and it had a picture of a meerkat clip art. I actually bought two of them. It’s $ 26 just to get my buzz and see the animals that were half asleep.
But let’s get back to The Last of Us, which went on sale for $ 60 nearly 10 years ago. The remaster then launched $ 10 cheaper a year later. And in 2022, you can buy The Last of Us Remastered on PS5 for $ 20 or access it as part of the PlayStation Plus collection for PS Plus subscribers. So if you already have a PS5, you can play The Last of Us Remastered. I think this is a very good version of a great game, in many ways, much cheaper than $ 70.
The upgrade is impressive (so far)
To be fair, this remake is a radical visual overhaul of The Last of Us, as we’ve seen. Brand new character models look great, have a coarser, more realistic texture. See all the wrinkles and scratches you see on Joel. The developers went back and rescanned all the capture work of the original actor and revived everything to make it feel more natural. Overall lighting is probably the most dramatic improvement here. The remake is more pop, less subdued, more contrasting, and darker levels feel more solid black and more muddy brown. The leaves that generally cover the game world look more natural and sometimes even expand. And the level geometry is reconstructed and looks more detailed.
We’ve only seen the snippets and haven’t actually experienced the game yet, but from what we can see, everything clearly feels like the next generation. Naughty Dog is one of the most technically skilled game developers working today, and it’s great to see him creating his own PS5 game that isn’t hindered by PS4. And it’s clear that much work has been done by the developers to make these leap forwards. ..
As for the promised gameplay improvements, it’s a bit hard to understand where they’ll be played based on what we’ve seen so far, but Naughty Dog has modernized gameplay, improved control, and more. And promised to extend accessibility options. In particular, we don’t know if the team has changed levels to accommodate the addition of new gameplay, so we have to wait to see how important these really are. There are also regular PS5 bells and whistles such as 3D audio, tactile and adaptive triggers. This means that you can feel terribly unpleasant to your hands, such as a small saliva vibration as the clicker makes a swoosh and spits. yes.
The Last of Us 2 also has a number of implementations, and Erie is back here to further improve her experience, including a permanent, unbreakable switchblade, a dedicated jump button, and the ability to lie face down at a high position. I want you to. Grass and leaves. However, some of them require redesigning the in-game environment layout, and from what we’ve seen so far, it’s not clear how much Naughty Dog has changed the actual level and mission structure. Hmm. Generally speaking, the treatment of characters in The Last of Us 2 felt more natural and intuitive. It’s like hoping to end with this remake. The trailer doesn’t really tell you.
Some features are left
So it’s back to that $ 70 price. We’ve talked about what this remake definitely contains, and what it does, but The Last of Us’ PS5 remake includes the popular Factions multiplayer mode from previous versions. Is certainly not included. It has a great Left Behind DLC, but if you’re looking for a Last of Us multiplayer action on PS5, you’ll have to wait until Naughty Dog launches the recently teased standalone multiplayer Last of Us game in 2023. It’s a more ambitious project, and most likely Naughty Dog wanted to invest in multiplayer resources. This is a significant omission for games that cost more than versions that include faction mode. So this is definitely a shame for those who really love this mode.
But my biggest concern about why I don’t ask for a $ 70 remake of The Last of Us is that this isn’t necessarily a game that “needs” a remake. The original is still playing great and remakes are all the rage these days, but recent remakes such as Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy VII are the original because they mainly remade the game from the 90’s and remade the game from 9. A major overhaul has taken place. A few years ago, you’ll get different results. When PlayStation released the remake, Demon’s Souls was at least 10 years old and there was no PS4 remaster.
However, there are some fairly clear reasons why the remake is probably taking place. There may be millions of PS5 and PC owners who have never experienced this amazing game before, and when the next HBO show begins, millions more will be introduced to the universe for the first time. Will be done. It makes sense for the PlayStation to make more beautiful and more modern games available for hype, rather than directing HBO viewers to download games nine years ago.
You keep finding something to fight
So, so am I going to spend $ 70 on this remake? Well, no. Probably not. I have already experienced this game, I own multiple versions of this game, I love this game. It’s a masterpiece and thanks for all the clear work done to modernize it, but it’s still an expensive price tag in an almost completely known amount to me, instead for a new video gaming experience. You can spend that money. Or the beer mentioned above at the zoo. Personally, it’s about the same game as in 2013, but I think $ 50 was the best price here because it lacks the entire multiplayer mode. The PlayStation shouldn’t pay too much attention to its $ 70 ideal, and should be happy to offer a more sliding-scale experience.
But if this game is somehow new to you, well, The Last of Us is one of the best games ever. It absolutely dominates. Remakes are arguably the definitive way to play it and also serve as a great graphical showcase for your PS5 or gaming PC. New gameplay enhancements can be a bigger issue than Naughty Dog allows. So be sure to spend that $ 70 when you add them all together.
Brian Alterno is the host and producer of IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
