The Last of Us Part 2's remaster may have just been revealed by the series' composer. The award-winning sequel was released on PlayStation 4 in 2019 and was already praised for its visuals, performance, and wealth of accessibility features on the device. The Last of Us Part 2 is currently available on PlayStation 5 via backward compatibility, but after the original game was remastered for PS4, and was later re-released as The Last of Us Part 1 on PS5 and PC, it seemed inevitable that its sequel would receive the same treatment eventually.
As reported by ComicBook, series composer Gustavo Santaolalla revealed a "new version" of The Last of Us Part 2 is on the way in a recent Spanish interview. The reveal came as part of a discussion regarding Santaolalla's cameo in the tile, in which he could be found playing a banjo outside one of the buildings in Jackson. According to Santaolalla, the TLOU2 remaster will build upon this and allow players to request songs for him to play.
Is The Last Of Us Part 2's Remaster Too Soon?
When the first The Last Of Us game's PS5 and PC remake was announced and came with the full $70 price tag that accompanies modern games, some fans criticized the idea. There was already a perfectly playable version of the game remastered on the PS4 and available on the PS5 via backwards compatibility, which led to some deeming it a mere money-making exercise to capitalize on the acclaimed HBO series that was being developed around the same time.
However, upon its release, it was clear that Naughty Dog's intent was to include features and modes, such as Permadeath, and particularly the various accessibility options that the studio had developed for The Last of Us Part 2, and that the work required to implement them was more than could be done via a simple patch, resulting in a full re-release. While this justified the re-release of the 2013 title, it could be argued that a full re-release of TLOU2 is too soon, considering how these features are already part of the game, and its performance and visuals are still impressive four years on.
What Could Be In The Last Of Us Part 2's Remaster?
The extent of any fan criticism will depend primarily on two key factors: the price, and what new features it contains. Santaolalla's comments suggest a kind of "Director's Cut" type remaster for The Last of Us 2 that includes additional interactions and ideas that may have been cut to hit the initial release window and have finally been added alongside additional performance and visual enhancements. Two PS4 titles that were released around the same time as The Last of Us Part 2, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima, have had Director's Cut releases for PS5 with new game modes and extra story missions, so it's possible that Naughty Dog may have a similar amount of new content.
Both Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima's Director's Cuts didn't come at the cost of a full game for those who already owned the PS4 versions - which were also available via backward compatibility on PS5 - and offered them an upgrade fee instead. Hopefully, Naughty Dog will follow this example, rather than doing a full-price re-release like it did with both upgraded versions of The Last of Us. While Gustavo Santaolalla's comments clearly indicate that The Last of Us Part 2's remaster is on the way, fans will have to wait for an official confirmation from Naughty Dog for more details on what it will include.
Source: ComicBook