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Naughty Dog confirms The Last of Us Part II Remastered following leak

Tomas Franzese
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Naughty Dog officially announced and released the first trailer for a remaster of 2020’s critically acclaimed The Last of Us Part II. The developer was forced to announce The Last of Us Remastered Part II Remastered a bit early after it leaked Friday afternoon. Thankfully, the wait for the remaster won’t be long, as it’s coming to the PlayStation 5 in two months.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered - Announce Trailer | PS5 Games

The Last of Us Part II Remastered overhauls the beautiful PS4 game for the PS5 with visual enhancements and new content. That includes a 4K Fidelity mode, a Performance Mode that upscales to 40, an Unlocked Framerate mode for VRR TVs, improved loading times, and more. Regarding new content, its offerings already seem much more thorough than The Last of Us Part I’s.

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There’s a roguelike survival mode called No Return, where players can choose a character to play and then attempt to survive encounter after increasingly difficult encounter. A blog post from Naughty Dog teases that players can customize runs, unlock characters and costumes, and compete for the top spot on a Daily Run global leaderboard in this mode.

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For those more interested in the game development side of things, Lost Levels gives us a look at three levels that were cut from the final game, and new developer commentary enables the developers to explain the thought and development behind certain moments. Outside of that, there are new accessibility features like speech-to-vibrations, added character and weapon skins, and Guitar Free Play and Speedrun modes that support what their titles suggest.

Key art for The Last of Us Part II Remastered
Sony Interactive Entertainment

The Last of Us Part II Remastered will be one of the first AAA launches of 2024, as it comes to PS5 on January 19. A PC port does not appear to be in the cards at this time. Those who already own The Last of Us Part II on PS5 can upgrade to the game for just $10.

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Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
We tasted The Last of Us Part II’s apocalyptic new whisky
A bottle of whiskey inspired by The Last of Us sits on a table.

Just before this year's Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, The Last of Us Part II developer Naughty Dog brought a group of fans, press, and staff to a small bar for a special event to celebrate the franchise's latest release. This wasn't The Last of Us Part I, which came out the next day; instead, they were there to debut a new whisky inspired by Part II called Moth & Wolf.

The event was held at Quinn's Pub in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Its schedule featured a guided tasting of the new whisky, an appearance by Naughty Dog co-president and TLOU co-writer Neil Druckmann, and an acoustic set of six original songs by Troy Baker, the actor who voices Joel. While the whisky was the star of the show, the event itself also served as a somber goodbye for Baker, who officially closed out his time with TLOU.
Taste the apocalypse
Moth & Wolf is the latest product from the Digital Spirits project by Chivas Brothers, which is arguably best-known for its eponymous blended whisky Chivas Regal. Digital Spirits' aim, according to Chivas' Kevin Balmforth, is to "get closer to what fans are passionate about," by making spirits that are influenced by modern forms of entertainment like video games. Balmforth is the master brewer at the distillery that created Moth & Wolf, and describes himself as having been a "big gamer" even before coming aboard the collaboration, which has been nearly two years in the making.

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The Last of Us Part I may not be meaningfully different from the original game or its 2014 remaster, but the context around the franchise has notably changed. That’s because of The Last of Us Part II, a sequel that’s spurred as much critical praise as it has heated debate. The 2020 release built on the first game’s strong foundation by delivering a more complex story that further muddied the “good guys vs. bad guys” trope we see in so much media. It's a story about cyclical violence where Joel’s actions at the end of the first game directly impact Ellie on her own misguided thirst for blood.

It's a bold game, one that’s significantly longer and larger to fit in all of its ideas. I respected Naughty Dog’s ambition when I played the sequel two years ago, but walked away feeling like it was as swollen as one of the series’ Bloaters. After revisiting both The Last of Us and its excellent Left Behind DLC in the new PS5 remake, I feel more sure of my original critique. The Last of Us works because it's a lean and focused game. Part II, on the other hand, makes it clear that excess is Naughty Dog’s Achilles' heel.
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Weapon upgrades, just like skill upgrades, are not free -- they both cost a limited resource. However, weapon upgrades also have an extra layer of restriction in that you can't simply stop and upgrade a weapon whenever you feel like it. When you are able to upgrade, you also have to consider which gun you want to invest in, how you want to invest in it, or if you want to save up for a future weapon or a more expensive upgrade later. It's a delicate balance, but we've picked the best weapon upgrades to help you survive your journey in The Last of Us Part 1.
How to upgrade weapons

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