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The Last of Us Part I needs to impress. We’re mere weeks away from the release of Naughty Dog’s new-gen remake and just like most fans, I’ve got mixed emotions. For the most part, I’ve championed the idea of a remake ever since the rumours began. Sure, The Last of Us doesn’t need a remake yet naturally, I’m intrigued by what promises to be the “definitive” way to experience my favourite game. On the other hand, there’s been a lot of resistance to Part I and I get it. Shiny new graphics are great, but The Last of Us Part I can’t rely on those alone. The remake needs to justify its £70 price tag.
As excited as I am to see The Last of Us Part I in 4K glory, it’s not something I’m going to be delving too far into right now. The devs have been clear that we’re getting overhauled graphics so it’s not something we need to speculate on. I’m looking forward to how these allow for the original performances to be more effectively conveyed but graphics should really be the icing on top of the “built from the ground up” cake. The Last of Us Part I’s devs previously defended the remake saying that it isn’t a “cash grab,” so we should expect more than pretty ray tracing and photorealistic freckles.
Speaking of graphics, take a look at The Last of Us Part I compared to the 2014 remaster below.
When the remake was officially announced, my first thought jumped to gameplay. The Last of Us Part II completely overhauled the franchise’s approach to stealth. Going prone under cars or through short grass may not sound revolutionary, but it meant that every single combat encounter could be approached via a new method. Personally, I’ve always leant towards a stealthy playthrough style, as opposed to bursting into a combat scenario with guns blazing, so I was hoping to see this system brought into Part I. Well already, I’m a little disappointed. A Part I dev has confirmed that prone won’t be featured in the game as it “would have simply broken the gameplay,” so I’m at least hoping to see Part II’s dodge mechanic brought in. A new-gen AAA game should surely allow me to engage in melee combat without simply mashing the same button over and over again. Let me dodge too, please.
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I’ve always adored The Last of Us’ environments which hugely popularised the eco-urban video game aesthetic. That being said, as aesthetically pleasing as they may be, they’re laid out like a series of decorative corridors. Part II switched this up, playing around with space. It’s still very much a linear game but Ellie’s able to explore a miniature open-world section during her first day in Seattle and more generally, environments offer a variety of routes in addition to hidden nooks and crannies full of loot. As a “built from the ground up” remake, I hope Part I slightly reconfigures its environments so like Part II, it gives the illusion of space even if in fact there isn’t a lot. In Part II, I was able to approach most combat encounters via several different routes. The Hillcrest portion of the game springs to mind as the perfect example. It adds replayability which is harder to achieve when it comes to linear titles. It would be great to see this replicated in Part I so it doesn’t simply feel like I’m moving down a one-way corridor.
I’m expecting to see very few changes when it comes to the story. After all, The Last of Us’ epic narrative is its strongest selling point. Fans have wondered if Left Behind will be integrated into the main game or left as a DLC option in the main menu and personally, I don’t mind either way but there are a few tweaks I’d like to see. During Part II, we learn that the Firefly doctor is Abby’s dad, right? The only thing is, this fact was clearly decided long after The Last of Us was released so for continuity's sake, I fully expect the doctor to now have Jerry’s Part II appearance. I’d also be down for a small Abby cameo. I’m sure there’s plenty of people who’d be against that but hey, I actually really like Abby. We know she was in the hospital not long before Ellie was taken in for surgery so it would be a cool easter egg for fans if you could catch a glimpse of her in the background of a cutscene, even if for the briefest of seconds. There are elements of the story I’d like to see expanded - particularly Joel’s ‘Hunter’ days, leading up to his big fallout with Tommy - but I think that’s material perhaps better left for the HBO TV adaptation.
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When it comes to The Last of Us Part I, I think it’s important to keep our expectations in check. It’s a remake of a solid game, so we shouldn’t expect a wholly new experience. All the changes I’ve speculated on above are actually relatively simple and all share the same objective: enhancement. Alongside already announced additions like haptic feedback and 3D audio, The Last of Us Part I truly has the potential to be the definitive experience it claims to be. In just a few short weeks, we’ll know if that claim is true. I’d love to think that Naughty Dog has a few surprises up their sleeve and I can't wait to find out.
Topics: The Last Of Us, PlayStation, Naughty Dog, Opinion