Sony and Naughty Dog have confirmed the long-rumored remastered version of The Last of Us Part II. Coming three years after its original launch on the PlayStation 4, this new native PlayStation 5 release will bring new modes like rogue-like survival and free play guitar, upgraded visuals, as well as developer commentary.
The award-winning story will remain unchanged for this remaster, but Naughty Dog has upgraded the visuals and accessibility options for PlayStation 5 players who are jumping in. This includes "4K output in Fidelity Mode, 1440p upscaled to 4K in Performance Mode, an Unlocked Framerate option for TVs that support VRR, increased texture resolution, increased Level-of-Detail distances, improved shadow quality, animation sampling rate, and more."
As for new modes, No Return is a rogue-like survival mode offering a combat-focused experience hosting randomized enemies and unlockable characters with unique traits. Meanwhile, Guitar Free Play makes the popular mini-game an experience of its own featuring FX pedals, different instruments, and various in-game moods to vibe to.
The other major features of the remaster include looks at several unfinished levels (with developer commentary) that were cut from the main experience, as well as director commentary across all campaign cutscenes featuring the voices of director Neil Druckmann, narrative lead Halley Gross, and actors Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Laura Bailey.
"We’re so excited to natively bring The Last of Us Part II to the PlayStation 5 as the definitive way to experience the sequel and everything it has to offer, while also offering fans new and returning deeper levels of appreciation for the work that went into it," adds Naughty Dog.
The Last of Us Part II Remastered is coming out exclusively on PlayStation 5 on January 19 with pre-orders going live on December 5. While its standalone price has not been announced just yet, Sony will be offering a $10 upgrade option for players who already own the original digital version on PlayStation 4.