The Last of Us Part II Remastered Launches for PS5 on January 19, 2024 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 17 November 2023 / 5,594 Views
Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Naughty Dog have announced The Last of Us Part II Remastered for the PlayStation 5. It will launch on January 19, 2024.
The remaster includes a new roguelike survival mode called No Return, a new Guitar Free Play mode, graphical improvements, DualSense integration, and more.
Those who own the PlayStation 4 version of The Last of Us Part II will be able to upgrade to a digital version of the remaster for $10 at launch. Upgrades for disc copies of The Last of Us Part II will only be available for those who have a PS5 with a disc drive and owners must insert the disc into the PS5 when they want to download or play the remaster.
View the announcement trailer below:
Read details on the game below:
Whether you’ve already played and even platinumed The Last of Us Part II on the PlayStation 4 console or have recently jumped into The Last of Us Part I on PS5 and want to continue the story, Part II Remastered will offer plenty of reasons for new and returning players to revisit a story that means so much to our studio. The engrossing campaign returns alongside technological improvements, new modes, and new behind-the-scenes features that will deepen your understanding of Part II’s creation. But before we break down what’s in store, take a look at our announcement trailer below.
The Last of Us Part II Remastered is designed to let you dig deeper into both its development and mechanics. Chief among these is a brand-new mode called No Return, a roguelike survival mode designed to let players prove their mettle in randomized encounters and experience The Last of Us Part II’s combat in a fresh experience.
The mode includes a host of playable characters to choose from – some playable for the first time in The Last of Us franchise (which you may have spotted in our trailer) – who each come with their own traits to suit different playstyles. Players will chart their own course on each run, choosing between various stealth and combat encounters that will pit you against a range of enemies, with unique twists that can add new, unexpected factors to any given encounter.
Each run will offer a new chance to decide what rewards you get after each encounter, how you spec out your character, and more. Unlock more characters, skins, and more as you progress to use in the mode, customize your own runs, and compete on a global leaderboard as part of a Daily Run2. We’re excited to share more about No Return as we get closer to launch.
For those who have already played The Last of Us Part II, we know the included sections featuring a playable guitar were a favorite for many, and you burgeoning rockstars impressed us with your performances. So we’ve introduced a new Guitar Free Play mode, which will let you strum the strings across a host of unlockable instruments, use audio FX pedals to modulate your performance, and play as different characters in several in-game locations to customize the mood and feel of your set.
And for both new and returning players interested in learning more, we’ve designed Part II Remastered to offer a comprehensive dive behind-the-scenes of how our studio brought this game to life. A new set of Lost Levels in Part II Remastered allow players a unique chance to check out some playable sequences previously cut from the game. These aren’t fully finished levels, but rather early-development slices that not only let you see some new glimpses of Part II’s world, but also include embedded developer commentary to give them richer context. Explore these spaces and hear directly from the team about the intention of aspects of each level – this is a unique inclusion for our studio and we’re excited to allow players a glimpse into the creative process.
We’ve also included newly recorded director’s commentary across the campaign’s cutscenes from director Neil Druckmann, narrative lead Halley Gross, and actors Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Laura Bailey. They assembled to offer insight into the story and its characters that mean so much to both our team and our fans, and we’re delighted to give fans even more understanding of the team’s approach to this story.
The Last of Us Part II Remastered will feature enhanced graphics, including native 4K output1 in Fidelity Mode, 1440p upscaled to 4K1 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. It all brings the world of Part II’s story to life in richer and smoother detail, from the snow-swept mountains of Jackson, Wyoming to the rainy cityscape of Seattle, Washington, and should make a first visit or a return trip to the complex journeys of Ellie and Abby all the more engrossing.
Part II Remastered takes advantage of the PS5’s power and features in more ways as well, including improved loading times. Part II Remastered also incorporates DualSense wireless controller haptic feedback and adaptive triggers integration to better immerse you in every moment of combat and exploration.
We’ve ensured Part II’s award-winning suite of accessibility options returns for the PS5 experience, alongside new additions like the inclusion of Descriptive Audio and Speech to Vibrations, which uses the DualSense controller to indicate character speech and cadence. The unlockable Speedrun Mode, included in The Last of Us Part I, will also be coming to Part II Remastered, allowing players to post their best times. Following The Last of Us Part I, The Last of Us Part II Remastered includes the ability to unlock bonus skins for Ellie, Abby, and their weapons that we’re excited for players to see and take some incredible Photo Mode shots with. You can get a first look at some in our announcement trailer. And speaking of Photo Mode, we’ve made some additions that players of The Last of Us Part I may be familiar with, including dynamic lighting, Frame Forward, and Gaze Direction, as well as new frame and logo options.
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. Pre-orders will be available beginning December 5, both for the standard edition, as well as The Last of Us Part II Remastered W.L.F. Edition, which will be exclusively available direct from PlayStation in select markets (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Benelux, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Austria). It includes a SteelBook® display case, four enamel pins, a Washington Liberation Front Patch, and a total of 47 Society of Champions trading cards, including eight holographic cards. These were a favorite of Part II players to collect in-game, and we’re so happy we could bring these to life. Check it out below:
And good news for existing owners of The Last of Us Part II on PlayStation 4! You will be able to upgrade to a digital version of The Last of Us Part II Remastered for $10 USD at launch. You’ll also be able to import your saves from the original game to Part II Remastered.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
Please release some new games
there are onely remasters no new games.
2 games turning into 5 total releases throughout the course of a single decade. That’s absurd! This franchise officially has more remakes/remasters than original games. Talk about milking. At least there’s a cheaper upgrade path I guess. At what point of repeatedly buying the same 2 games should we be considered enablers? lol I’m guessing a PC release is most likely in the pipeline as well
Do you have same energy for bethesda? Skyrim and it will probably hapen to starfield. We will see
lol yup. Unless the changes are drastic as FFVIIR or Resident Evil 2 to where they feel like brand new games or modernized to be playable on modern systems such as Metroid Prime Remastered or Resident Evil 4, I’m happy with my one time purchase.
At least Bethesda is making Fallout 4’s next-gen update free.
These " useless " upgrades or ports are a good way to keep some devs working between the major games, they are aimed at people who never bought the game in previous console or aimed at absolute fans of the game that want to replay it at the best possible way ,they sell , people want them. There is nothing absurd about it.
Gamers are so fucking entitled , love to complain so much about shit its not made for them and love to talk for everybody. Its ports and shit like ps portal and in the end its sold out and there plenty happy people.
Only thing weird about this is not pc port , they probably waiting for season 2 of tv show.
First of all, I never claimed anything as “useless” so don’t be putting words in my mouth. All I see is Naughty Dog has released 2 remasters and 1 remake throughout the entire PS5 era so far and who knows when Factions 2 will release at this point. We’ll be lucky to get a new single player game from ND the remainder of the gen.
I’m never speaking for anyone else but myself. So to me, this is completely absurd and always will be when compared to the remakes/remasters I named. There will always be players who haven’t experienced a game, so there obviously is merit to this release, but I can’t see a generational leap in tech that justifies this when there’s already a 60fps patch for the original game on PS5. Should just every single game ever made be remastered every generation? I may eventually get the game when it comes to PC though to continue supporting Sony’s PC endeavors.
I didn’t point out anything about the PS Portal, so not sure why you felt the need to bring it up.
Skyrim at least had some meaningful upgrades on XB1/PS4 (some graphics upgrades, official mod support on console, etc.), and they did wait 5 years to do the port. The PS5/XSX upgrade, not so much as it basically looked exactly the same as it did on PS4/XB1 just running at a higher resolution, though it was a free graphical upgrade at least, you only paid if you wanted the fishing and the official Creation Club mods that came with the Legendary edition.
Make a new game already!
For real. What happened to that new Uncharted game they were supposedly working on 2 years ago alongside Playstation Bend Studio, I know that Bend asked to be removed from it, but I really hope they picked a new development partner and continued working on it. I doubt it though sadly.
I had no idea that even existed.
Yes. It's depressing that Naughty Dog's last new game was TLOU Part II in 2020 and we have no idea when we'll get a new game. It's just been ports and remakes for a while.
Quality takes time and sometimes time is not enough.
There was 4 years between Uncharted 4 and TLOU Part 2, it's been over 3 years since TLOU Part 2 came out and we have no idea what the next single player game is.
so true bro
I can't believe Jak 4 died so Naughty Dog could remaster relatively new games.
As much as I dislike minor remasters of games, this is a really bad comparison. You could probably remaster at least dozens of games for the cost of making Jak 4.
Yes, but Jak 4 would be a NEW game from a highly acclaimed franchise. And I do like remakes when the improvements are significant like FF7R or the Resident Evil remakes. Anyone can see Naughty Dog is wasting their talents on these lazy remasters that only offer minor improvements, when they could be making new games. I could definitely see the market getting turned off pretty soon if they keep putting out remasters like this.
I suppose this could slow down developing whatever new games they're working on but probably not by much, and you would absolutely not be getting Jak 4 instead of this anyway (or at least it would be very unlikely). They're probably doing this because they expect to get better return for their investment than they would if they made e.g. Jak 4 instead (i.e. this is a bit of a rip-off for consumers, even though this isn't all that expensive).
Hopefully it also comes to PC at some point next year.
They say ‘remaster’, I hear ‘glorified port’.
Why not just called it The Last of Us: Part 2 (Deluxe Edition) or something along those lines? It’s comical to label something that released a couple years ago as having been remastered.
Awesome! Last year I picked up the PS4 copy for $15 new at Gamestop during Black Friday and all I have to do is just cough up $10 for this. Sweet deal.
....I guess there's a reason why TLoU2 isn't on sale this year's Black Friday or else people will start jumping and buying it now. Sucks, but I guess even the current price of TLoU2+$10 upgrade would still be cheaper than full price.
This masterpiece will always get ppl talking i see haha
A new rougelite survival mode? Didn't see that coming. Definitely getting the upgrade.
Honestly i look at this is more of porting it to PC than just "remastering it for PS5".
Plus for PS5 owners who own the original they are only charging 10 for them to upgrade on Ps5 with new graphics texture work etc and get a whole new game mode.
I mean come on guys you would pay that for DLC and thats all they are charging owners of the game is the price of a DLC upgrade.
Imo i think its a good deal..
Since I waited for a PS5 version I will get this. Did not own a PS4 and it simply felt wrong buying a game for my new system that is made for the previous generation
Save your money and wait for the PS6 remaster for a better experience.
They van call themselves remaster dogs now
If it was a straight remaster no added shiet it should be free but becoz they added stuff it be 10 bucks
Yes, that's usually how DLC works.
Even if it added nothing but better technical performance, it would still be $10. Horizon: Forbidden West was announced as a free upgrade, Jim Ryan later said it would cost $10, he was raked across the coals, and backpedaled for that one game. He then reiterated PS5 upgrades will be $10 going forward.
I least I don't have to buy it again.
I'll see if that No Return mode is worth $10 before making my mind, tho.
More content, New levels/lost levels, more outfits, and a new game mode.... Okay... but like couldn't that just be patched into the original? I feel like it looked fine. Then again, 10$ to upgrade your PS4 version to this, seems fine.
We are heading into 4 years after launch and both part II and ND are still triggering a LOT of people
Four years and still no multiplayer... Part one didn't have this problem.
Not sure the game needed a remaster but it's got extra DLC which you can buy separately, it's basically just a 'Ultimate Edition'.
$10 to upgrade and get extra content and people still call this milking? It's not like they are charging full price for people who already bought the original version unlike Nintendo
Milking is exactly what this is. This just isn't the worst kind of milking.
How is it milking exactly? $10 for extra content. It's like paying for dlc. Also the updated graphics and performance.
i wouldn't hold out for logic on any gaming forum. Can't seem to go anywhere without "gamers(tm)" Being the most whiny, entitled people on the internet.
It really does boil down to 'if you don't give me exactly what I want you're a greedy, foolish company and I wish a pox upon your operations'. Gamers can be the worst.
This is not only a good deal for people who already own it to get the PS5 upgrade but also a pretty damn good selection of new content. This is the opposite of milking and is ACTUALLY really generous. But of course you'll never get them to admit as much. They just wanna keep whining about how they didn't get what they wanted and also ironically feel like someone's forcing them to buy this?
I dunno, the whole discourse is frankly moronic. It's been like this as long as I can remember but I swear it's getting worse.
Aside from the new game mode, this is probably something some companies would release for free, and arguably should - it's basically a PS5 version of the same game. I don't mind charging for the new game mode (although I suspect the sale would then be very low), but $10 for what is mostly minor updates? Nah, seems like a rip-off to me, even if it is more reasonable than full price. This is exactly milking, because they know a lot of people will pay that rip-off price, especially when it seems so modest in comparison to many other games.
A new mode for free? How often does that happen nowadays? We talking EA and Ubisoft here, they love doing it, right? Or prehaps Blizzard with their paid battle passes in $60 games?
You know what is a ripoff? $20 skins in Overwatch 2 that were once part of Overwatch 1, a game you could buy for $20.
I don't think I implied there should be a new mode for free. I think I said quite clearly the opposite, and I just reckoned the new mode might sell quite poorly if it was the only thing you got for the money. In short, I think the rest of this should be free, and they're free to charge for the new mode, as far as I care.
There's rip-offs of different levels. This isn't the worst offender, and your examples are definitely worse rip-offs than this. This is a relatively mild rip-off in my eyes, but a rip-off nonetheless.
Finally! What I've been waiting for. Now where is Factions?
Probably after the second remaster of TLOU Part 2
Probably coming with the remake of this game on PS6, The Last of Us Part II Part II
Regardless of how you feel about the game, I think it's fucking silly to get upset about a native PS5 port of one of the best selling PS4 games out there. Like yeah no shit they'd do this. "It's ANOTHER version of a The Last of Us game" uh yeah because people buy it?
As someone who hasn't played Last of Us 2 yet, I would be certainly interested in this version if I get around to playing it. I would like to see a new Naughty Dog game soon or at least remake something older like Jak or Uncharted.
excited for the memes
shrugs people will speak with their wallets
Some nice meaty updates for fans. Extra gameplay mode and playable cut content for those who enjoyed the gameplay. Extra accessibility options open the game to more players. The cutscenes now have a commentary track for those who want deeper insight into the story creation and acting process. and then general updates to take advantage of the PS5. Look forward to playing this again!
The upgrade should be free but at least it's $10 and not the standard price.
Ripoff. $10 too much for this crap
Is Returnal still the only new IP this gen from a Sony studio? What is going on, lol.
How many new IPs did Nintendo release during the Switch era? Why is it such a focus for Sony critique but no one cares about it in any other context.
I can think of at least two, which is more than Sony so far, unless I’m mistaken. But hey, way to deflect and not answer the question.
Indeed you are right but the big 3 aren't doing great jobs overall really. We have barely a few per big name in terms of new IPs. MS still stuck in their Halo/Forza ways with only Obsidian offering anything new. Nintendo stick to their classics but do well with them because they are usually good. Sony, their big studios all made massive hits at the end of last gen, so made sequels to those massive games start of this gen, with a couple of other games too, Returnal, Destruction Allstars.
Seems kinda silly to me the other way. Guess we should then consider Deathloop and Ghostwire new MS IP too?
Was Avowed in dev before or after MS bought Obsidian? And I'm counting Obsidian's offerings in their new IPs. Clockwork Rev was announced this year, they've owned InExile since 2018. Same goes for Conpulsion games. Everwild is Rare. :P
Last one if I recall is just their game being made by a 3rd party. Standard practice but all of them are "in the pipeline" not out.
Same said about counting them, if we are counting upcoming games, Sony has 4 or so coming. MS has owned those studios for a while so I see a difference between Bethesda who they bought mid dev ona game they had no input on vs something like Clockwork Rev where for all I know they came up with the idea. I doubt it as MS are creatively dead but you never know.
Avowed is not a new IP and those studios are mostly making new IPs because MS doesn’t own a lot of popular successful IPs.
They’ve released a halo, Forza MS, Forza Horizon, and they’re making a Gears, Perfect Dark and Fable. What other IPs do MS have?
This is why Sony used to make new IPs a lot too, and why Nintendo less so. Companies won’t make a ton of new IPs when their existing ones are successful and popular.
Oops I forgot that was technically in the same universe as pillars of eternity. Still it's in a kind of grey area as it isn't really anything like pillars.
So 2 in 6.5 years is better?Sony also released Destruction all-starts, which is garbage but it's a new IP if that's the key point for you.
Destruction All Stars isn’t from Sony. If you’re counting outside games published by Sony then the Nintendo list gets better. I said new IP from Sony studios.
Sony just had a year where they released a yearly baseball GaaS title and Spider-Man. We’re three years into the gen, I’m just just wondering where the Sony games are. Last of Us has had more remasters than actual games.
And you’re still deflecting by even bringing up Nintendo. Their ecosystem is not the same as MS or Sony.
It’s a Sony owned IP and published by Sony. Obviously under your criteria things like Pokemon, Metroid Dread and Smash Brother don’t count as Nintendo Studios games, so this definition is a bit of an awkward area.
The only awkward thing is your need to deflect to another company. Also what is so hard to grasp about “new IP from a Sony studio”? Destruction AllStars wasn’t made by a Sony studio.
Again, three years in. Just wondering where the games at. No need to deflect to Nintendo or MS
What is deflecting? What is good or normal doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it needs context. Comparing to the other companies making hardware is the only reasonable comparison.
Without comparison how can you say what is normal? I’ll just arbitrarily decide that 17 new IPs is good and any less is bad? Or maybe 9? Without any context it's meaningless.
Making a distinction between Sony studios and Sony published games is pointless. It’s the same thing to the end user, it’s games they can play that have been funded and released by Sony. How is owning a studio or not an important factor in determining output available to players? It’s just an arbitrary distinction created to comply better with your pre-conceived narrative. Making new IPs is good, unless Sony Corporation doesn’t own the majority of shares in that company, then it’s meaningless, those games don’t count.
If only Sony had a long history in the industry we could compare with.
Also, LOL @ “arbitrary distinction to better fit my narrative”. It makes a difference of one new IP to two. Holy crap what a massive difference.
This doesn’t have anything to do with Xbox or Switch. I haven’t bought a game for my PS5 since June. I’m simply wondering where the new IPs are. Sony is failing massively here.
So comparing to old Sony consoles is a good comparison but comparing to consoles made by competing manufacturers is not? What a bizarre rule set.
Sony have also announced several new IPs they’re publishing. Lost Soul Aside, Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin are all coming out next year most likely. They’ve announced Concord, Fairgame$, London Studio is making a fantasy title, Bend Studio is working on a new open world game and Bungie have a new IP coming out before 2026.
The main reason we don’t compare to the competition (which is more Xbox than Nintendo) is because the competition has been much better. If I wanted to craft a narrative then I’d be listing all the new Xbox IPs. But this is about Sony.
And yes, you can look at their software output during the last couple of generations and arrive at the conclusion that three years into this gen there is a sizable shift away from new IPs and even from smaller titles towards mostly making big blockbusters in established franchises.
New ip have always been a big selling point for Sony.
YEP! Sony should start buying publishers turning multiplatform games exclusive while also claiming they are new IPs made by them.
Returnal is exactly what you’re describing 👍
But what about all of the studios Sony already has?
Returnal was in development for xbox and switch and was turned exclusive after being bought? really?
Returnal was made by a multi platform dev that Sony bought and I credit them with a new IP for it 👍
All this deflecting to Nintendo and Xbox, bizarre.
Sony Published, funded and assisted the game from day one of development. It’s their game in totality.
Stellar blade was going to be multiplatform now its a sony new ip.
Oh ok you wanna count multiplatform turned exclusive? Stellar blade is new IP from Sony might as well add Rise Of Ronin and Wolverine in there then, so what are you guys whining about? looks like Sony makes new IP after all.
Well wolverine isn't a new ip. Why are you being do aggressive? Dude relax
What? I asked a simple question what are you guys whinning about when Sony seems to be making new IP after all by your own logic. what is aggressive about that?
Wolverine isn’t a new IP.
That’s like saying Indiana Jones from MS is a new IP 😆
So you have returnal as you claim followed by Stella blade and rise of Ronin. So guess you guys answered your own question where the new IPs from Sony
Yes so exactly as I said, one new IP from a Sony studio. Thanks for keeping up.
how is rise of ronin, stella blade and returnal count as 1? let me guess those dont count because of some reason you came up with?
Jeebus, how is this so hard? Please go back and read my very first comment and get back to me.
what about your first comment? these games are being worked on by a sony studio aka xdev so again it doesn't count because? "insert new excuse here"
Stellar Blade and Rise of Ronin aren’t Sony studios. I don’t know how I can make it any simpler for you.
Actually I’m done. I asked a simple question about where the new IPs are from Sony studios and all you can say is “but Nintendo!!” and “but these moneyhat third party games!”. You’re just proving my point. Downvote and deflect away, warriors.
A Sony article with mostly bashing, VGChartz in a nutshell. It has become worse and worse over the years, similar to Apple always getting bashed.
I’m confused by this comment? VGChartz in a nutshell? What is that supposed to be referring to??
He thinks that the entire site has assembled to talk bad about Sony whenever they do something, like we were some kind of hive mind or like a cult or something. But the truth is, we only do that on tuesdays.
Maybe Sony should get their shit together.
Maybe if they stop doing stupid things people will stop bashing them.
So you would rather Sony get constant praise even when they don't make decisions people like? It's one of the reasons I like VGchartz. If it's Sony, Nintendo, or MS, all of them are fairly judged by their actions by the majority. Too bad you can't see that. As an Xbox main user, most gaming sites have a majority bais against Xbox, even when they do something objectively good. There are some outliers, but it's a breath of fresh air to be on a site mostly objective with the big 3.
